Welcome back, Product Bosses! Have you noticed malls making a comeback lately? Gen Z is bringing them back, and the data behind it has huge implications for your product-based business. In this episode, I'm breaking down why in-person shopping is surging again, why five out of every six dollars are still spent offline, and how to make sure your business is positioned to take advantage of people leaving their houses to shop this season.
WHY GEN Z BRINGING BACK THE MALL IS GREAT NEWS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Here's a stat that might surprise you: open-air malls have seen foot traffic climb over 3.5%, and enclosed malls are up 2.2%. Younger shoppers, specifically Gen Z, are heading back to physical retail spaces. And here's the bigger picture behind it: five out of every six dollars spent are still spent in person. Online has never actually replaced the in-person experience, no matter how dominant e-commerce conversations have become. Driving traffic to an e-commerce site is one of the hardest things to do, you need a stranger to click an ad, follow you on social, trust you enough to leave an addictive platform, land on your website, and then have that website convert well enough that they actually buy. As AI continues to creep into daily life, people are craving the opposite: real experiences, real humans, and real products they can touch, smell, and try on. That's exactly why markets, craft fairs, hotels, gift shops, and Main Street shopping are surging right alongside the mall's comeback.
So what does this mean for your product-based business? Think of your business like a hub and spokes on a wheel. Your website is always the hub, because it's the one thing you actually own, no platform, social algorithm, or marketplace listing can take it away from you. Everything else, your email list, your in-person selling, your wholesale accounts, acts as a spoke driving people back to that hub. Your email list matters just as much as your website because it's the one direct line you have to a customer once they've interacted with you. They won't remember to save your business card, and they'll lose you in the algorithm on social. So no matter where you're selling, whether it's in-person markets, Etsy, wholesale, or anywhere else, growing your email list has to be a priority so you can keep reaching the people who already know you.
With this shift back toward in-person shopping, now is the time to think seriously about where you're taking up shelf space. If you're already doing markets, consider training someone else to run a second table at a different location on the same weekend, effectively doubling your reach without doubling your own time. If you haven't explored wholesale, trade shows, pop-ups, or trunk shows, this is a great moment to start. I have clients doing half a million dollars at a single wholesale market, and others running multiple markets in multiple cities at once. Every one of those in-person touchpoints is a chance to collect an email address and drive that person back to your website, where, if it's built to convert, that one-time shopper becomes a long-term customer.
The key takeaways I want you to remember are:
In-person shopping isn't going anywhere. Five out of six dollars are still spent offline, and Gen Z bringing back the mall is proof that real, tangible experiences still win, especially heading into the holidays.
Your website is your hub, your email list is your lifeline. Build and grow both no matter where else you're selling, because they're the only assets you fully own and control.
Get creative about where you take up shelf space. Markets, wholesale, pop-ups, trunk shows, and training others to run additional locations are all ways to multiply your in-person reach without multiplying your own hours.
Product Boss, remember: people will always want people, no matter how advanced the digital world gets. If you want more support building the systems behind a business that can scale without you being the bottleneck, join us for our free weekly workshop HERE!
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
00:00 Why Gen Z bringing back the mall is big news for your business.
01:23 What the latest mall foot traffic data actually shows.
01:54 Why five out of every six dollars are still spent in person.
03:32 Why people are craving real, in-person experiences more than ever.
04:50 Why your website should always be the hub of your business.
05:03 Why your email list is your most valuable direct line to customers.
06:12 Creative ways to take up more shelf space in person.
07:30 How to prepare now for a stronger holiday selling season.
Resources + Links
Ready to lead, run, and grow your product business beyond a million dollars, without being the bottleneck? Join me this week for a free workshop HERE!
Ready to stop guessing and follow a proven system? Book your strategy call HERE!
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Jacqueline on IG: @theproductboss
