American tourist surprised by New Zealand ‘attraction’

After visiting the Aotearoa shopping center, the American traveler shared her joy and encouraged other American travelers to do the same.

Claire Simmons shares her ‘random travel suggestions’ with New Zealand travel tips (NZTT), a private Facebook group with over 38,600 members.

“If you live somewhere where indoor malls are gone (e.g. most mid-sized US cities with Amazon deliveries and big box stores), check out malls in New Zealand for a nostalgic trip,” he said. she wrote

While many US malls are often quiet, especially on weekdays, travelers said New Zealand malls are very busy.

“They are still thriving,” she said, adding that this is probably due to the high cost of transportation and home delivery.

The American was also amazed at the activities and facilities available in New Zealand’s shopping centers.

“Everywhere we walked around was clean, had a variety of shops, had playgrounds, and almost all had food courts,” she said.

Fellow travelers readily agreed with her view.

“Exactly so,” commented one group member. “America’s malls are dying.”

Another member who recently returned from a trip to the US said he saw the same thing.

“One mall had all the stores, but even though it was wonderfully well stocked, the mall was very old and we were literally the only ones there,” she said.

The other two malls were similarly quiet. One was a “fantastic” one designed like a small town, but nothing but an Apple store.

However, one New Zealander disputed Simmons’ suggestion as to why.

“I don’t think our online shopping shipping costs are that high, and we get much better service than Americans,” she said. Shopping She believed that the reason her malls were more crowded was rather a matter of culture.

People are accustomed to visiting malls on weekdays as the shops close early and weekends tend to be used for sports and family activities.

Another local resident agreed, adding that kiwis also tend to go shopping rather than ordering.

“I think it’s because we have a culture of going out and trying on clothes,” they said. “If I could buy it at the store, I could go to the store without worrying about returning it.”

Another said that if Americans like malls, they should visit Newmarket’s Westfield, which had a grand Lego store.