Shopping Malls Struggling To Survive As Online Retail Sales Surge | NBC Nightly News

[0:00]Americans love to buy, but getting shoppers into traditional malls and stores is becoming a hard sell. Shopping centers turning into ghost towns as consumers shift to online shopping. Because of the internet, do I not need to have the mall experience where I'm going through racks of clothes in the 50% off area? No, and that's what's even sadder. I think the discounts that online is offering out beats the store and therefore, again, consumers aren't shopping at the mall anymore. Just this week, a new prediction that over the next five years, 20 to 25% of malls will close permanently. Big anchor stores like JCPenney, Sears, and Macy's have all recently announced closings. The ripple effect can be devastating. Since you're without your anchor store in this mall Macy's, and there's a lot of empty store funds, is it affecting the foot traffic? Yes, general foot traffic, of course, it affected, especially losing Macy's. It's not helping. Hurting jobs too. When this Macy's shut down in New Jersey, 107 people were laid off. On Friday, the Labor Department reported more than 6,000 retail jobs lost in just one month. More than 100,000 retail workers have lost their jobs since October. That's more than the total of coal workers in the US. Malls that survive will have to innovate, becoming more than just a collection of stores. What I think retailers really need to do is become more experiential. They need to provide some sort of entertainment for consumers when consumers want to shop in the store. An industry in need of a little retail therapy. Stephanie Rule, NBC News, Morristown, New Jersey. NBC News fans, thanks for checking out our YouTube channel. Subscribe by clicking on that button down here, and click on any of the videos over here to watch the latest interviews, show highlights, and digital exclusives. Thanks for watching.