Belden Village Mall opened off of Interstate 77 in northern Stark County in 1970. It was part of a movement that helped spell the end of retail in downtown Canton and similar cities.
But Belden Village and other enclosed malls have been struggling a themselves, through the shift of retail to strip malls, through the recession and now through on-line shopping.
Chris Christopher analyzes the retail sector for IHS Global. The firm doesn’t comment on company particulars. But overall, Christopher says, retail is seeing a recovery marked in part by new construction.
He says that on-line sales now account for better than 5 percent of all retail sales, but they’re still in a relatively nascent stage. He says retailers are still trying to figure out how traditional and online shopping can coexist.
