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Frequently Asked Questions
Statistics
Q: How many shopping centers are in the United States?
A: There were nearly 105,000 shopping centers-of all sizes-in the United States as of the end of 2009. Statistics for this, updated throughout the year, can be found in the e-Data portion of ICSC’s Web site.
Q: How much gross leasable area (GLA) exists in U.S. shopping centers? How much does this comprise of total retail GLA?
A: Shopping center GLA represented nearly 7.3 billion sq. ft. of GLA, or 47% of total retail GLA in the U.S., according to the latest count in the e-Data portion of ICSC’s Web site.
Q: How much shopping center and total retail per capita square footage exists in the United States?
A: The more than 7 billion square feet of shopping center space, divided by a total U.S. population of 304,059,700, comprises 23.1 square feet per capita of shopping center space.
Similarly, the 14.2 billion square feet of total retail space, divided by the same population total, yields 46.6 square feet of total retail square feet per capita.
Q: How many retail establishments are in the United States?
A: A: There were 1,122,703 retail establishments in the United States (as shown in the Table below), according to the 2007 Economic Census, which was released in 2009. This census is conducted every five years; the 2002 census reported 1,115,000 retail establishments at that time.
Q: Does ICSC have a list of store closings, or statistics concerning this?
A: ICSC itself does not have available a list of companies that have closed stores.
Historical data on store closings can also be found through the e-Data section of ICSC’s Web site.
Q: How many shopping centers exist in Canada?
A: The total number of shopping centers of 40,000 sq ft and more reached 2,616 centers in Canada by the end of 2009. See the e-Data part of ICSC's Web site.
Q: How many shopping centers exist in Europe?
A: In 2007 there were an estimated 5,700 shopping centers in Europe, with a "traditional format" accounting for about four-fifths of the total. See The Importance of Shopping Centers to the European Economy.
Q: Where can I find U.S. retail sales statistics?
A: The U.S. Census Bureau Web site includes a section on monthly and annual retail sales data.
Data for The Census of Retail Trade, issued once every five years, varies, in many cases going down to the county level.
Q: Which ICSC publications cover U.S. retail sales data for recent months or weeks?
A: Several "Publications" listed in the Research part of the Web site contain sales data. The Chain Store Sales Trends reports on monthly same-store sales numbers issued by major retailers. The Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot measures nominal same-store or comparable-store sales excluding restaurant and vehicle demand. The U.S. Mall Performance includes sales per sq. ft. comparisons for more than 30 types of non-anchor tenants, at the national and regional (e.g, the South) level.
Q: Where can I find Canadian retail sales statistics?
A: ICSC's Web site includes the monthly publication, Canadian Mall Performance, which contains data for different tenant types, for the nation as a whole as well as for the different provinces.
Q: Do you produce retail sales forecasts?
A: Retail sales forecasts appear regularly in the Retail Real Estate Business Conditions report.
Q: Have you presented any outlook for the current real estate situation?
A: ICSC has presented U.S. Economic and Industry Outlook: Commercial Real Estate Faces the Credit Crisis and Liquidity Trap, as part of the ReTel Conference Call Series.
Q: Do you provide demographic data on U.S. mall shoppers - for instance, average expenditures, time spent in the mall, age?
A: Data on U.S. mall shopper demographics covering more than a decade has been published in ICSC’s Research Review.
Q: Do you provide similar demographic data on Canadian mall shoppers?
A: Canadian mall shopper demographic data can be found in another article in Research Review.
Q: Do you have data on shopping center expenses, sales, vacancy rates, and other operational data?
A: The book Dollars and Cents of Shopping Centers/The SCORE 2008, co-published by ICSC and the Urban Land Institute, contains this information.
Q: What is shopping center-related employment?
A: Shopping center-related employment is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' establishment data for all employees. This series represents the number of jobs (not workers), and includes both full- and part-time employment. The selection of industries that make up this related series is based on retail and real estate leasing activities that would be associated with the shopping center industry. It includes employment in rental and leasing services (NAICS code 532); furniture and home furnishings stores (442); electronics and appliance stores (443); building material and garden supply stores (444); food and beverage stores (445); health and personal care stores (446); clothing and clothing accessories stores (448); sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores (451); general merchandise stores (452); and miscellaneous store retailers (453).
Q: What are shopping center-inclined retail sales?
A: Shopping center-inclined sales, based directly on U.S. Commerce Department data, measure sales at stores that are likely to take place at shopping centers. Shopping center-inclined sales include the following store types: General merchandise, Apparel, Furniture, electronic and "Other" (GAFO); health and personal care; food and beverage; and building material and garden equipment and supplies.
Q: Where can I get statistics on U.S. regions?
A: QuickFacts from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a good source of statistics by region. A typical QuickFacts page includes information on regional population and other demographic characteristics, home ownership, households, number of businesses and even retail sales by region.
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