San Antonio Pearl is most ‘envied’ Texas shopping center

SAN ANTONIO — According to a recent poll, no Texas shopping district makes Americans more green with envy than The Pearl in downtown San Antonio.

MarketBeat analyzed shopping districts across the U.S. to narrow down the most envied in each state — or the ones that survey participants wished they had regular access to.

The poll showed that San Antonio’s The Pearl stood out as the most enviable shopping center in Texas thanks to its local charm. South Congress in Austin, Bishop Arts in Dallas and The Woodlands in Houston also ranked highly.

MarketBeat says the biggest takeaway of the Texas ranking is that people seem to favor a maker-forward identity as opposed to a mall-forward one.

The Pearl features shops like Dos Carolinas, selling custom guayabera shirts; The Twig Book Shop, a local staple since 1972; and Feliz Modern Pop, a go-to for thoughtfully sourced art, gifts and decor.

“Instead, the appeal is creativity, reuse, and street-level discovery. Texas districts rank well when they feel handcrafted, not corporate,” MarketBeat says.

The study found that local flair is the favored feel across the rest of the U.S. as well.

High-ranking shopping districts in Tennessee and the Carolinas feature independent boutiques, hyperlocal retailers, small bookstores and long-running local shops. In tiny Western mountain towns, the consumer appeal is a blend of tourism, artisan shops and dramatic scenery to create a shopping area with character. When it comes to New York, SoHo and Fifth Avenue are still widely admired shopping districts but so are neighborhood darlings like Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue and Syracuse’s Armory Square.

“When we analyzed all 194 envied districts, a clear pattern emerges: Americans don’t envy the biggest or the most expensive places – they envy the most distinctive,” the poll says. “Luxury still has its place, but identity wins.”

The survey panel of over 3,000 participants was balanced across age, gender, income and geographic region to reflect the U.S. adult population, according to MarketBeat. See the full survey results here.