A tough year for retailers is ending on a better note as holiday sales nationally increased from last year. However, online sales grew even more.
"I do most of my shopping online," said Marlene Kossis, of Coral Springs. "This is one of the few days I'll be in a mall."
The Gardens Mall saw higher foot traffic this holiday season.
"It’s an annual tradition," Kossis said. "My sister and I come here the day after Christmas. We just like the variety of stores here and the experience the day after."
Shoppers at The Gardens Mall Tuesday making returns and scouting out post-Christmas sales say they enjoy the experience of going to a mall.
"It’s fun to just come and walk around," one shopper said.
National online sales this holiday season increased around 24 percent, while retail sales increased 4 percent.
"That was a real shake up in the retail markets when they opened these malls and the whole world changed how they shop and now I think we’re starting to go through another phase where malls are starting to become obsolete in many ways," said Newschannel 5 Internet Security Expert Alan Crowetz, of InfoStream.
Crowetz said the 'Amazon effect' is really challenging brick and mortar stores because it's so easy for people to find whatever they need on Amazon and get it delivered quickly.
He said retailers are still figuring out how to keep up.
"I think some of them have taken the angle of going after them online," he said. "Walmart has aggressively been trying to compete with Amazon online, but quite honestly, they’re so far ahead that’s a really difficult battle."
