Retail Details, Volume 171

Research evidence excerpt

Retail Details, Volume 171

May 17, 2026 Retail Details, Volume 171

April Mall Traffic, April Spending Data, Zendaya Tops Poll of Celebs GenZ

Wishes to Emulate, Kurt Geiger Debuts Resort Collection Janine Stichter

(212) 738-6052 jstichter@btig.comCONSUMER WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Ethan Saghi

■ Retail Details is our weekend “light reading” update note covering industry reads (212) 588-6595 esaghi@btig.com

with implications for our coverage, tidbits across our covered companies, and

developments across the private company ecosystem. In this week's note, weRETAIL highlight: (1) April mall traffic improves, (2) April spending data was solid, but shows

signs of bifurcation, (3) Zendaya tops poll of celebrities GenZ wishes to emulate,

and (4) Kurt Geiger (a div. of Steve Madden [SHOO, Buy, $50 PT]) debuts its resortAND collection.

■ April Mall Traffic Improves. Per Exhibit 1, mall traffic in April accelerated MoM

across all three formats. While open-air shopping centers remained the strongest

performing format YTD, traffic to indoor malls and outlets both re-inflected

positively. OUR TAKE: The MoM acceleration in mall traffic aligns with solidLIFESTYLE April consumer spending data highlighted below. However, consumer cautiousness

remains elevated given ongoing macro uncertainties and higher gas prices,

particularly among lower-to-middle-income households. We believe the relative

weakness of outlets compared to the other mall formats is evidence of subdued

trends among lower-income households as well.BRANDS

■ April Spending Solid but Shows Signs of Bifurcation. Per Exhibit 2, while

discretionary spending continues to contribute more to total card YoY spending

growth vs. on necessities, necessities has seen an uptick in the latter the

past two months.