Or because of shitty weather. When it rains in the summer, folks go to the mall to shop, walk around, go to movies ... (FWIW, I was at KoP mall yesterday and it was a zoo).
People like shopping; none of this means that they're spending or spending as much as they used to. I live in suburban MPLS, though I'm moving in a year. Here, the upscale malls in Edina/Minnetonka/EP are about the same, busy but not especially so. In some of the working class suburbs, the malls have completely collapsed or have nearly shut down, eg Brookdale.
80% of the country is still employed. 90% of the 80% still employed do not care about saving and their spending habits have not changed. Every State is taking a hit in commercial RE. Even TX. I live on the River Walk in San Antonio, SA has the most empty commercial sq feet since the 80s oil bust. With that said, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston still have the strongest economies out of 50 states and their cities. The economy is in a "Recession" as we never left the 07 "Recession". The market is not a leading indicator, it is a lagging indicator. If you want a leading indicator, look at the Baltic Dry index. The Stock Market is fluff and hot air. It means absolute nothing to main street as most people have less than 100k in their 401k. It is not a measure to wealth nor does it create "Anything" but a shell Game. More layoffs are coming. Retail numbers will be revised down. Simple facts.
This country is taught to consume and not save that's why every weekend malls are packed with consumers, what else is there to do but consume in this country. No one saves and will never know how to save. Also look at how many retailers are still offering deep discounts to make you BELIEVE you are getting a deal when in reality you arent getting anything close to a deal.
So what if ipad and iphones are selling "off the hook" what is this going to do for a country that's still in a recession, it doesn't matter if apple sells 100 million iphones a quarter, what is that going to do for the US economy????? Absolutely nothing!!!
youre making an analysis of economic conditions underestimating secondary effects. "just imagine".. if the economy was really booming- more shopping centers would have been built with a greater consumer base spread out over a greater area. the current amount of shopping space wouldn't handle the potential traffic at optimal employment
once i was lost in the woods for 4 days: no water or food. as I crawled out of the woods KFC and McD were the first restaurants I encountered. "F*k them!" - i said to myself and continued crawling for 2 more miles until I found some decent food.
McD's average drive-thru revenue is something like $4.50 per car. A large % of these people are eating all of their meals here. Something like 40% of those revs are their "dollar-menu" items.