Long-Time Mall Staple Closing 50 Stores This Year, Some in AZ

If you've been to a mall lately, you know you're strolling through a dying relic. With the popularity of online shopping and the ability to get nearly anything you wish from Amazon and other online retailers, is the mall experience becoming a thing of the past?

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Smell-O-Vision

While the convenience of online shopping contributes to the end of in-person shopping, there are still a few things that you have to experience in person.

I remember the constant promise from Sci-Fi writers that one day we'd get "smell-o-vision". Smell-o-vision would change our lives, they told us. If this were available, I can imagine restauranteurs jumping on this, as they waft the smell of a fresh-cooked burger or steak into our living rooms during the dinner hour.

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In spite of the best efforts by advertisers and marketers, that hasn't happened, at least not yet. Other than food sellers, I can think of at least one more retailer who would benefit from such a model, making the leap to online sales a more natural fit: Bath & Body Works.

A Retail Anchor

Until that happens, it's better for Bath & Body Works to retain its brick-and-mortar stores, making it easier for shoppers to sample the various scents.

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The smiling, aproned workers are a bonus when it comes to steering shoppers toward the end-of-season deals, the buy 3 get one free, mix-and-match deals, and the newly arrived scents. This is one experience that is best smelled in person.

End of the Mall Era

That said, there's no denying the mall experience is quickly becoming a thing of the past. And with a business model that encourages consumers to touch and smell their products, Covid caused an even bigger rift in their sales.

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News dropped that Bath & Body Works plans to close at least 50 retail locations, as the website Bestlife.com reported in February.

Refactoring their Business

While many of the mall locations are closing, Bath & Body Works and their sister store, White Barn Candle Company, plans to open around 90 "new off-mall stores." How will this affect Arizona?

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Which Stores Will Close in Arizona?

USWorksforce.org reports that Bath & Body Works will be closing the following stores in Arizona:

CASA GRANDE

The Bath & Body Works in the Promenade at Casa Grande, 1004 North Promenade Parkway is scheduled to close.

YUMA

The Bath & Body Works in the Las Palmillas Shopping Center, 1212 South Castle Dome Ave. will be closing.

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