Here is a list of the top 10 malls in Northern California according to the Overture Keyword Selector tool. It's based strictly on what people are searching for in the online world. Clearly, it doesn't tell us everything. For instance, we don't really know whether the Internet searchers actually found their destination target. Nonetheless, here are the top 10 based on searches in the month of August 2006:
1) Santana Row, San Jose - 7317 searches
2) Union Square, San Francisco - 7311 searches (the term "Union Square" is shared among a number of geographical areas. However, if you judged according to the number of searches for keywords "union square san francisco," you'd still have 2581 searches [and still be in the top 10])
3) Great Mall, Milpitas - 6051 (multiple malls share this name. However, if you judged according to the number of searches for keywords "great mall milpitas," you'd still have 2705 searches [and still be in the top 10])
4) Gilroy Premium Outlets, Gilroy - 5408 searches
5) Pier 39, San Francisco - 3755 searches
6) Westfield Valley Fair, San Jose - 3641 searches (multiple malls use the name "Valley Fair Mall" so this search is questionable. However, Valley Fair in San Jose clearly is the most popular of the lot.)
7) Stoneridge Shopping Center, Pleasanton - 3470 searches
8) Westfield Oakridge, San Jose - 2893 searches (multiple malls share this name, so this figure is questionable)
9) Arden Fair Mall, Sacramento - 2852 searches
10) Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto - 2648 searches
Santana Row beat out Valley Fair for the number 1 spot since my last top 10 using April 2006 statistics. Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento made its debut on the list while its major competitor, Westfield Roseville Galleria, did not.
For fun, here is the list of top 10 least popular malls according to Internet searches:
1) Carmel Plaza, Carmel-By-The-Sea - 36 searches
2) Reno Town Mall, Reno - 43 searches
3) Almaden Plaza, San Jose - 65 searches
4) Willows Shopping Center, Concord - 78 searches
5) Alameda Towne Centre, Alameda - 79 searches
6) San Francisco Japan Center, San Francisco - 90 searches (Tie)
6) St Helena Premier Outlets, St Helena - 90 searches (Tie)
7) Somersville Towne Center, Antioch - 110 searches
8) Blackhawk Plaza, Danville - 193 searches
9) Park Lane Mall, Reno - 221 searches
10) Fremont Hub, Fremont - 259 searches
3 comments:
One thing I've noticed about the new power centers and even some lifestyle centers is that unless they really stand out(like Santana Row), or are part of a much larger development with the same name(like Fresno's River Park), no one really calls these shopping centers by their title.
In the old days, people would say "I'm going to Southland, Bayfair, Hillsdale, etc etc. But the new generation centers tend to be referred to by their anchors(Target, Old Navy) rather than the name of the complex.
But as big as it is, do people in Dublin ever say "Hacienda Crossings" ?
The conventional malls still get called by their name and should continue to as long as they are places where people go for at least a two hour visit or so. But the mid to lower level power centers that people rush in to go to Wal Mart and then leave may be looking at an identity crisis.
It'll be interesting to watch older malls like Fremont Hub that are transitioning to this format. I wonder if in 15 or 20 years locals will still refer to it as "The Hub"?
I'm curious as to how you decided what to include. Surely some small malls in smaller cities (Woodland, Chico, Redding) would be on the "least searched" list, no?
Also, I can't imagine that anyone would consider Union Square to be a mall.
Georob... I've done some polling around the office and very few people even know the name "Hacienda Crossings." Most do refer to it as the store they are going to visit ("we are going to Best Buy") or just "by the theatre." It was an interesting experiment.
Anonymous, I only included what you can find on my BIGMallrat.com Website. However, I'll incllude the other malls around the north State (Bayshore, Chico, County Fair, Mt Shasta, and Yuba Sutter.. any others??) in my next go around. Or, I may leave out the least popular altogether. When we get into non-metro areas, I'm afraid the small towns will always be loosers. However, It looks as if Chico Mall beat out some Bay Area malls. I'll find out the next time I do it and release the results.
As for Union Square not being a mall, you, of course, are right. However, I include it because it's a premier destination and therefore an exception. I think the argument holds true for Baystreet Emeryville and Santana Row, too.
Anyway, thanks for asking!
Scott
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