NEW YORK, United States — For years, experts have been predicting the end of the American mall as we know it, but will Covid-19 finally put an end to this way of shopping?

"The mall was there to be really convenient to the consumer, and to be a gathering place," said Robert Burke, chairman and chief executive of Robert Burke Associates, in a #BoFLIVE conversation with BoF's Lauren Sherman and Cathaleen Chen, presented by Afterpay. "The mall is today, as ever, only as good as the brands it houses." However, that's not to say that malls themselves can take a back seat as retail spaces begin to reopen, albeit with health and safety measures in place. Developers need to think more like merchandisers, get creative in supporting their tenants, and break out of the formulaic slump that has struggled to retain the interest of the evolving customer for years.

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