Fox Valley Mall, is a popular shopping destination for teens to shop, get food, and have fun with friends. There are many stores and locations to go to in the mall, and security guards walk around making sure everyone is staying safe while having a good time. Recently, Fox Valley has faced fights and situations that have called for tighter security and more rules.
Recently, the Fox Valley Mall implemented the escort policy, which states that a parent must escort anyone under the age of 18 in the mall from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. According to Fox Valley’s code of conduct, mall management reserves the right to implement the Parental Escort Policy if any rules are violated. The mall had been facing a series of misconducts such as fights, fireworks being let off, an imitation firearm going off, etc. causing them to reinstate this.
It is not the first time the mall has resorted to such measures. In 2017, a fight had broken out which prompted the mall to enforce the policy before lifting it shortly after.
Requests for an interview were denied by H&M, Forever 21, Bath&Body Works, and Fox Valley Mall security. Some store managers who accepted requested that their first or last names only be listed. Manager Jocelyn recalls the most recent incident and how stores have been handling these.
“In front of our store someone dropped an imitation gun and it went off,” Jocelyn said. “We didn’t know what to do we didn’t know if it was an actual gun.”
As of now, the policy has not been used again. However, as the news of this policy had spread around, teenagers were unhappy with the new change.
“I was planning on going [to the mall] and [my mom] said that I needed an adult, so then I couldn’t go,” freshman Avery Powers said;.
The hours themselves make it nearly impossible for teenagers to shop because of school and school-related activities. Teenagers had found it difficult and frustrating to try and coordinate plans with friends to enjoy their time outside of school.
“By the time we get home from school, there is no time to go with friends unless you have a parent,” Powers said. “Lots of parents work until later at night.”
Despite the negative reactions from teenagers, some mall workers view this as a positive development. Retail workers often face disruptions from teenagers because they’re unsupervised. Manger Smith expressed relief with the policy-making a potential comeback.
“I’m pretty happy this policy is being instated because I’ve been terrozied by groups of kids a couple of times,” Smith said. “I had some boys who would come to the mall every Sunday and would sit outside my store and point and laugh at me.”
The majority of shoppers at malls are teens and there was a negative setback when the policy was implemented for a day. Not only towards employees but the stores had low sales in comparison to other days. Manager Avila states how even just a day without teenagers impacted sales.
“Sales go down fast, without having teenagers buying things that Saturday it affected sales and it was very slow,” Avila said.
Manager Smith explains the reason behind the drop in sales: teenagers are a significant portion of the shopping demographic.
“A bunch of teenagers do come into stores with money that they’re wanting to spend,” Smith said. “And as much as I hate to say it, teenagers do spend impulsively, so if they come in with money, that means more money for us.”
However, while it may help businesses profit off of the impulsive spending the amount of teenagers coming in and out of the stores impacts their numbers. Conversion rates measure how many people are walking into the store and spending. Multiple large groups of people coming into stores without buying things can negatively affect stores.
“I have groups of kids coming in and out because one of their friends is outside so they leave with making a purchase,” Smith said. “For example, if one person comes in and out 100 times without making a purchase the system counts it as 100 people who came in without making a purchase which hurts businesses.”
It remains unknown whether Fox Valley Mall will continue to put this policy in place or not. However, Manager Smith remains hopeful that it does become reinstated so it will create a positive work environment for them.
“Overall this policy is just a safety measure to shoppers and workers safe,” Smith said.
