Shopping at the Mall is Still Alive
People love to be the person who predicts the demise of something. You see this especially played out on CNBC as anchors and experts are predicting market crashes and shifts in behavior. I suppose that if everyone does that, someone will be right at some point. A piece of research by eMarketer surprised me because the common prediction of the death of malls may be a bit premature. 
eMarketer posted something I didn’t believe I would read, “the changing face of the American mall points to consumers’ shifting priorities and tastes. But while malls may be taking on a different kind of identity, there’s at least one consumer segment that still favors that traditional shopping experience: millennial women.”
Nearly 20% of Millennial women only do their research and shopping in-store; another 43% do research online but buy in-store. How we research, shop and buy is changing in significant ways, but don’t blame every store closing on Millennial shopping habits.
Much has been guessed about Millennials, from their work ethic to their phone use, yet research continues to show surprising insights into this dynamic and very large demographic. Sure, Millennials are different from Baby Boomers, and that is a good thing. But they also have a lot of traditional orientations that need to be nurtured and carefully messaged, not ignored.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.