US mall culture fades as online shopping soars across cities

A new study has revealed significant changes in shopping habits across the United States, with increased online shopping and declining interest in visiting shopping malls.

The report from fashion brand Selfie Leslie analysed a decade of search trends and internal data to chart a retail transformation in major US cities. Across the country, in-store shopping interest has dropped by 62% over the past ten years while online shopping has grown by 111%. This has contributed to an overall behavioural change of 173% in favour of online shopping.

Shift to online

The data suggests that the long-standing tradition of mall culture is waning. National mall numbers are projected to fall from 1,200 to just 900 by 2028, raising questions about the future of physical retail spaces. Among major cities, New York has reported the sharpest decline in mall interest, with a 77% drop in in-store activity over the past decade.

Other cities demonstrating a significant drop in shopping mall interest include Chicago and San Francisco (each down by 70%), Los Angeles (down 68%) and Las Vegas (down 66%). These cities-historically known as strongholds of consumer mall culture-are experiencing the largest decreases in mall footfall.

Lead at Selfie Leslie, Sharmayne Roumeliotis, spoke about the implications of these findings for retailers, observing, "These valuable insights on how people shop help retailers like Selfie Leslie better understand what the public may expect from us in the future, and how we can better tailor our practices to suit their ever-changing needs and demand.

"We have noticed the increasing demand as an online retailer, and for the first time, we can see how shopping behaviour is evolving across the states, with some regions picking up the digital cart at a much faster pace."

Regional differences

The report highlights marked differences in the pace of change across regions. Philadelphia has recorded the country's most dramatic shift away from malls toward online shopping, with an overall shopping behaviour change of 207%. The city has experienced a 55% decrease in in-store shopping interest and a 152% increase in online shopping, placing it ahead of other major urban centres in terms of evolving consumer behaviour.

Columbus leads in terms of enthusiasm for online shopping, where digital shopping activity has increased by 185%. In Oklahoma City and El Paso, similar trends are evident, with significant rises in online shopping searches. Washington D.C. and Charlotte, which have each seen a decline of more than 50% in mall visits, now report robust increases in online shopping as residents alter their buying habits.

Las Vegas and Washington D.C. have seen in-store shopping interest fall by 66% and 63% respectively. Correspondingly, there has been a rise in online shopping activity with Washington D.C. up 136% and Las Vegas up 119% for online shopping compared to past years.

Changing landscape

The Selfie Leslie study used city-level search data from Google Keyword Planner to track the changes from 2015 to 2025 across 25 of the most populated US cities. The analysis considered over 1,000 keywords spanning categories such as in-store apparel, online apparel, general retailers, and specific products. Index scores ranked cities according to changes in consumer intent, both online and in-store.

The findings indicate that while the decline in physical mall visits is a nationwide phenomenon, cities vary in the speed at which shoppers are moving to online retail. Even cities with a strong historical association with mall culture, such as New York and Los Angeles, are showing clear trends towards digital-first shopping behaviours.

As consumers continue to shift their preference towards online purchasing, retailers across the United States may have to reconsider their strategies for both digital and physical retail environments.