Report tracks spending trends in mall shopping

Shoppers are spending about $67 per visit in the malls, a jump of 10 percent over last year, according to a survey released by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

The report, which surveyed 38,000 shoppers, showed that consumer spending increases with age, peaking at $81.10 per mall trip for shoppers 45 to 54 years of age.

Teenage shoppers spend nearly $40 per mall visit, and seniors spend just over $50 a visit, according to the survey.

The survey also said that the typical shopper visits a mall three times a month, spending just over an hour per visit.

The report stated that the number of adults shopping at malls each month has increased to 187 million. That is 2 million more than the total for the survey conducted the previous year.

In addition, higher per-visit spending resulted in approximately one trillion dollars in retail sales.

"The strong U.S. economy should continue to help the shopping center industry perform well throughout 1998," said John Konarski, vice president of research for ICSC.

Shopping center employment also rose to 10.4 million people in 1997, rising a tenth of a point from 1996.

The number of shopping centers increased as well, rising to 42,874 centers in the United States.

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