It is important to dive into the product side of opening a successful retail store. Trending products can absolutely work in mall retail — and GGP malls are a great place to capitalize on them. What gives you an even stronger foundation is understanding the demand characteristics that drive consistent performance in a physical retail environment, so you can evaluate any product or trend with confidence.
What Drives Strong Product Performance in Mall Retail
Before looking at specific categories, it helps to consider several factors about your business: Do you have repeat customers? Will your product or service benefit from an in-person experience? Is there an experiential component to what you offer? These questions — alongside product characteristics — shape how well your concept will perform in a GGP mall environment.
Repeat purchase behavior. Products that customers buy once and rarely return for create a customer acquisition problem in physical retail. You are constantly dependent on new foot traffic to drive revenue. Products with natural repurchase cycles — consumables, seasonal items, products with ongoing accessory or refill needs — build a revenue base that compounds over time rather than starting from zero each period.
In-person discovery advantage. Some products genuinely benefit from being encountered in person. The ability to touch, try, smell, taste, or see a product at scale creates a purchase trigger that digital channels struggle to replicate. This sensory discovery forms the backbone of a successful omnichannel strategy. Brands that combine a strong online presence with an in-store opportunity perform exceptionally well—attracting customers digitally, then giving them the tactical confidence to complete the purchase in-store. Categories where the in-person experience materially influences the final decision hold a massive structural advantage in physical retail.
Emotional or experiential purchase motivation. Products tied to gifting, self-care, personal expression, or experiences tend to perform well in mall environments where the shopping trip itself carries social and emotional context. Customers in a mall are often in a different mindset than customers browsing online — more open to discovery, more willing to make unplanned purchases, and more influenced by the environment around them.
Here are some categories that have proven successful in GGP's specialty leasing environment — but don't let this list limit your vision. We are excited to hear about your concept and help you find the right format to grow your business within the mall ecosystem:
Wellness and personal care. Consumer interest in health, wellness, and personal care shows sustained market strength. Within specialty formats, products that offer a clear, demonstrable benefit — skincare with visible results, supplements with a specific functional claim, personal care tools with a compelling in-use experience — perform exceptionally well because they leverage face-to-face demonstration.
Experiential and personalized products. Demand for products that offer customization, personalization, or a made-in-front-of-you experience allows emerging brands to stand out from mass-market digital alternatives. Engraved jewelry, custom accessories, and personalized gifts consistently draw strong conversion rates in high-traffic common areas.
Sustainable and values-aligned products. Consumer preference for brands with a clear sustainability story, ethical sourcing position, or values-driven identity has translated into genuine purchase behavior. Brands in this space that can articulate their values clearly and simply find highly receptive audiences in short-term physical activations.
Beauty and cosmetics. One of the most consistently high-demand categories in common-area retail. Independent cosmetics brands and specialty skincare concepts continue to find massive success in mall environments, particularly through kiosk and short-term layouts where real-time sampling and direct product demonstrations drive immediate conversions.
Food and beverage concepts. Consumer appetite for unique food experiences remains strong. Specialized common-area layouts and modern kiosk leasing formats have created excellent, agile entry points for food concepts that require minimal square footage but benefit immensely from heavy mall foot traffic.
Local artisans. GGP's mall community genuinely loves to discover and support a new artist's vision. Whether it's hand-crafted jewelry, original paintings, woven textiles, ceramics, or any other handmade goods, local artisans bring energy, authenticity, and community connection to the specialty leasing environment. GGP's specialty leasing program is a welcoming and supportive ecosystem for local creators looking to share their work with a broader audience.
Understanding Trends and Capitalizing on Them
Great business owners understand trends and capitalize on consumer demand — and the holiday season and peak shopping periods are prime examples. Many of GGP's most successful specialty leasing tenants are businesses built specifically around seasonal demand, and there is nothing wrong with that strategy.
Trend-driven products can generate exceptional results in GGP's specialty leasing environment. Seasonal pop-ups, holiday kiosks, and limited-edition concepts are some of the most exciting activations in our malls — and many of our most successful tenants are built entirely around capitalizing on peak shopping periods. Understanding the trend cycle is a skill, and knowing how to ride it at exactly the right moment is a legitimate and profitable business strategy.
For brands thinking about a longer-term presence in GGP's mall ecosystem, building around a durable consumer need can provide a strong foundation for sustained growth. Whether you are trending, seasonal, or evergreen — there is a GGP specialty leasing format designed to help you make the most of it.
Are You Retail Ready?
Growing a business inside a GGP mall is a journey with many exciting dimensions — from finding the right format and location to connecting with your customer in person for the very first time. Your GGP specialty leasing representative is here to be your partner in that journey, helping you think through every step so you can walk into your activation ready, confident, and set up for success.
Many retailers find the kiosk store format particularly interesting. To continue learning more on how to be successful in retail, read our article "Setting Your Brand Up for Success in a GGP Mall Kiosk."
Last Updated: August 11, 2026