(REUTERS) — When it comes to the internet, David Simon’s kids can look but not buy.
“They are not allowed to shop on the Internet or I won’t pay for their room or board,” Chief Executive and Chairman of Simon Property Group Inc, the largest U.S. owner of malls and outlet centers joked at a the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts investor forum in June.
Although his kids and their generation still go to the mall, Simon worries what the habits of his grandchildren will be.
If online sales continue to grow and take away a bigger and bigger slice of the U.S. consumer spending pie, the future doesn’t look good for some malls. Yet in a weird twist, it looks brighter for others.
