{"id":863705,"date":"2026-06-17T08:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=863705"},"modified":"2026-06-17T08:51:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:51:03","slug":"say-goodbye-to-shopping-malls-as-you-know-them-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business-opinion\/863705\/say-goodbye-to-shopping-malls-as-you-know-them-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Say goodbye to shopping malls as you know them in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
South Africans must say goodbye to traditional big shopping malls that just offer retail stores, cinemas, and food courts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is because changing consumer habits are forcing retail centres to change what they offer customers to experiences that can\u2019t be replicated online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major shopping malls are now investing in interactive stores, entertainment attractions, distinctive dining experiences, events, pop-up shops and community activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New research from Lightstone Retail showed that shoppers are visiting malls less often, spending less time there, and increasingly making purposeful trips instead of leisurely outings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lightstone tracked shopping behaviour in February 2023 and again in February 2026 using anonymised vehicle movement data from Tracker, covering between 450,000 and 510,000 passenger vehicles each month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike surveys that rely on what consumers report, the telemetry data measured where drivers actually went and how long they stayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results point to a noticeable shift in behaviour. Median dwell time declined by around 4%, falling from 45 minutes to 43 minutes, while the longest visits dropped by more than 11%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa\u2019s biggest malls, classified as super-regional centres larger than 60,000 square metres, experienced the steepest declines, with dwell time down 17% and average visits per tracked vehicle falling by nearly 9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By contrast, community shopping centres between 10,000 and 20,000 square metres proved the most resilient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They recorded the smallest decline in visits at 2.3% and an 8.1% reduction in dwell time, indicating that consumers increasingly favour convenient centres closer to home that provide essential services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohit Narotam, managing director of Lightstone Retail, said the data reflects broader changes in how consumers spend both their money and their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSouth African shoppers have not lost their appetite for the mall experience but have become more deliberate about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWinning centres give shoppers multiple reasons to make a trip, whether that is value, a genuine community space, or an experience they cannot get from a screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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