B U S I N E S S
11
14
Bloomberg Businessweek November 23, 2020Edited by
James E. Ellis● ThankstoCovid,kidsare
tradingSanta’slapforvideo
chatsandplexiglassshieldsSanta Has a
Pandemic Plan
The coronavirus has upended many aspects of
life, dramatically changing how people work,
study, and even worship. Now it’s primed to
wreakhavoconanotherpillarofmodernexis-
tence: Santa Claus. Macy’s Inc.,the iconic
department-store chain whose 34th Street flag-
ship in Manhattan is the setting for the most
famous Santa movie ever, has announced that
the jolly old elf won’t be visiting because of the
pandemic. And while Santas in many malls across
the U.S. haven’t gotten the boot, their traditional
faux North Pole backdrops near the food court
are going to look a lot different this year, when
many of their brethren will be checking their nice
and naughty lists online.
Children at the Park Meadows mall in Denver
will be able to greet a masked Santa sitting safely
on his sleigh 6 feet away, and families at Orlando’s
Altamonte shopping center will share their wish
lists from the bottom of a mountain of gifts with
a socially distanced St. Nick perched on top. At
the SoNo Collection, an upscale mall in Norwalk,
Conn., a masked Santa will be behind a plexiglass
shield shaped like a snow globe, giving the illu-
sion that he’s trapped inside, safe from the kids
chatting him up from the other side.
They’re all ways mall developer Brookfield
Property Partners LP has devised to protect the
seasonal performers—who are often older and
plumper, putting them at higher risk of Covid
complications—while also driving the holiday foot
traffic that’s so critical to retailers’ bottom lines.
This holiday season, just 45% of U.S. consum-
ers plan to go to a shopping mall, down from
64% who visited last November and December,
according to an International Council of Shopping
Centers survey. Having no Santa to draw families