Did You Notice? In Person Shopping in Minnesota at a Record High

I have been hearing for years about how "the mall is dead", that people do not shop in person anymore and most everything is done online.

Apparently that is not the case.

If you look at the numbers of holiday shopping in the years during the pandemic, that was absolutely true.  But that was mostly because people were encouraged to stay home and only go out for necessities.  People were also not having as many in-person holiday celebrations.  So those numbers can be skewed a bit just because of that situation

This past weekend, there were a record number of people that went to the Mall of America to shop in person, and score some great deals  The mall did have a big incentive to get there early, and in person to get the best deals.  They were handing out gift cards and some other goodies to the first couple hundred people who were through the doors.  People were lined up as early as 2am for a 7am opening.  And it was COLD!  There was also an incentive for in person shopping later in the day, as they were giving out some cards for more discounts throughout the day/weekend.  The amount of shoppers was 20% more than in 2019, according to the Mall of America through Bring Me the News.  

People were spending an average of 3 hours at the mall too.  I'm not sure how they can track that number, but that is what they have reported.

Here in St. Cloud, I drove by Crossroads mall on Black Friday.  I did not go in, but the parking lot was jammed.  It was to the point where people were waiting for someone to leave before they could park their car in some cases.  I have worked at the mall recently. and I haven't seen that kind of traffic in years.  So, that is great for St. Cloud businesses.

Whether or not you like to shop in person at the mall, or at any of the other stores in the St. Cloud area, this is a positive thing for business.  I'm tired of seeing businesses close because of a lack of foot traffic, or light staffing.  Hopefully this is a turn in the right direction.

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