Shopping Mall Health

The following chart shows the 3 month moving average of real retail sales per capita of select stores typically found in or near a mall (January 2014 dollars).


Click to enlarge.

Let's zoom in on the "recovery" (using just the data after the Great Recession).


Click to enlarge.

I suppose that you can blame some of the weakness in the blue trend line on recent weather if you like. Why not? Everyone else is.

It will be much more difficult to blame the weakness in the red trend line on the weather though. Its last data point covers September through November of 2013 (three month moving average).

February 28, 2014
Sbarro Said to Prepare Bankruptcy Filing as Mall Traffic Slows

“We are making significant progress. Sbarro continues to be a strong brand with a bright future.”

The future's so bright I gotta "Sbarro" some more money. Sigh.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart