SHOPPING MALLS ARE FULL BUT BUYERS ARE ELUSIVE

If you’re been to a mall lately you might notice that the parking lot is pretty full. And, if you stroll around most malls on a Saturday afternoon you’ll see a lot of people.

But the real retail barometer is – how many of these shoppers are actually buying merchandise? According to AP, people are hanging out in malls (and food courts) but they’re not taking out their wallets.

That’s not good news for mall owners who are in deep in dept up to their light bulbs. According to ShopperTrak RTC, mall traffic is down about 5 percent and traffic inside stores is down almost 20 percent.

"Foot traffic is OK," Morningstar real estate analyst Todd Lukasik said. "But that's not what makes a mall profitable or worthwhile from an economic perspective. People need to take their wallets out of their pockets and actually spend money."

Some mall owners are cutting rents to help retailers so they don’t end up like St. Petersburg, Florida mall BayWalk. BayWalk is now in foreclosure and will go up for sale this month.

About 7 percent of regional mall stores are vacant and 9 percent of community and regional shopping centers are vacant. Both figures are expected to grow through 2011.

General Growth Properties, the nation's No. 2 mall owner, is struggling to refinance billions in debt it took on during an aggressive expansion effort that included the $7 billion acquisition of a competitor in 2004. Now the company is trying to sell properties and operating rights to some facilities to bring in enough cash to pay the bills.