Both malls bustled with families, couples and teenagers walking, shopping and dining Thursday afternoon.
What’s more, both have big plans on the horizon. And the types of businesses they are bringing in are examples of how malls are evolving to give younger patrons what they want: places to have experiences rather than just buy stuff.
Traditional anchor spots at the Dayton Mall will soon be filled with a large indoor playground, and a new home for a local megachurch.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is constructing Dick’s House of Sport where Elder-Beerman used to be at the Fairfield Mall complete with batting cages, a climbing wall, golf simulators and other sports-themed activities.
Retail experts say growing consumer interest in experiences is driving malls and shopping centers to add innovative entertainment concepts to their tenant mix.
“Activities like virtual reality arcades, escape rooms and mini golf offer consumers the opportunity to socialize and share experiences, which is especially important for 60% of Gen Z consumers who say they would rather spend their money on experiences than on material items,” said Stephanie Cegielski, vice president of research and public relations for the International Council of Shopping Centers, citing recent ICSC data.
“Shopping malls are also focusing on tenant curation to provide customers access to needed and discretionary services, like wellness offerings, traditional healthcare and childcare,” Cegielski said.
Dayton Mall 90% occupied
At Dayton Mall in Miami Twp., the 1.4 million square feet of leasable space has seen an increase in tenants in the last year or so and is about 90% occupied, according to Dave Duebber, the mall’s general manager.
“It was pretty tough coming out of COVID,” Duebber told this news outlet. “There were a lot of small businesses that ... just couldn’t make it, and then of course, you had national bankruptcies that had been going on prior to COVID, and that just kind of escalated a lot of things.”
Coming out of COVID, there was “a huge influx of traffic.”
“You had a lot of stores that were doing very, very well. I mean probably, record sales 10-plus years in the making, but then you’d have other stores that were significantly hurting because they couldn’t get merchandise,” Duebber said. “They couldn’t get people to work. It was a very unusual time.”
Over the past year, Dayton Mall has been able to backfill “quite a few spaces” and now has about 90 stores within the mall.
“There were a few (tenants) that had been pulling out of other locations that have renewed and are staying on with us, like Hollister, FYE, American Eagle and Forever 21, a lot of the big tenants,” he said. “They’re all sticking around and have expanded and, actually, some are even talking within the next year (about) doing some remodels.”
Renewals, he said, are “the backbone structure” of a property, but it’s also important for a mall to be able to bring in “new and exciting concepts.”
Nearly 10,000 square feet at Dayton Mall will soon be occupied by Kids Empire, “one of the fastest-growing indoor playground entertainment brands,” Dayton Mall owner Spinoso Real Estate Group recently announced.
“With 50+ open locations across the USA, Kids Empire offers giant playground areas that include floor-to-ceiling climbing walls, play structures, drop-in ball pits and more,” Spinoso said.
Crossroads Dayton, which purchased the former Sears location at the mall in 2022, started renovating it in January as Crossroad’s first permanent Dayton area location.
Duebber said Crossroads moving in will not only bring new people to the area, it also could potentially bring new tenants to the Dayton Mall, making it “a win all the way around for everyone.”
A walk around the mall on Thursday found about a dozen or so vacant storefronts and five vacant food court locations.
Fairfield Mall hopping
Spinosa Real Estate Group acquired the Dayton Mall from Columbus-based real estate investment trust Washington Prime Group in December 2021 after the latter filed for bankruptcy. WPG held onto the Mall at Fairfield Commons, which opened in Beavercreek in 1993.
That mall, which includes nearly 1.1 million square feet of leasable space, recently welcomed a mix of local, specialty tenants and national ones, according to general manager Ashley Mays.
New tenants the Mall at Fairfield Commons added in 2023 include Divine Essence Emporium, Temps & Fades, Popeyes, OGs Unlaced, Vivid Sweets and Go! Calendars, Games & Toys.
This year already has seen the opening of anime-themed restaurant Izakaya, Tokyo Grill Sushi & Hibachi Buffet, IMME & More and Game Over: Pop Culture Edition.
“We’ve really made an effort to look at some things like what can we bring to our centers that are going to be something that’s different that you don’t see in other malls,” Mays said.
Dick’s House of Sport, a Dick’s Sporting Goods subsidiary, plans to open a two-story, 150,000-square-foot location at the site of the former Elder-Beerman. Mays said it is projected to open by late 2024.
The new Dick’s House of Sport will include a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with TrackMan simulators, and multi-sport cages that can be used for baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer, per the company’s description.
“They are a huge national account and we will have the first one in Ohio, so that’s something that’s really exciting for us,” she said.
While Mays said she couldn’t divulge an exact occupancy rate for the Mall at Fairfield Commons, “it certainly isn’t something that we’re particularly struggling with.”
Among the mall’s more than 130 different retailers and restaurants, a reporter on Thursday counted only 10 spaces vacant. However, Mays said Friday that at least half of those empty storefronts should be occupied by later this year.
A leasing flyer placed in front of vacant storefronts indicates that Pandora and DXL Big + Tall will be among those tenants.
Shoppers weigh in
Cindy Crase, of Tipp City, said the Mall at Fairfield Commons is clean and offers a good selection of stores, ample parking and a better overall experience than other shopping malls she has visited.
“This one’s more high-end (and) nicer,” Crase said after visiting the mall.
Ah’miracle Favors, of Dayton, said she gets her hair done at Dayton Mall and, when she does shop there, enjoys the customer service of its stores, plus its central location.
“What’s great about it is, it’s convenient and easy to get to (for Dayton area residents) versus Fairfield Commons or The Greene (Town Center), which is a little bit further out,” Favors said following her visit.
Turnover normal
Occupancy rates for malls across the U.S. range between 89% for lower-tier malls in less affluent regions to 95% for top-tier malls in more affluent areas, according to the the most recent market analysis from Coresight Research.
“Although a high level of occupancy is important, malls also benefit from a healthy store turnover, where the latest retailers can showcase their new and/or innovative products and offerings,” said Brandon Isner, Americas head of retail research for commercial real estate company CBRE. “There isn’t an exact science to it.”
A mall’s occupancy rate is a constant ebb and flow of stores opening and closing, Duebber said. “Some will succeed, others may not, but (we’re) constantly ... looking for new and unique opportunities and uses to bring in,” he said.
One of the ways that shopping malls are pivoting to meet the rapidly-changing retail landscape is by diversifying their tenant base, Isner said.
“In the past, a mall might have had a food court of fast-food restaurants, but now you’ll see more sit-down restaurants within their space,” he said. “Some malls have added grocery stores, medical-focused retail occupiers, or even office space in some places, via shared-space/coworking office operators such as Industrious.”
E-commerce threat overblown
Despite the inroads made by e-commerce, there isn’t a danger of it replacing malls, Cegielski said.
“E-commerce sales make up only about 10% of total retail sales each year and of those sales only a small portion comes from pure play ecommerce retailers,” she said. “In fact, most retailers have embraced a strong omnichannel strategy providing more options for consumers that include buying online and picking up in-store, which typically leads to consumers making an additional purchase when collecting their items.”
Additionally, even though Generation Z is the first digitally native generation, it gravitates toward physical retail as a way to socialize with their friends, ICSC has found.
“Our report last year on this demographic showed that nearly all Gen Z consumers shop at brick-and-mortar stores, mostly to get items immediately and to see, touch and try products before making a purchase,” she said.
CBRE’s Isner said there’s “little danger” for Class A malls, which are able to attract a steady stream of demand for space and store activity.
“The recent Halo Effect study by ICSC shows that stores opening will actually boost e-commerce sales by almost 7% in that region,” he said. “Closing stores will soften e-commerce sales by around 11.5%. It’s in a retailer’s best interest to have a brick-and-mortar store presence.”
Retail is a tough business because you always need to be “pivoting and adjusting to the wants and needs of the consumer,” Isner said.
“Store closures aren’t necessarily a bad thing, as sometimes retailers will close underperforming stores to concentrate efforts on their strongest stores,” he said “However, if the mall is unable to fill that store space due to lack of demand, then it can signal a problem. That said, many of the top malls in the country have never been better than they are now.”
Dayton Mall
Location: 2700 Miamisburg Centerville Road, Miami Twp.
Opened: February 1970
Size: Approximately 1.4 million square feet
Occupancy: About 90%
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods. One vacant anchor space, the former Sears, is being converted into Crossroads Dayton. The former Elder-Beerman location, which is owned by former Dayton Mall owners Washington Prime Group, remains vacant.
Owner: Spinosa Real Estate Group
In 2024: Crossroads Dayton is renovating the former Sears location to be the first permanent Crossroads Church location in the Dayton area.
The Mall at Fairfield Commons
Location: 2727 Fairfield Commons Blvd., Beavercreek
Opened: October 1993
Size: Nearly 1.1 million square feet
Occupancy: n/a
Anchors: Macy’s, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Round1 Entertainment and Morris Home Furniture & Mattress.
Owner: Washington Prime Group
In 2024: Dick’s House of Sport is being constructed where Elder-Beerman used to be.
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