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Sometimes I get side tracked.  Well, all the time, really.  As I was working on the story about the Pyramid Mall this week I had fun with statistics on the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Web site.  Did you know that the number of U.S. shopping centers has grown from just over 10,000 in 1970 to almost 48,695 last year?  437 of those cover over a million square feet.  And the average population around shopping centers is 296,410 with 133,463 of those employed in non-agricultural jobs with a median income of $34,586.  Sales rose to over two trillion dollars two years ago.

Here are some fun holiday facts.  95% of malls decorate for Christmas, and most of them began decorating on November 1.  7.2% included Hanukkah decorations, and 1.2% decorated for Kwanza.  'Jingle Bells' was the most frequently played song in malls last year, followed by 'White Christmas.'

49% of malls saw an increase in gift certificate sales.  I'm not surprised, because a) I am terrible at picking out gifts and I suspect I am not alone in this, and 2) Pyramid Ithaca's Marketing Director Linn Redder was very, very enthusiastic about the mall gift certificates this year. But only 30% of them are redeemed in January.  And 10% are used in February -- makes you wonder how much money just sits around not being used!

You know those temporary kiosks that seem to multiply like rabbits this time of year?  The average mall adds 12 of them for the holidays, plus an average of four temporary merchants set up shop in regular store spaces.  I didn't count, but I am pretty sure Pyramid Ithaca beat the averages on both counts this year.

100% of malls have extended holiday hours, and 61% offer special services like gift wrapping.  Which is a good thing, because last year the average mall wrapped 2,324 packages.  And as an on-line publisher, I am gratified to note that the most common mode of advertising for malls in 2006 is over the Internet.

I also interviewed Santa Clause for that story, so here are some fun Santa facts about malls:  7,829 children visit Santa at the average mall, and these malls typically employ two full-time Santas.  He arrives at most malls on November 18 and sees an average of 80 children per day, and an average of 4,633 pictures of children with Santa are taken per mall.  80% of malls also offer pet photographs.  The most common method of arrival is in a parade.

Every year there is some hot ticket gift that shoppers go wild over.  This year it is expected to be iPods and TMX Tickle Me Elmo.  It is already clear that electronics are the big items at Pyramid Ithaca this year.  And there is still just over a week to snarf them up.

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