As Americans tighten belts, shopping malls cut hours

As Americans tighten their belts to cope in the grim economy, the venerable US shopping mall has begun to suffer and many are quietly cutting back on their opening hours.

Shops in malls which used to stay open until nearly midnight in some states -- and 24 hours in others -- have begun opening later in the morning and closing earlier at night.

"Generally, we open a half-hour later and close a half-hour earlier, for a net reduction of five to six hours a week," said Katy Dickey, spokeswoman for Australian group Westfield, which manages 55 malls across the United States.

The Simon Property group has also cut opening hours at some of the 300 malls it operates in the country.

"We want to operate in an efficient manner, conserving costs and energy," said Les Morris, a spokesman for the company.

Some outlets in the Barnes and Noble bookstore chain are also shutting up shop early these days.

"Some of our stores have shortened their hours, usually only by an hour or so, based on the challenging retail environment and the effect the economy has had on customer buying patterns," said Barnes and Noble spokeswoman Carolyn Brown.

But Westfield's Dickey said there was no need to sound the alarm, as US malls have long been flexible in their opening hours.

"Depending on demand, hours change quite regularly," she said.

"For example, during the Christmas season, malls extend hours all the time. But yes, this time it's the other way around."

Retail consultant George Whalin was up in arms, saying US retailers were shooting themselves in the foot.

"You've got malls that have been around for 40-50 years that are doing something that has never been done before," he railed.

"In my estimation, it's absolutely foolish. If customers show up at a mall at 10 o'clock in the morning and it doesn't open until 10:30, do you think they're going to wait? An awful lot of customers are going to leave," he said.

A study conducted in February by TNS Retail Forward showed that shopper-volume in supermarkets fell by 3.6 percent last year compared with 2007, and discount chains saw a five percent drop in clientele.

"Shoppers are rethinking how and where they shop for food and are limiting spending to non-discretionary purchases of groceries and other household essentials", Kelly Tackett, a senior consultant at TNS said.

In a possible glimmer of hope, US consumer spending rose for the second consecutive month in February, the government said Friday in a fresh indication that recession in the world's largest economy may be easing.

The Commerce Department said that personal consumption expenditures increased 17.2 billion dollars, or 0.2 percent, from January, in line with analysts' expectations. Expenditures had risen 94.8 billion dollars, or 1.0 percent, in January based on revised estimates, the department said.

Consumer spending is a key barometer of the US economy facing prolonged recession after a housing mortgage crisis sparked financial turmoil across the globe and caused a severe economic downturn.



Lions enjoy the sun in their enclosure at a zoo, March 29, 2009. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

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