Malls need selection to survive and thrive

There has been a lot of discussion about online sales versus bricks and mortar, and the demise of the department stores.

Recently, I went to a local mall with my wife to do some shopping, and yes, it has been a while since I went to the mall.

I realized why I had not been there for a while. There are few stores in the mall where a 50-plus man would find anything to buy. There are a couple of menswear stores, a coffee shop and about 30 cellphone retailers.

There were no outdoor stores of any type, whether it is active wear, clothing, sports, camping, hardware or tools. With the demise of Sears, there are even fewer options.

It seems that the malls are catering to young buyers, who it seems would buy everything online, if they could.

The market that would actually use the mall to purchase seems to be ignored — the 50-plus age group. These are people that prefer to buy in person. They like to look, feel, touch, inspect or try on and then buy and take home.

My wife and I have different tastes and even she was not able to find more than four or five stores that she would actually enter, let alone buy from. This was out of 100-plus stores.

In my opinion, the only way these malls will survive and thrive is to ensure that they have a diverse selection of types of stores, to attract a broader customer base.

Calvin Jutzi Kitchener