Malls in the age of online shopping: What's the relevance?
Gone are the days of long supermarket queues to buy your groceries or copious amounts of time invested in driving from shop to shop to find a specific item. Shopping can be done with a few taps and swipes on your phone. And yet, with all this convenience, well-planned shopping malls still bustle with activity. 3Cube Property Solutions investigates, taking a deep dive into why shopping malls continue to thrive, how they are evolving and how urban shopping centres are faring compared with their rural counterparts.
Why do shopping malls continue to thrive?
Despite people being able to shop from the comfort of their couches, South African malls are far from empty, and there are various reasons for this. Firstly, trust still matters, and consumers often prefer to see, touch and try items before buying them. Secondly, for South Africans in many peri-urban or rural areas, online shopping and delivery may be unavailable or unreliable. With in-store shopping, you get your purchase immediately. This satisfies consumers’ desire for instant gratification and also allows them to bypass delivery fees and delays.
Over and above this, the rise of destination malls has led to many shopping centres offering more than just shops. Thanks to play zones, coworking spaces, gyms and retail activations, going to a shopping centre is not just about shopping: it’s an experience. A great example is Cape Town’s Canal Walk, which combines over 400 stores with family entertainment zones, cinemas and restaurants overlooking canals.
In short, shopping centres thrive because of convenience, immediacy and wider entertainment value.
Shopping centres are not disappearing, but rather evolving
In order to stay relevant, shopping centres are evolving. Curated, well-designed retail experiences have become commonplace, and community focus and experiences are pivotal.
A prime example of new experiences being added to the shopping centre experience can be found at Daveyton Mall. The Vukile Retail Academy has introduced an emporium-style space which houses five businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to share costs while testing products and growing their visibility.
Which shopping malls are performing best: urban or rural?
There can be no doubt that urban shopping centres are thriving in South Africa. BusinessTech reported in November 2025 that Sandton City, widely regarded as South Africa’s most luxurious mall, has achieved an occupancy rate of 99.9%. According to the mall, the secret to this success has been a “deliberate repositioning journey, which entailed rightsizing some retailers like Edgars and curating its tenant mix to appeal to customers”.
Another example of strategic success in an urban mall is Somerset Mall in the Western Cape. 5 500 square metres of retail space has been added to the centre, expanding the retail offering from 180 to 206 stores. As with the Sandton City story, part of Somerset Mall’s transformation included the downsizing of certain tenants, including Game and Edgars. Bizcommunity reports that the mall’s new offering includes a mix of premium local and international brands.
Urban shopping centre development is not limited to affluent areas. The Mall of Mthatha, acquired in 2024 by Vukile Property Fund and Flanagan & Gerard Property Group, has undergone a R225 million redevelopment. Formerly a struggling mall known as BT Ngebs City, the centre has become a thriving regional hub, and relooking the tenant mix has once again been part of this journey to success.
Switching to rural shopping centres, Izak Petersen, CEO of Dipula Properties, has stated that his company is “particularly eyeing rural and township locations where there is a clear need and undersupply”.
In the year ended 31 August 2025, Dipula had acquired properties to the value of R694 million as part of the company’s strategic focus on well-located township and rural retail assets. According to Daily Investor, this strategy puts the company in an ideal position to tap into South Africa’s booming informal economy.
Various malls have opened their doors in rural areas in recent years, with various investors echoing Dipula’s interest in the rural retail sector. In November 2024, Mehlareng Mall opened its doors in Limpopo to serve the communities of Mehlareng, Mahlako and the surrounding Zebediela areas. Letsheng Mall in Orange Farm, Gauteng, opened in 2023, and in the Western Cape, construction has begun on the Saxdowne Shopping Centre, a retail development on the corner of the Stellenbosch Arterial and Saxdowne Road.
In summary, property developers and investors are finding an abundance of value in both rural and urban shopping centres. This shows that while online shopping has arguably hastened the evolution of shopping malls, it has done nothing to deter shoppers from enjoying the in-store experience.
If you’re interested in capitalising on the ongoing interest in brick-and-mortar shopping centres, get in touch with 3Cube Property Solutions. We’re on hand to discuss your business strategy and retail real estate needs.