Many US malls and shopping centres are experiencing their highest levels of vacancies in at least 11 years. Q1 2011 figures from Reis Inc. show that the average vacancy rate in the top 80 US markets was 9.1%, up from 8.7%.

The outlook is especially bad for so-called ‘strip malls’ and other neighbourhood shopping centres, echoing concerns in the UK where secondary shopping centres are regarded as most at risk from vacancy rates and weak consumer spending. Reis predicts a further rise this year, possibly as much as a one or two per cent rise. That would be the highest level of vacancies since 1990.

Not all retail properties have suffered as much, especially at the high end. Large, publicly traded mall owners like Simon Property Group Inc. and Taubman Centers Inc., which tend to own top-tier properties, have trimmed their vacancy rates to 7% or lower and lifted their lease rates in the past year, buoying their stock. Again, the UK and US parallel holds true. Westfield London is adding tenants in its high-end Village.

Analysts believe the recession has accelerated a shift in shopping habits towards online. In the States, online retailing surged to 12% of the total during the Easter period. Some landlords have hedged against the impact of online shopping by adding more tenants like restaurants, entertainment venues, fashion stores and other wares not often bought online. Longtime ‘strip centre’ tenants like dentists and doctors are even more coveted now. But many small businesses typically housed in these locations have been particularly hurt by the weak economy, as a visit to many a secondary centre in urban locations across the UK attest.