When it comes to choosing a city or state to locate your retail store, it's important to do your research. Read local newspapers, talk to other small businesses in the area, and get location demographics from the local library, chamber of commerce, or Census Bureau. Specialized research firms that serve retailers could also provide demographic information. Make sure you find a location close to where your customers live, work and shop.
In many cases, shoppers of shopping items like to compare items in several stores, covering only a minimum distance. As a result, stores that offer complementary items tend to be close to each other. Another great place for a shopping store is next to a department store, or between two department stores, where traffic flows between them. Another option is to be located between a major parking area and a department store. When it comes to malls, there are several different types.
If someone were to describe a mall as a shopping mall with a grocery store, they would be correct. If someone were to describe a covered shopping destination with several large major stores, they would also be correct. A small strip of 5 or 6 stores would also be an acceptable example of a retail mall. A retail mall is defined as a group of retail establishments and other commercial establishments that are planned, developed, owned and managed as a single property with on-site parking. Retail malls are often configured as malls or malls.
Shopping malls are defined as gated properties with a central walkway where retail storefronts face each other. Strip centers do not include closed corridors. Retail storefronts are connected by common walkways and are usually configured in a straight line, in an L or U shape. The most common type of shopping mall is the neighborhood center with the appropriate name. These properties use a straight-line strip configuration for outdoor use, typically have 1 anchor warehouse and generally range from 30,000 to 150,000 square feet.
Its name is derived from its small, 3-mile “neighborhoods centered” primary shopping area. Retailers in neighborhood centers primarily offer daily needs such as food, convenience items, personal services, snacks, pharmaceuticals and other health-related items. The most common element of the neighborhood center is a grocery store. Community centers are larger versions of neighborhood centers that are characterized by a wider range of retail stores. They typically offer 100,000 to 300,000 square feet of retail space with two main stores.
With a broader focus, the community center draws customers from a main shopping area of 3 to 6 miles. The local mall is the definition of regional center in textbooks in most parts of the country. These properties are enclosed shopping malls, typically offering between 400,000 and 800,000 square feet of retail space and have at least 2 anchors. They attract customers from a main shopping area of 5 to 15 miles. The traditional attraction of regional centers is the anchor stores. Due to the rise of e-commerce, many regional centers are considered to be problematic, unhealthy or dying malls.
These centers have vacancy rates above 10% and at least one or more main stores are empty. The largest type of shopping mall are superregional centers. Not surprisingly, many of the largest malls in the United States are super-regional hubs. That's because superregional centers typically have 3 or more anchors and at least 800,000 square feet of retail space. They also rely on larger population bases drawing visitors within a 5 to 25 mile radius of the property. Fashion centers are similar to retail centers but defined by retailers of haute couture and luxury brands.
These centers have retail stores of world-renowned fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès Chanel and Burberry. They typically offer 80,000 to 250,000 square feet of retail space and attract customers from a main shopping area of 5 to 15 miles. The anchor stores of fashion centers are usually luxury department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman or Saks. The defining characteristic of energy centers are their anchor stores.
