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entertainment-based anchor retailers encourage more visitors and keep them on the property longer.
• "It's undeniably true that we're looking for new uses for space within malls and many are entertainment-focused," said Les Morris, Simon's director of public relations. "We've expanded the presence of Legoland on many properties. A couple have aquariums, and those are great."
• With Xcite as an anchor, that wing of The Empire Mall is so filled with retailers that one even moved into a former storage space.
• The owners of Offbeat Glamour are among the newcomers. Lori Charette and her daughter, Amanda, moved to South Dakota from Florida because they heard the business climate was better.
• Their salon uses a retro decor with a checkerboard floor and has unique services including hair tattoos and a "jelli bath" pedicure.
• "We're growing every week," Lori Charette said, adding that the challenge has been teaching customers that her wing of the mall now is filled.
• "Even for people who are looking for us, it's just a mental block," she said. "But on the flip side, we absolutely love where we're located near the door so clients can come in and out."
• The average American mall shopper is a 32-year-old woman who visits for an hour, 1.7 times per month, and spends $50 each time. That's according to a 2010 study by the International Council of Shopping Centers, the industry's largest trade organization.
• Two of every three mall shoppers are women.
• Many new retailers at The Empire Mall serve that demographic. Women's apparel store White House Black Market set up shop in August, and Soma Intimates will open soon.
• "Women's clothing has always been the lynchpin that holds a shopping center together," Gilliam said. "It's an ever-evolving mix."
• It's an evolution Mary Fisk has watched from behind multiple women's registers as she has worked at various mall retailers since 1998. She's now the assistant manager at Bohme Boutique, a growing chain that opened here last fall.
• "You could go to almost any mall in the country (in 1998) and find the exact same stores," she said. "Now what's exciting is you're seeing a whole different look in the mall. We never would have had a store like this when I started."
• The Sioux Falls retail scene also is more competitive, she said. There's more shopping downtown and in neighborhood centers. As a gathering place, the mall draws more teenagers than adults, she said.

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