--- title: A Third of American Malls Will Close Soon description: As major retailers struggle to keep their doors open, one analyst predicts that one-third of American malls will close in the coming years. authors: - name: Kerry Close url: https://money.com/author/kerry-close/ at_money_since: 2016 articles: 182 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/kerryclose former_staff: true published: '2016-05-12T14:42:34.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T10:56:29.000Z' section: Business tags: - malls - pubdesk - retail sales - retail stores word_count: 273 canonical: https://money.com/shopping-malls-closing/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Views Of Shoppers As Consumer Comfort Figures Are Released](https://img.money.com/2016/05/american-malls-closing.jpg) *A customer enters a Macy's Inc. store at the La Cantera outdoor mall in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Consumer sentiment climbed last week from a two-month low as Americans views on the economy were the least pessimistic in five years. Photographer: Jennifer Whitney/Bloomberg via Getty Images* Shopping malls are rapidly losing their appeal with shoppers. About one-third of malls in the U.S. will shut their doors in the coming years, retail analyst Jan Kniffen [told CNBC](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/12/1-in-3-american-malls-are-doomed-retail-consultant-jan-kniffen.html) Thursday. His prediction comes in the wake of Macy's reporting its worst consecutive same-store sales decline since the financial crisis. Macy's and its fellow retailers in American malls are challenged by an oversupply of retail space as customers migrate toward online shopping, as well as fast fashion retailers like H&M and off-price stores such as T.J. Maxx. As a result, about 400 of the country's 1,100 enclosed malls will fail in the upcoming years. Of those that remain, he predicts that about 250 will thrive and the rest will continue to struggle. "On an apples-to-apples basis, we have twice as much per-capita retail space as any other place in the world," Kniffen said. "So, yes, we are the most over-stored place in the world." The U.S. has an estimated 48 square feet of retail space per citizen—a footprint that's set to decline "pretty fast," Kniffen said. ***Read More*: [America's Malls Are Losing Their Anchor Stores](https://money.com/malls-losing-anchor-stores/)** Macy's isn't the only retailer struggling to stay afloat. In April, department store [J.C. Penney](https://money.com/jc-penney-cut-employee-hours/) cut payroll, froze overtime for its employees and took other cost-cutting measures, while teen-apparel chain Aéropostale filed for bankruptcy last week. Fellow mall giant Sears has closed more than 200 locations over the past two years, while Penney shuttered 40 stores in January 2015. In their place have risen discount stores like T.J. 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