The bastion and symbol of the American suburb is under siege. The rise of online sales and the shift in the apparel industry has completely changed the face of the American mall. Sales have been declining, stores have been closing, and share prices have been obliterated. Owners of strip malls and power centers have become one of the worst-performing real estate sectors this year.
And investors couldn’t be happier.
Despite the calls for the death of the American mall, many shopping centers are thriving and many operators are reinventing themselves for the new shift in retail. For dividend investors, the sector’s newly minted high yields are just too tantalizing to pass up. The time to strike in the sector could be now.
Get the complete list of the top 44 retail REIT stocks here. Find out their latest dividend yields, ex-dividend dates and current stock price.
Not So Fast Amazon
It’s no secret that online shopping has hit it big time – and e-commerce is only going to get bigger. Analysts predict that within ten years the percentage of total retail sales conducted online could reach 25% to 30%. That’s a massive jump firm the meager 3% recorded in 2007. As Amazon.com (AMZN) and smaller rivals like Wayfair (W) have grown, traditional retail hubs have suffered in their wake.
