Mall of America courts Gen Z with viral TikTok brands

Why it matters: The marketing play is part of a bid to turn social media traffic into foot traffic, as retailers woo highly sought-after Gen-Z shoppers.

What they're saying: MOA's retail strategy is "more about curating experiences than ever before," head of leasing Carrie Charleston told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

• "It is shifting to brands that are bringing in more consumer engagement and retail experiences."

Digitally native brands and those with big footprints on TikTok and other social platforms — think clothing store Edikted and Asian shopping brands like Pop Mart — are key to the effort.

Between the lines: Despite all the time they spend scrolling, data shows Gen Z is gravitating toward malls and other forms of IRL retail over online shopping, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Stunning stat: Shoppers ages 18-24 bought over 60% of their general merchandise purchases in stores last year, per the data firm Circana.

• For those 25 and older, the share drops to closer to 50%.

What we're hearing: "Offering a Macy's or a Dillard's or a JCPenney, it's not really interesting to Gen Z," Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, tells Axios. "But if you can provide some of these brands that they see on social media, they're there in a heartbeat."

That's because younger shoppers in particular "want to have the social experience, they want to engage with [the brands] in person," and, of course, use the opportunities to create content of their own.

• "It just brings to life what they see on the screen, and that's important to them," Saunders says.

Case in point: On a recent trip to the mall, we met a 12-year-old from Illinois named Lexi who had asked her parents to add MOA to the family vacation itinerary after seeing its Pop Mart on her social feeds.

• "It's fun not knowing what you're going to get," she said of the popular "blind box" collectibles the store stocks.

What's next: The Golden Nuts MN, a local shop that dishes up trendy Dubai chocolates, and viral apparel brand Comfrt are set to open soon.

We tried it

Many viral experiences or fads face the same question: Will it live up to the hype?

We put that to the test, spending a day trying — and documenting, naturally — some of MOA's hottest experiences.

• Because we're serious journalists, we came up with a scientific (and self-explanatory scale for rating each site: 👍 👎 and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

🚶‍♀️Power walk: We started the day with an oldie but goodie: A pre-opening power walk.

• Is it truly viral? Maybe not. But we've seen some videos of mall-goers pursuing a half marathon (or more) gain traction in our feeds, so we figured we should count it.
• Plus: We got to meet up with Kyle's amazing grandma and her friend, who have been walking the mall daily for decades.

Rating: 👍 It's a surprisingly serene way to get your steps in.

• Plus: Parking is a breeze at that hour.

💄 Miniso: This popular Asian retailer's motto is "life is for fun," and the store lives up to that promise. It sells everything from makeup to collectibles.

• Pro tip: Blind box collectibles are the biggest seller, though plushies called Fugglers are increasingly popular with teens.

Our rating: 👍 This place is a vibe. It's fun and accessible and oh so bright.

• Even if it's not your scene, leave your heart open to it: It might make the young person in your life happy.

🎤 Kpop Nara: Opening earlier this year, the store describes itself as the "ultimate retail destination for K-pop albums."

Our rating: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It felt sparse and sanitized, kind of like an airport bookstore, with a much smaller selection and less opportunity for discovery than some of the other spots we visited.

• Yes, but: We aren't the target audience, and K-Pop fans might enjoy the merch.

👹 Pop Mart: The China-based maker of Labubus and other popular collectables opened its first Minnesota brick-and-mortar retail location at MOA in 2025.

Pro tip: They still see lines after big drops or on busy shopping weekends.

Our rating: 👍 This is a blue-chip experience for fans of the brands or anyone who wants to learn about the trends — the merch was fun to browse and employees knowledgeable!

🧀 Roni's: The "viral" mac-and-cheese bar serves up the classic comfort food with a range of toppings and mix-ins.

• What makes cheesy noodles viral? We weren't really sure and neither were the employees. But it was delicious and very cheesy.

Our rating: 👍 Even if you don't care if your lunch is "trendy," Roni's serves up a lot of food for $10.

👂 Studs: Torey grew up going to Claire's for ear piercings. But it turns out that you can have a trendy, style-forward "earscape" designed at what the mall calls a "modern ear-piercing destination reimagining the piercing experience for today's Gen Z and millennial consumers."

• Audrey did just that on our adventure day, impulsively getting a second lobe piercing on both ears.

Our rating: 👎 Painful and a little pricey — the piercings were $55 before tax and tip, and two mid-tier titanium earrings ran her an additional $156.

• Plus: One of the earrings fell out by week three.

🦆 Duck: This arcade is full of mostly claw games. The catch: Prizes don't only include cheap toys, but also trendy, spendy collectibles.

How it works: Load your card up with points and try your hand — er, claw! — at winning prizes ranging from a bag of chips to a giant Pikachu. Many feature hot toys, like NeeDoh's and (not to sound like a broken record) blind boxes. The price-per-game varies.

• Plus: You can swap your prizes at the counter or use the points to play regular arcade games in the back.

Audrey and Torey's rating: 👎👎👎 If you're looking to burn a hole in your pocket with nothing to show for it, check it out (we blew $20 and lost every game we played).

Kyle's rating: 👍 He won a mini Matcha plushy.

😻 Build-a-Bear x Hello Kitty: Located on the top floor, this spin on the custom bear station offers designs not available elsewhere. Shortly before we stopped by, they hosted an event for influencers.

Our rating: 👍 Fun if you're a fan of the IP, though it's pricey!

🍓Sweet Crunch Tanghulu: These fruit skewers shellacked in a candy glaze are apparently all the rage. (They also recently made their State Fair debut.) And the marketing images are quite Instagramable.

• Yes, but: Capturing that content will cost you. We paid over $30 for 15 or so pieces of candied fruit.

Our rating: 🤷‍♀️ Torey was underwhelmed. Her traffic light stick was just two strawberries sandwiching a grape ($6)— and it did not resemble the pictures.

• If you're going to try it, splurge for the large. It's substantially more fruit and much more worthy of the 'gram.

🎢 VIRAL RIDE: As our finale, we tried to recreate the viral "Queen Spinner" of Nickelodeon Universe's Shell Shock ride.

• We nominated Kyle for the task, mostly because Torey and Audrey were wearing dresses that day.

Our rating: 👍 All hail the queen! This was harder than it looked. Kyle struggled to spin his seat — despite Torey coaching (ie shouting!) from the floor below. But he did enjoy the ride.