Over half a century since parting ways, malls have started courting grocery stores again to help fill the vacant space left behind by other retail outlets that have folded under the challenge of online shopping, writes Suzette Parmley for Philly.com.

The Whole Foods Market that has already opened at Plymouth Meeting Mall will soon be joined by another location at Exton Square Mall and a Wegmans at Montgomery Mall. This return is welcome said Liz Mills from Lower Gwynedd, who visits Plymouth Meeting’s Whole Foods each week.

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“A grocery store at the mall makes it much more of a destination trip than having to go to two separate locations to shop for groceries and another for clothing, shoes, etc.,” said Mills.

Unlike the rest of the retail sector, shopping for groceries is mostly resistant to the onslaught of online shopping.

This makes them ideal candidates to fill the vacant spaces. In addition, the footprint of grocery stores and supermarkets has drastically increased since they first paired with malls in the 1960s.

At that time, a typical supermarket was around 25,000-square-feet while these days a typical Wegmans covers around 130,000-square-feet and includes many more amenities.

Read more about the revived trend at Philly.com by clicking here.

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