Since the rise of e-commerce, online business has posed a challenge to physical stores that seemed "irreversible." Data indicates that from 2000 to 2019, the offline sales of Macy's in the United States plummeted by 49%. In terms of overall sales, online sales in the lifestyle-entertainment department stores nearly caught up with offline physical sales in 2019. American physical stores also experienced several rounds of closures, with their numbers significantly reduced. The business community's concern about the demise of physical shopping centers has been growing day by day.

However, since 2020, the basic pattern of store sales in the United States has undergone a series of new changes. A report released by Coresight in June found that compared to 2019, the foot traffic in top shopping centers (located in affluent areas with core shoppers' annual income above $200,000) increased by 12% in 2022, while the foot traffic in lower-tier shopping centers increased by 10%. The report stated that between 2020 and 2022, these top shopping centers had an annual growth rate of 5%, with a total revenue of $7.5 billion last year. Although the revenue of lower-tier shopping centers lagged slightly (only $6.4 billion), their growth rate was higher, approaching 9%.

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On average, the occupancy rate of top shopping centers in 2022 exceeded 95%, while the space occupancy rate in lower-tier shopping centers in less affluent areas was about 89%. Coresight found that these figures were still slightly below pre-pandemic levels, but still hopeful. Kirsten Lee, Executive Vice President and Director of Luxury Leasing at Brookfield Properties (the company manages more than 130 shopping centers across the United States), said: "With increased foot traffic, sales also increase, and in many of our centers, we have a waiting list of tenants." In summary, under the impact of e-commerce, although physical shopping malls have been severely damaged for a long time, they have gradually shown a trend of recovery. Even if they cannot return to their former glory, at least the shadow of extinction is no longer hovering. There are three main reasons for this.

Firstly, in terms of their own characteristics, physical shopping malls still have advantages that e-commerce cannot match, which allows physical stores to maintain their existence and promote e-commerce to join offline sales. The most prominent feature of physical stores is the service experience. This is incomparable to e-commerce companies. For example, in the fields of home furnishings and apparel, people are more willing to go to physical stores to experience the real appearance and texture of the items. In addition, physical stores can provide personalized services such as on-site try-on and trial use, which are not easy to achieve in e-commerce companies. Previously, although some e-commerce companies have made efforts in services and introduced new products or technologies such as video shopping and 3D fitting, these only address part of the needs and are difficult to achieve the same level of service experience as physical stores. For high-income groups, the service experience and the actual fit of the product often have a higher consideration weight than price discounts. For middle and low-income groups, although the weight of price consideration is certainly greater, the process of returning and exchanging goods is also time-consuming and laborious, not as convenient as the "one-time exchange" in physical stores. Therefore, physical shopping centers can still maintain their existence with their own service experience advantages, and this advantage also promotes some e-commerce companies to switch to offline. Stephen Yalof, CEO of Tanger Outlets, said: "We have some brands that are opening in the outlet field, and these brands are actually digital brands." He added, "When brands open physical stores, customers will go there to test the products, and then they can make better choices when actually purchasing." At the same time, some purely digital brands have also begun to open stores in shopping centers to expand their influence at a lower cost. Online companies such as Warby Parker, Allbirds, and Wayfair have all started to try opening traditional retail stores.

Secondly, the advantages of online business have driven major offline retail giants to transform and enter the e-commerce field. The huge advantages of online sales have also made offline store giants see the necessity of transformation and potential profit space. As early as after the subprime mortgage crisis, Macy's made a major integration of logistics channels and services, and launched the "Search and Send" service, integrating the back-end inventory system into the front-end cash register system of the store. If the products that customers like in a specific store are out of stock, the system will allocate them among the stores in the same area and deliver them directly to the customer's home. Macy's stores are not only retail terminals but also play the role of product warehouses, effectively integrating product circulation and distribution services to better meet customer needs. According to the third quarter financial report of Macy's fiscal year 2022 released earlier, Macy's sales in the third quarter of 2021 were $5.44 billion, exceeding market expectations, compared with $3.99 billion in the same period of the 2020 fiscal year, and $5.17 billion in the same period of the 2019 fiscal year. Among them, e-commerce sales increased by 19% quarter-on-quarter, a 49% increase compared to the third quarter of 2019, and the proportion increased to 33%. The transformation of offline retail giants has also changed the composition of online business giants. Home Depot, Best Buy, and Macy's are the fourth to seventh largest e-commerce websites in the United States, and their status in e-commerce cannot be underestimated.

Thirdly, the preferences of the new main consumer groups have also promoted the integration of online and offline channels. As the new main force of consumption, the Z generation's familiarity and preference for the Internet and online shopping are very obvious. Data from the research institution Power of Reviews shows that the total proportion of online shopping by the Z generation ("always" and "often") is 91.75%, higher than the baby boom generation, Generation X, and the millennial generation. However, after the epidemic, the preference for offline shopping by the Z generation has also gradually increased. According to data from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), nearly two-thirds of Z generation consumers said that they go to shopping malls for socializing, not just for buying goods. The wave of store closures in 2020 once made people worry that the epidemic would be the last nail in the coffin for shopping malls. However, the facts have proven that society after the epidemic is eager for public spaces. In addition, compared with the single shopping function of online stores, shopping centers often integrate comprehensive entertainment facilities such as go-karts, trampolines, virtual reality, and arcades, and there are also a series of catering services. These all help to encourage customers to stay in the commercial center for a longer time, because customers can interact with friends, relatives, and even strangers in a more diverse way during the entertainment consumption process. The Z generation, which has diversified and strong online shopping needs, has also gradually begun to value the comprehensive experience of offline shopping, which further promotes the development of omnichannel marketing and helps the recovery of offline shopping centers.

Since the second half of last year, the traffic of physical shopping malls in the United States has shown a clear decline, and this year's data is still weak, but this is because the consumption ability of the American people has generally weakened under the pressure of inflation and debt, not the impact of e-commerce platforms.

Final analysis conclusion: After the rise of e-commerce, the impact of online shopping platforms on physical stores is an objective fact that cannot be avoided. However, the recovery trend of physical shopping centers in the United States shows that the online-offline model is not an irreconcilable opposition, and both have their irreplaceable importance in specific consumer groups. The development of the integrated omnichannel marketing model can fully achieve a coordinated development that complements each other's strengths and weaknesses, and in this process, comprehensive shopping centers that provide catering, shopping, and entertainment activities will still exist as important retail centers and platforms, and will not really become outdated.