Pop-up stores are becoming an increasingly viable option for mall owners

Shoppers lined up at a pop-up store (Credit: Getty Images)

Malls are no longer saying no to pop-up shops.

Macerich, a publicly-traded mall landlord that owns more than 50 shopping centers, is now offering leases for 180 days, according to Bloomberg. The company launched a leasing program called BrandBox last month that lets online retailers set up temporary pop-up stores in an attempt to revive a sector hit hard by bankruptcies at former anchor tenants like Sears and Toys “R” Us.

Amazon now has pop-up stores at 17 malls throughout the country, and traditional retailers like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s have allocated space in their stores for rotating products and brands as well.

Storefront, a website that connects short-term tenants with vacant retail space, had fewer than 5 percent of its listings in malls when it launched in 2013. However, that amount has since jumped to about 20 percent.

“It shows, for many malls, their revenue models are going to change entirely,” Storefront CEO Mohamed Haouache told Bloomberg. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small