U.S. shopping malls are adapting to changing consumer habits by prioritizing dining experiences. The decline of department stores and the rise of online shopping have forced malls to reinvent themselves.
Mall owners are devoting more square footage to restaurants and bars in the hopes that diners will shop after dinner. Malls are supplementing food court mainstays with more upscale, full-service restaurants, plus introducing food halls catered by local vendors. Some large national chains, like the Cheesecake Factory, Chick-fil-A and Panda Express, are still winning over both customers and mall landlords, despite the shift.
Editor's note: This is the third story in a three-part CNBC series about the future of U.S. shopping malls, as developers transform the spaces to add new retailers, experiences and even apartments. Read the Malls used to be the destination for the buzziest stores. Now they're home to the hottest restaurants. The slow death of department stores and rise of online shopping have hurt U.S. shopping malls, particularly over the last decade. The once-essential shopping centers have seen their numbers drop from a peak of 2,500 in the 1980s to roughly 700 these days, according to Coresight Research. But now many in the retail industry say that rumors of the mall's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Many landlords are devoting more square footage to restaurants and bars, which have become a bigger draw to visit malls. 'It's been a big shift,' said David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic, a market research firm focused on the restaurant industry. 'It used to be that the shopping occasion drove people to the mall and then maybe you grabbed a bite to eat. In a lot of ways, that's been flipped on its head. Now, the dining options drive people there, and then you're hoping that they're going to do a little shopping while they're there'
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