Jan 1st, 2009 · Charles Gaulperin is a Santeria priest and the owner of Botanica El Congo Manuel. The shop sells religious items out of a strip mall in Hollywood. Inside the Botanica, Gaulperin performs sacred Afro-Cuban ceremonies.
Dec 24th, 2008 · Strip malls are seeing higher vacancy rates with the economic downturn. The empty shops also hurt the appeal of the stores that are still standing. We visit a mall in L.A County to learn from the remaining store owners' creative attempts to make it work.
Dec 21st, 2008 · Retailers desperately hoping to survive a grim holiday season are cutting prices to lure last-minute shoppers. At a Virginia mall, NPR finds out just how low they will go.
Dec 15th, 2008 · Ten years ago, Chelyabinsk was still stuck in the Soviet past, gray and grim. Now, instead of decrepit steel mills and arms factories, new mega-malls, supermarkets, cafes, hotels and museums fill the town center. But the new confidence has also seen a rise in drug use and widening class divisions.
Dec 3rd, 2008 · At the nation's outlet malls, shoppers are still defying grim predictions for the season. We visit a Maryland outlet center to find out if people are really getting better bargains than at department stores.
Dec 1st, 2008 · The holiday shopping season is a challenge for retailers. But amid reports of violence at malls and big box stores, it's a challenge for shoppers, too. Our resident humorist has some advice for holiday bargain seekers.
Dec 1st, 2008 · Black Friday was not as bad as many retailers had expected. One estimate shows American shoppers spent 3 percent more on the first day of the holiday shopping season than last year. To find out how some retailers did, we check in with a high-end mall in a St. Louis suburb, an outlet mall in San Marcos, Texas and online retailer in Boston.
Nov 27th, 2008 · Some businesses have dodged the worst of the economic downturn. A shopping mall kiosk in Fayetteville, N.C., has been flooded with orders thanks to a baby boom at the nearby military base. Lisa Olivares, manager of CCE Headgear Plus speaks with host Alex Cohen.