Few shoppers at Enfield mall the day before Christmas; challenges part of national trend

The death of the American mall has been greatly exaggerated…depending on who you ask.

The visuals at the Enfield Square Mall have been stark for some time.

One day before Christmas, empty parking lots and anchor stores were seen.

This has not been a surprise for lifelong Enfield resident Carolyn Renius

“I grew up here my whole life and I was used to a lot of stores here and now it’s bare,” Renius said.

Not dead, but not far off perhaps. The data is stark, according to Capitol One Shopping.

It says an average of 1170 malls closed every year between 2017 and 2022.

In fact, by some estimates there were as few as 700 large shopping malls left in the U.S. in 2022, making Enfield Square an endangered species.

“I think it’s dying.  The only reason I ever come here is for Target,” said Liz Mendoza of Wilbraham, Mass.

All this could change.

There’s a potential $240 million makeover on the horizon for Enfield Square, putting a lifestyle center here, with housing, new stores, and keeping the Target.

Capitol One shopping says current data shows about 16% of empty malls reopened as mixed use centers.

Mendoza told us, “I think that’s a good idea honestly.  Like if they had housing here with the Target in the center of it.”

And the price could be right for the developers negotiating the Enfield Square mall purchase.

National data has indicated the average vacant mall sells at 43% below its asking price.

There are still a dozen plus stores currently open inside the Enfield Square Mall.

When we were there in the middle of the day on Christmas Eve, the mall had some foot traffic, but not a tremendous amount.