Footfall drops at apparel stores but increases at fitness, wellness, coffee, grocery and value retail
/Apparel stores in shopping centers have experienced a 25% foot traffic drop in 2025 compared to 2019, per Placer.ai's New Tenant Mix Playbook.
By comparison, shopping center tenants representing fitness, wellness, coffee, grocery and off-price/value retail have all gained traffic.
According to the report, the tenant mix at shopping centers has significantly skewed since pre-pandemic times to more service-oriented tenants, fast-casual restaurants, off-price retail, groceries, and health and wellness.
The report points to three main drivers in visit trends: the “pandemic reset” that altered consumer behavior, the “e-commerce reckoning” that slowed offline apparel sales, and the “wellness economy surge” that led to the growth of health and wellness tenants.