It's an understatement to say that American malls are having a hard time. In the next five years, 20 to 25 percent of American malls are set to close, according to Credit Suisse.
Still, malls have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Malls occupy prime locations, and retailers are generally getting better at satisfying customers. During the 2016 holiday season, the American Customer Satisfaction Index awarded brick-and-mortar retailers 78 out of 100 points for customer satisfaction, up 4.7 percent from the prior report and an all-time high for the industry.
It's easy to look at the data and see a bleak fate for malls. But there are emerging technologies that have the potential to restore Americans' penchant for malls. Assuming they tap into these technologies, America's malls will look far different by 2020.
Read the full article on Retail Dive.