Note to Dejected US Retailers: Malls Are Still Big in Canada

MONTREAL, Canada — If you are a retailer who still believes in brick-and-mortar, consider Canada.

A report by the Retail Council of Canada shows that sales by square foot in the northern nation’s shopping centres beat their US counterparts on average. And that is in spite of the Canadian dollar’s weakness.

Malls in the US, which are losing sales to online shoppers, have more vacancies than north of the border, according to Craig Patterson, author of the study from the Toronto-based industry group. In Canada, higher shipping costs and a low population density have slowed the rise of e-commerce, while winter weather traditionally lures shoppers to indoor malls and food courts, he said.

It helps that the market is less saturated. Canadian shoppers have access to 16.5 square feet of shopping mall per capita, 30 percent less than their US peers. Canadian malls also boast the most visitors, helped, in the case of Toronto’s Eaton Centre, by the connection to offices and transit lines, Patterson said.

Still, malls with the highest sales per square foot, or productivity, are all located in the US, usually helped by a higher concentration of luxury stores, or because some are located in tax-free states. Bal Harbour Shops, near Miami, boast sales of $3,185 per square foot, the most among peers. The first Canadian shopping centre, Yorkdale, wouldn’t make it into the US top 10. once its sales are converted into dollars.

By Sandrine Rastello; editors: Crayton Harrison, Jacqueline Thorpe and Nick Turner.