The Future of Connecticut Malls: The keys to success at Westfarms
(WFSB) - The I-Team has been looking into the future of Connecticut’s malls. The I-Team has looked into malls that are struggling and others that are re-purposing.
However, there is at least one mall in Connecticut that is sticking with retail, and it’s working.
When the I-Team visited Westfarms, we ran into Tanya Kauffman and her 7-year-old daughter Vivian. They were shopping for clothes.
“It’s good to be able to try them on and make sure they fit instead of ordering them online and have the hassle of having to try and return it later,” said Kauffman.
Research shows there are plenty of people who prefer to shop from home. An eMarketer study predicts 20% of all retail purchases will be done online in 2024. However, Westfarms spokesperson Amanda Sirica doesn’t look at online shopping as a threat.
“The majority of online returns are apparel returns. Those apparel returns come back to our stores and brings shoppers back to our stores,” said Sirica.
Mohameed Elahee is a professor of international business at Quinnipiac University.
“It’s brick and mortar, plus click-and-mortar,” said Elahee.
Elahee says there are currently too many malls in the United States for the number of people interested in in-person shopping, but research shows certain types of malls are still thriving.
“The stores that sell high-end products, luxury products, they didn’t really see that much erosion in their sales,” said Elahee. “That means still there is a market for products that consumers would like to touch, feel before they buy.”
At Westfarms, Sirica says they are very purposeful in deciding what stores to bring in. They prioritize stores, like Tory Burch, that you can’t find anywhere else in Connecticut.
When the anchor store Lord & Taylor closed in 2020, Westfarms later brought in Jordan’s Furniture. There is only one other Jordan’s Furniture location in Connecticut, more than 30 miles away in New Haven.
“Shoppers want to come to Westfarms. Therefore, tenants want to come to Westfarms. It’s cyclical where we’re supporting one another,” said Sirica. “They keep coming back to Westfarms because of the uniqueness of the brands that we have here and the shopping experience that we’ve created.”
Westfarms will celebrate its 50th anniversary in October.
This story is the fifth installment of a 5-part series looking into the future of Connecticut malls.
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