What does the mall of the future look like? How Mass. shopping centers are evolving

Malls have been an iconic part of suburban American life for decades, but the retail landscape is changing and the people who run malls are adapting the modern mall to better attract the modern consumer.

Their ability to adapt could be the difference between a mall closing and booming.

"You can get a lot of your products online these days — for sometimes less money, more convenience," Sarah Pelton of Cambridge Retail Advisors said. "You need a reason to go out to these centers...Entertainment options such as movie theaters, restaurants. These are all reasons why people will actually leave their house and go out shopping."

While some malls in Massachusetts have become ghost towns, others seem to be thriving. Legacy Place in Dedham, for one, seems to have a full parking lot more often than not. The development has a lot of what experts say make for a successful retail center in 2024: a variety of retail, food and entertainment, plus outdoor setting. In the industry, these places are called lifestyle centers.

Lifestyle centers — or at least key elements that aim to make them a community-building destination for things beyond shopping — are becoming increasingly popular formats for retail centers, according to Pelton.

Efforts to diversify offerings to consumers are evident at many shopping centers. Simon Property Group, which operates 12 malls in Massachusetts, has made heavy investments in recent years to the Northshore Mall in Peabody and the Burlington Mall. Both locations have brought in a number of new businesses at an accelerated rate post-COVID, and both spots have made major strides in their outdoor spaces, too, according Simon.

"We've added a lot of dining," said Lauren Dalis, a marketer at Simon. "We've added a lot of these experiential types of businesses where they just kind of add to the traditional retail that we already see here."

Northshore Mall has plans for two new entertainment spots and recently added a health club. Fast casual health food spot Honeygrow opened its third Bay State location there last month.

"We found this and we got excited by it," Honeygrow founder and CEO Justin Rosenberg said. "We love that Life Time fitness is over there and just a lot of great co-tenants over here, so a really good opportunity."

Simon touted The Park at Burlington Mall, an outdoor space with games like bocce and cornhole and plenty of room to spread out, eat or enjoy events.

"Customers are looking for more of an experience overall," Dalis said. "They don't want to just come and shop, but they want to come shop, dine, enjoy time with their family and friends...Just feel like it's more of a community place and not just a place to shop."

Foot traffic is up at both malls compared to before COVID, according to Simon, which cited its new businesses as the reason.

While Northshore and Burlington seem to be going full steam ahead, other malls have struggled to find their way amid rising competition from online retailers.

The Eastfield Mall in Springfield closed down last year and was demolished in February. The property is now being redeveloped into an outdoor shopping center called Springfield Crossing.

The Silver City Galleria in Taunton, once a prime destination for the South Coast, was demolished in 2021.

Nationwide, 2 million square feet of mall space was demolished in 2022, according to research by Capitol One Shopping Research, and shopping malls are more than twice as likely to be vacant when compared to average retail space.

But Sarah Pelton says that traditional malls can typically boost their popularity even through modest upgrades.

"At a minimum, today's shoppers are expecting high speed Wi-Fi, a robust mobile application and integrated e-commerce," Pelton said. "Additionally, incorporating amenities such as charging stations, family restrooms, children's play areas and comfortable seating."

"Upgrading security systems, enhancing lighting and implementing smart parking solutions would all be critical investments that we would recommend," Pelton continued.

While much more of an undertaking, Pelton said, some traditional malls have completely reinvented themselves to find success, pointing to Somerville, where Assembly Square Mall transformed into the now-thriving mixed-use neighborhood Assembly Row.

"It's kind of a one-stop shop where they can get a gym session and they can go to a restaurant and meet their friends," Pelton said. "They can play with their children in a nice outdoor [park]. These are the kinds of things that people are looking for."

While many properties work to bring in businesses and attractions aside from just retail, they say there is still a big demand for traditional shopping, especially among some of the youngest consumers.

"Gen Z, from what I can see, seems to love to shop in person," Dalis said. "We just continue to look at what shoppers and customers really want and need and what their interests are. And then we try to fill those needs with the things that complement what people are looking for."