Ben Hensley<\/a><\/p>\nFor years, the American shopping mall has been rumored to be on its last legs, treated as a symbol of decline \u2014 a casualty of online shopping and the last ripple effects of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\nHeadlines chronicle shuttered department stores and declining foot traffic. In some cities, once-thriving malls have been converted into mixed-use developments, medical campuses and warehouses, with some filled by temporary pop-up stores such as Spirit Halloween.<\/p>\n
\nOthers have sat vacant for years.<\/p>\n
Not so fast<\/p>\n
\nBut in the Central Valley, mall leaders say the idea that shopping centers are disappearing misses the bigger picture.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe death of the mall? No,\u201d said Joey Elliott, general manager of Fashion Fair in Fresno. \u201cBrick and mortar is always going to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRather than vanishing, local mall operators say retail is evolving.<\/p>\n
\nAt both Fashion Fair and Visalia Mall, managers describe a future less dependent on traditional department stores and more centered around experiences \u2014 places where people can shop, eat, socialize and spend time in ways that online retailers simply cannot replicate.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMalls are still relevant,\u201d said Richard Feder, senior general manager of Visalia Mall. \u201cThose malls that are doing well today are the ones that are going to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFeder said struggling malls nationally tend to be properties that have lost anchor tenants and failed to adapt, while stronger centers have continued to reinvent themselves to reflect changing consumer habits.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe live in a very touchy-feely society,\u201d Feder said. \u201cPeople want to meet and go places.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than shopping<\/p>\n
\nThe modern mall, operators say, is increasingly about creating a reason to visit beyond making a purchase.<\/p>\n
\nAt Fashion Fair, entertainment-focused tenants such as X Lanes Family Fun Center have joined a growing mix of retailers aimed at extending visitors\u2019 time on site. Additional concepts, including Sandbox VR and an escape room venue, are also expanding the center\u2019s entertainment offerings.<\/p>\n
\nFashion Fair\u2019s ambitions extend further still. Macerich, the mall\u2019s owner, and Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods told Fresno\u2019s Historic Preservation Commission earlier this year that they plan to bring a House of Sport location to the property \u2014 a large-format concept typically running 120,000 to 150,000 square feet with outdoor turf fields, batting cages, climbing walls and digital golf ranges that could be built by 2027.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe really are a community center,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cThe more experiences that people can have at a shopping center, I think the better off the community is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe mall has also heavily invested in upgrades, including lighting, common areas, outdoor gathering spaces, tenant improvements and security upgrades. The improvements aim at maintaining and boosting appeal as customer expectations shift.<\/p>\n
Adapting in the South Valley<\/p>\n
\nVisalia Mall is taking a similar approach.<\/p>\n
\nA former Forever 21 storefront is being converted into Candeeland, an indoor children\u2019s play venue. The mall has also increasingly leaned into community events such as its seasonal Food Truck Corral, featuring a rotating lineup of food vendors in the mall\u2019s north parking lot.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about those types of experiences,\u201d Feder said. \u201cSomething different to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe shift reflects broader changes in retail behavior.<\/p>\n
\nCertain categories \u2014 luxury items, fragrances, jewelry and apparel \u2014 still benefit heavily from in-person shopping, both mall operators said. Customers often want to see, touch or try products before purchasing, something online retailers struggle to offer.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t sell a fragrance online,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cPeople want to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMany major retailers have shifted their behavior as well, embracing an \u201comnichannel\u201d model blending online shopping with physical storefronts and offering options like in-store pickups or returns.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next generation of mallgoers<\/p>\n
\nOne of the biggest surprises for mall operators has been the emergence of younger generations and their impact in driving retail\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to Elliott, Gen Z shoppers are increasingly returning to in-person shopping, valuing social experiences alongside convenience.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing a lot of research on Gen Z,\u201d Elliott said. \u201cGen Z wants to touch things, they want to experience things, they want to be out and about in public and shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFashion Fair\u2019s traffic has increased significantly over the past two years. Elliott said the center now draws more than 10 million visitors annually.<\/p>\n
\nFeder said Visalia Mall has noticed a similar shift over the past year, with younger visitors increasingly using shopping centers as gathering spaces.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThey want to put their phones down,\u201d Feder said. \u201cThey want to socialize.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThat doesn\u2019t mean online shopping is going away. Rather, online and storefront retailers are adapting to work more closely than many see at a surface level.<\/p>\n
\nFor Valley malls, that cohesiveness may lead to less competition with e-commerce and more understanding of strengths and weaknesses \u2014 the mall as a gathering place as much as a shopping destination, rather than the home of this season\u2019s Spirit Halloween pop-up.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe industry is always evolving,\u201d Feder said. \u201cThat\u2019s why you will not see malls going away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photos contributed published on June 17, 2026 – 3:08 PMWritten by Ben Hensley For years, the American shopping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-365044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-Jun-17-2026-at-03_05_09-PM-1200x494.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n