Evidence of the impact is seen in a report out this month showing shopping mall vacancies hit an 11-year high in the third quarter.

Commercial real estate research firm Reis finds regional and super mall vacancies are up 9.4% in the three months ending Sept. 30 from 8.8% a year earlier. It marks the third quarter in a row of vacancy increases. More notably, it is the highest level since Reis began publishing the data in 2000.

• PHOTOS: Hottest Halloween costumes for kids and pets
• PHOTOS: Top destinations for luxury fashion retailers
• PHOTOS: 10 business fakes made in China

Reis took inventory of space by surveying shopping mall property managers across the country. The data encompassed more than 600 million square feet — or about 40% of the nations malls. Reis surveyed malls owned by both private owners and publically-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). REITs own about two-thirds of the nations mall space.

Nathan Isbee, who follows the shopping mall sector for Stifel Nicolaus, is seeing a different picture. Overall, he finds regional mall fundamentals are healthy. In fact, he said mall REIT tenant quality is probably the highest it has ever been.

We estimate that 90% of mall based sales are transacted in REIT owned malls, where occupancies have risen for the last few years — especially at high productivity malls. said Isbee. The one exception is occupancy is declining at low quality malls. Retailers are taking a hard look at their space needs and are realizing that they dont need x stores in a given market and can generate the same sales levels with two fewer stores. The recent Gap store closure announcement highlights this trend.

Isbee adds rent growth really depends on the quality of the mall.

He said leasing leverage has swung back in favor of the landlords and they have been able to start increasing rents as leases are renewed in the stronger shopping destinations.

Reis Senior Economist Ryan Severino acknowledges that REITs tend to own the highest quality malls in the inventory. So, he is not surprised to see others struggling more than what REITs are seeing.

The middle of the retail market is really struggling. High-end luxury retailers arent really having a lot of issues. The affluent arent really suffering. If your bonus gets cut from $800,000 to $600,000, your quality of life wont be hurt so much, he said.

Over the past year or two, Severino said he has seen a proliferation of non-traditional tenants in some retail buildings. The tenants include government offices, schools and religious organizations. These tenants are capitalizing on depressed rents.

Britt Beemer, founder of consumer behavior research and strategic marketing firm Americas Research Group, has also been seeing challenges at the nations shopping malls. Beemer said many of them have been using clever tactics to disguise empty stores.

Some of the malls last year would pick a store that was closed and offer free gift wrap there. Others would make them look like extensions of existing stores, said Beemer.

There is a bullish case to make for lower rents. Struggling retailers hardships are creating opportunities for others — often on the mall operators dime.

They include pop-up, seasonal stores that last only a few months — such as Halloween stores in former Blockbuster and Circuit City locations. In fact, Beemer said two-thirds of the Circuit City locations have not been leased yet. Plus, he said the growth of dollar stores is a direct correlation to occupancy rates.

I hate to call them this, but these stores are moochers. They are able to go in and get a rate of 40 cents on the dollar sometimes, said Beemer.

The cheaper occupancy rates are creating opportunities for newer retailers — and theyre coming in all different sizes.

Womens clothing retailer Francescas is now in 41 states — after opening its first store in 1999. The retailer is still growing its chain.

Another example is Cotton On, an apparel retailer, which made its debut in Australia in 1991. Cotton On has been aggressively growing its presence in the United States.

And, Japanese casual clothing retailer UNIQLO is making its way to the US shoreline. It has been opening new stores in New York City this month. It has stores in eleven other countries.

The expansion could be planting seeds of a new bull market in retail. If not, it could end up being red meat for fashion road kill in the ongoing struggling economy.

Copyright 2011 CNBC.com.

NORMAN Imagine a retail store having 245 million potential customers come through every year — and those are only American shoppers.

Worldwide, the United States is ranked No. 2 in numbers of Internet users, with 245 million users representing about 78 percent penetration of the estimated 2011 population, according to www.internetworldstats.com.

With all those users, e-commerce is also on the rise, and the trend becomes one of decreased spending at traditional bricks-and-mortar establishments combined with increased spending on competitive websites.

To make matters worse, online retailers do not have to collect and remit sales tax except in the state where the business is physically located. Some business owners believe that gives online business an unfair advantage.

Ed Copelin of Copelin’s Office Center in Norman would like to see the law changed.

“It (internet sales) takes away sales tax dollars from the city, just like going out of town to buy things,” Copelin said. “How do you inform the buying public of buying local to keep the selection alive in town and to keep tax dollars local?

“There are a number of online sellers of office supplies, toys and educational materials. It has an impact. It’s not uncommon for a person to come in and look at an item, then say they’re going to buy it on the internet. People still want to put their hands on it and know the quality of the item.”

Consumers often think they will be saving money if they shop online, but perception is not reality, Copelin said.

“We may be as competitive as online sources. In many cases, with supplies, we offer pricing that is competitive with websites. People have the perception that online stores are cheaper. We want to encourage them to give us the opportunity to be competitive on those things,” Copelin said.

However, it is true that some online competitors can be less expensive. Those online sites may have no overhead and no employees if they’re working out of a warehouse or basement, Copelin said.

“It’s more and more common for online companies to have an arrangement with a company to ship items directly” Copelin said. “That online business may have zero inventory.”

When schools and youth sports leagues are seeking donations or someone is looking for a job, however, those online businesses are not the ones that contribute. Local stores contribute through charity and community involvement, as well as by employing people and paying sales tax to support local government and vital services such as roads, parks and emergency responders.

The buildings local business occupy contribute to the ad valorem tax base that supports local schools. Online retailers operating out of a warehouse or basement somewhere don’t make those contributions, critics say.

“It’s a new type of business that takes away from the retail environment,” Copelin said.

Jocelyn Wall, owner/manager of International Pantry, said while her store also sells items online, shoppers benefit by dropping in.

The difference?

“Customer service, first and foremost,” Wall said. “The consumer benefits from shopping in a store. And when the consumer pays sales tax, that also pays for our streets and police officers.”

Being part of a community connects people.

“It’s not fair for the brick-and-mortar stores, but it’s also not fair for other people who live in those communities because you’re driving on the streets and calling the firefighters, but you’re not contributing to sales tax dollars,” Wall said. “I’m for less taxation. I think we pay enough taxes. However, regarding internet sales, we do need a fair playing ground.”

Wall said that while it would be a little more complicated to collect and remit sales tax to other states, she’s willing to do that if the law changes.

“I think it’s something that would be manageable,” she said.

Joy Hampton 366-3539 jhampton@normantranscript.com Like me on Facebook

Consumers are looking for more than just shopping. They are looking for an experience.

The trend is even more important along the Grand Strand, mall officials say, because of the 14 million tourists who visit annually looking for fun things to do. Shopping centers here have added everything from train rides inside the mall to an indoor inflatable playground in a store space aiming to reel tourists in.

Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach has had a jumping ride, rope climbing slide and a shooting gallery – some float in and out during the busy summer tourist and holiday shopping seasons – and bumper cars will be added to the lineup in November, said Steve McGhee, general manager.

We try to do as many of those as we can, especially being in a tourist area, he said. Its an important component of our business. People are on vacation. That is the kind of stuff people are looking to do.

Entertainment has always been a part of malls – mainly in the form of movie theaters and arcades – but theres been an influx of even more in recent years, said Jesse Tron, spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers. The recession left many malls with empty spaces, and several turned to nontraditional entertainment tenants to fill them, he said.

Shopping centers are adding mini golf and sit-down restaurants, he said. Some emerging properties are taking the concept to a new level, such as American Dream at Meadowlands, a large mall under construction in New Jersey that plans to have an indoor ski dome, ice skating rink, indoor water park and amusement park. Triple Five, which joined the project earlier this year, developed Mall of America in Minnesota.

Its becoming increasingly important for shopping centers to be more than just a collection of stores, Tron said. Entertainment has become an integral part of the tenant mix.

Depending on the season, shoppers along the Grand Strand can take hay rides or horse-drawn carriage rides at The Market Common. At Inlet Square Mall, Wee Jump Indoor Fun House plans to open near Kmart in the next couple of weeks in a 5,000-square-foot space that will become an indoor playground with inflatable slides. The addition should help draw families to the mall, General Manager Suzanne Oden said.

PITTSBURGH Its shopping time for the Devils, hit hard by another major injury at center, where they already are hurting most.

General manager Lou Lamoriello acknowledged this morning he will be looking to trade for a center, after losing Jacob Josefson for 3-4 months from surgery to repair the right collarbone he fractured in last nights 4-3 shootout loss to the Sharks in Newark.

Well see. Theres no question that if you can get a player that will help you, you do it, Lamoriello said. But you have to give up something to get something. If you add, you have to make sure what you subtract isnt more than you receive.

SEATTLE, WA, Oct 21, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Grocery Server, the largest digital grocery marketing platform in
the U.S., and Smart Shopping, developer of the Smart Shopping mobile
app on Windows Phone, today announced that the two companies have
teamed up to create a powerful grocery shopping experience that also
marks a first for Windows Phone. By integrating with Grocery Server’s
API, the latest release of the Smart Shopping app now shows users
exactly what’s on sale in their neighborhood stores — from carrots
to cupcakes — helping shoppers make smart purchase decisions and
giving brands a new opportunity to reach consumers at their “moment
of decision.”

“Windows Phone puts people at the center of the smartphone experience
and Smart Shopping is a great example of how Windows Phone apps can
make an age-old task, like grocery shopping, easier,” said Todd Brix,
Senior Director, Windows Phone Marketplace at Microsoft. “Smart
Shopping is an example of how developers can use the unique
capabilities of the latest version of Windows Phone to turn their app
ideas into a reality.”

Local deals and shopping lists are hot topics for both consumers and
brands, and the Smart Shopping application raises the bar by
integrating the two for the first time on the Windows Phone platform.
With Live Tile integration from the latest version of Windows Phone,
Smart Shopping also allows for easy, one-tap access to consumers’
shopping lists, directly from the Start screen.

“Grocery Server’s data marries items on a mobile grocery list to real
products in real stores — a dramatic improvement over most apps that
leave the consumer wondering ‘did I get a good deal?’” commented
Corbin de Rubertis, co-founder and CEO of Grocery Server. “Grocery
Server’s data spans more than 60,000 retail locations, covers all
U.S. zip codes, and includes the entire range of grocery categories
– from fresh produce, to meats, seafood, prepared foods and more.
It’s like having all of your local supermarkets and drugstores in
your pocket.”

“Smart Shopping helps take the grunt work out of your shopping
experience. With highly intuitive and refreshingly easy-to-use tools,
you can accomplish more with less time and money,” said Brian
Satorius, CEO of Smart Shopping. “Features include list sharing, an
easy-to-use item suggestion menu, hyper-relevant store specials in
your local area, shopping history, favorites lists, an advanced store
manager that lets you create different aisles and product lists for
different stores, and much more!”

For more information on the Grocery Server API and technology, visit

www.facebook.com/groceryserver . To find the Smart Shopping app
online, visit

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/b133d027-5d45-e011-854c-00237de2db9e .

About Grocery Server
Grocery Server is the largest digital grocery
marketing platform in the world, serving up hyper-local,
hyper-relevant grocery deal content across consumer-facing websites,
mobile apps, email and social networks. With a monthly reach of more
than 60 million people, Grocery Server integrates dynamic grocery
deals directly into editorial and advertising content in a way that
is meaningful to the end consumer and increases interaction. Learn
more at
www.groceryserver.com .

About Smart Shopping
Smart Shopping is an online service and mobile
platform that saves you time and money as you shop. With its recently
released Windows Phone app, Smart Shopping gives you easy to use
tools that make any shopping trip a breeze. For more info, visit

www.smart-shopping.co .

For more information, contact:
Jessika Goldstein
Duo PR for Grocery Server
(206) 456-3431
jessika@duopr.com

SOURCE: Grocery Server

mailto:jessika@duopr.com

Copyright 2011 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

It appears as though Ashley Hebert and JP Rosenbaum did some outlet shopping on Saturday. The pair took a ride to Woodbury Commons, which is a huge outlet plaza about an hour north of New York City.

Beautiful day…beautiful ride…..beautiful girl….. #lifeisprettygood (sic), JP tweeted on their way to Central Valley, NY. Woodbury Common is a sh*t show, but still worth it (sic), he added after they had arrived.

It sounds like the lovebirds had a lovely day of shopping and just enjoying each others company! They have been going out here and there in the city, but its nice to take a day trip every now and then. Ashley and JP have spent a lot of time in Ashs home town of Madawaska, Maine, but this road trip was something new and different for just the two of them to enjoy.

With the holidays coming, you can expect these two to be doing quite a bit of shopping. Perhaps they got some early gift-buying in while they were there.

 Effie Orfanides 2011