Timed with the start of the holiday shopping season, Taylor Johnson worked with longtime client HSA Commercial Real Estate on a pitch around how outdoor shopping centers are on a faster track to recovery than their indoor counterparts amid the pandemic. Reflecting this trend is HSA’s The Mayfair Collection, an open-air mixed-use center in Wauwatosa, Wis., a western suburb of Milwaukee. HSA pulled data from analytics provider Placer.ai showing that as of early October, The Mayfair Collection was already bringing in 93.5% of the traffic it did pre-pandemic. A comparison with other regional retail centers supported the trend of shoppers seemingly preferring going store to store outside rather than indoors. TJ took the data to Bisnow Chicago, which published this timely and insightful story on the resilience of outdoor malls, especially those with an “e-commerce-resistant” tenant mix.

HSA Commercial Real Estate’s The Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa, Wis., has seen foot traffic approach pre-pandemic levels, supporting a broader trend of shoppers preferring open-air centers over enclosed malls.