Life can be pleasurable and interesting, when in a conducive and friendly environment which is what you get in Port Elizabeth, the fifth-largest city in South Africa. Its location is on the Indian Ocean coast halfway between Cape Town and Durban, in the Eastern Cape. Did you know the city is endowed with a serene climatic atmosphere and historical heritage?
Port Elizabeth is also known for its numerous wildlife attractions, excellent relaxation centers, waterfront, countless water-sport activities, etc., little wonder why it’s popularly known as the ‘Friendly City.’ In addition to the glamor of the city are shopping malls in Port Elizabeth, offering the best prices and convenience advantage to visitors. If you’re looking to explore these malls, here is a detailed description of the ten (10) biggest malls in Port Elizabeth, showing their location and other vital information.
Port Elizabeth’s Ten (10) Biggest Malls
Visiting a mall can be fun-full, with the excitement of purchasing new things for yourself, meeting new people and having a relaxing environment. This is the expectation and more you might envisage while visiting a mall. Let’s help you actualize your dream by introducing the biggest malls in Port Elizabeth, offering the best services.
1. The Baywest Mall
- Year opened: The mall officially opened its gate to shoppers in May 2015.
- Size: Baywest Mall is the largest in Eastern Cape at 86, 995m2
- The number of stores: At Baywest Mall, shoppers are spoilt with a variety of choices, with over 180 stores across 21 categories. Experience the best under a single roof.
- Best known: Baywest is known for a wide variety of retail outlets; a Fun Factory and Food Court; and clothing outlets. It’s a fun-filled family-friendly environment. There’re lots of enticing and scintillating fun centers for your children, so you don’t have to worry when you need to shop. You’ll also discover an array of classical eateries at the mall, with an impressive ice rink.
- Opening hours: The Fun Factory node and restaurant open from 9 am to 10 pm, seven days of the week. The best time you can visit the general retailers is between the hours of 9 am to 9 pm, Sunday to Thursday and 9 am to 9 pm on Saturday, Fridays, and during public holidays.
It is known to be the newest mall in the Eastern Cape, offering quality time to both adults and children alike.
2. Greenacres Shopping Mall
- Location: Greenacres shop Ctr 1, Ring Road, First floor, Office tower, Eastern Cape, 6070, South Africa, Port Elizabeth. It’s centrally placed and easily located.
- Year Opened: Opened its doors to the public on October 22, 1981.
- Size: The shopping mall is 40, 398m2.
- The number of stores: It has a large variety of stores and safe parking space.
- Best known: Greenacres shopping mall is known for housing many national retailers and family businesses that have served the community for many decades. The mall has lots and lots of shops, ranging from designers’ shops, boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. Its excellent environment makes it a place you want to spend the weekend with your friends and family, having lots of vibes.
- Opening hours: You should visit between 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Thursday; 9 am to 7 pm Fridays; 8:30 am to 5 pm Saturdays; 9 am to 2 pm Sundays, and 9 am to 2 pm Public holidays.
Here’s another conventional shopping mall, offering you the best treatment. With over three decades in existence, Greenacres is modern and more classic; and still regarded as the prime shopping destination in The Bay. It hosts many other shops where you can shop, so make sure to get your wallet loaded because you’ll shop non-stop.
3. Walmer Park Shopping Centre
- Location: Main road, Walmer, Port Elizabeth 6070, South Africa.
- Year Opened: September 1988
- Size: Approximately 43,020m2
- The number of stores:Â The number of stores here is not specified but visitors have a variety of them to explore.
- Best for: The mall is well decorated with branded shops, boutiques, food joints, and coffee shops where you can walk in and relax when stressed out during shopping. The mall’s theatre also offers you a relaxing atmosphere to watch movies at the cinema, it’s home away from home. In case you need some baby changing facilities in the mall, Walmer Park got you covered, it’s made available in the restrooms.
- Opening hours: The mall opens 9 am – 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays; Saturday 9 am-5 pm; Sundays 9 am-2 pm. For National Women’s Day,’ the hours differ.
Hosting many retail shops, the mall is one of the best places you can enjoy retail shopping. Feel free to visit this walk-in mall where you can browse for free.
4. Sixth Avenue Shopping Mall
- Location: 19 6th Avenue, Walmer, Port Elizabeth, 6065, South Africa.
- Year Opened: Been in existence for decades now.
- Size: Over 24, 000m2.
- The number of stores: There are many stores at the mall that you can conveniently shop from, with plans to add more for a pleasurable experience.
- Best known: Sixth Avenue Shopping Mall has lots of shops with different varieties for you to make your choice. If you think you may run out of cash while shopping, don’t worry, it has an ATM center to take care of this for you.
- Opening hours: The mall opens at the same time 8 am-6 pm, from Mondays to Sundays, as against other shopping malls, with an opening time that differs for the weekends. National Women’s Day schedules can be decided by the management.
This is a mall that delights its shoppers. It caters to all your needs under one roof.
5. Pier 14 Shopping Mall
- Location: 14, Ground floor, Pier 444, Goven Mbeki Avenue, North End, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Year Opened: It’s been in existence since the 70s and 80s.
- Size: 30, 217m2.
- The number of stores: More than 15 operating stores.
- Best known: It’s best known for good grocery stores, clothing stores, and a mini-casino that you can visit while on a shopping spree. Pier 14 Shopping Mall is a good place when you need to do a quick pick and drop, it may not give you all you need, but it does give you quality facilities to make your experience a pleasant and easy one. The mall also provides visitors with 30 minutes of access to the internet using their WiFi. The best way you can enjoy this is to have fewer connections at the same time.
- Opening hours: Accessible during the hours of 9 am-6 pm, Monday to Friday; Saturday 9 am to 3 pm; Sunday 9 am to 2 pm; National Women’s Day is the company’s decision.
The mall has a historical outlook, giving it an ancient and modern view, fitting in with today’s trends. Its store’s proximity makes it convenient for you to shop, as you get everything you want within a close range. Pier 14 takes pride in its extensive community involvement, such as its social investment.
6. MetLife Mall Shopping Centre
- Location: Cnr. Samantha & Kabega Rd, Kabega Park, Port Elizabeth, 6025, South Africa.
- Year Opened: It’s been in existence for some years and always updates its shoppers with the latest.
- Size: It is 10 622.38m2 large.
- The number of stores: MetLife Mall has a total of 27 stores in operation.
- Best known: For your daily top-ups, visit MetLife Mall. Food, Fashion, and Fun is the hallmark there. It is a clean, safe, and conducive mall that caters to the disabled. You can be rest assured to get where to park because it has ample parking space.
- Opening hours: Opens seven days a week, including public holidays. 8:30am-5:30pm, Monday to Tuesday; 9:30am-5:30pm, Wednesday; 8:30am-5:30pm Thursday to Friday; 8:30am-4:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 9:00am-2:00pm.
As one of the biggest malls in Port Elizabeth, MetLife Mall is here to give you the best treatment for your vacation. All the basic items you need for your holiday are readily available at the mall. It’s quite easy to shop from a variety of stores, giving you the essentials.
7. Cleary Park Shopping Mall
- Location: Stanford Rd &, Norman Middleton Rd, Port Elizabeth, 6059, South Africa. Located right at the heart of Port Elizabeth.
- Year Opened: Been in existence for over 30 years and still counting.
- Size: 36 290m2.
- The number of stores: It has almost all you need in your home, having diverse arrays of stores.
- Best known: At Cleary, you’re left with an array of choices ranging from jewelry and accessories; health and beauty, electronics; food and groceries, financial institutions and banking; fashion, footwear, and eyewear, etc.
- Opening hours: Opens 9 am-6 pm, Monday to Friday; 9 am-5 pm on Saturday; 9 am-1 pm on Sunday, and hours differ during National Women’s Day.
For a pleasurable experience, a place where you can feel comfortable shopping for your household facilities, look no further than Cleary Park Shopping mall. Here, you get all you need at affordable prices.
8. Fountains Mall
- Location: Fountain Estate, Corner of R102 Humansdorp and St. Francis Drive, Jeffreys Bay, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
- Year Opened: Open since October 2008 and steadily grew, adding more stores.
- Size: 32 842m2.
- The number of stores: Twenty stores (20) with goods ranging from Gifts, Books and Stationeries, Footwear, Toys and Hobbies, Jewelries, Pets, Restaurants, Outdoor Goods and Gear, etc. You can check out more at their official site.
- Best known: Chain stores, Jewelry, Boutiques, and Woolworths with lots of choosy restaurants when you feel like taking a bite.
- Opening Hours: Opened 9 am-6 pm, Monday to Friday; 8 am-5 pm, Saturday; 9 am-3 pm Sunday and 9 am-3 pm, public holidays.
Fountains Mall, strategically placed at the Fountain Estate a drive off N2, entering Jeffrey’s Bay, offers more than what you can imagine. Just when you might be getting bored, it offers you the splendor of beautiful things you can feed your eyes on, it’s more than just a retail mall! Fountain mall also caters to your holiday needs, so you need not worry.
9. Moffett Retail Park – Shopping Mall
- Location: Corner Knight street and William Moffett Expressway, Fairview, Port Elizabeth, 6070, South Africa.
- Year Opened: It began its operation in January 2007, with available well-developed shopping centers.
- Size: 32,823m2.
- The number of stores: It has 30 odd stores.
- Best known: It’s a great mall to check in and do your shopping. It’s home to many décor stores, children’s wear, indoor entertainment, clothing stores. There’re lots of food joints you can just walk in and replenish yourself while shopping. Also well known for electronics, cell phones, gift items, etc.
- Opening Hours: Opens 8 am-6 pm, all days of the week, Monday to Sunday; while the hours differ on National Women’s Day.
Looking for some cool and less rowdy place to shop? Moffett is just perfect for you. It has grown over the years into a family-oriented mall, meeting the needs of its ever-dynamic customers.
10. The Bridge at Greenacres
- Location: Cape Rd, Greenacres, Port Elizabeth, 6057, South Africa. It is centrally located and easily accessible for anyone within Port Elizabeth.
- Year Opened: Been in existence for over two (2) decades now and still counting.
- Size: 27 835m2 retail space.
- The number of stores: It has over twenty (20) stores ranging from Home & Décor, Cellphones, Health & Beauty, Food and Drinks, Books and Stationaries, The Crazy Store, Incredible Connection, Game, Jay Jays, Sheet Street, Jewellery store, Pet boutique, and a post office, etc.
- Best known: The Bridge at Greenacres caters to all. The mall has shops, banks, entertainment for the old and young, services restaurants, and fast-moving food outlets. It also includes facilities for babies, the disabled, free open-air, basement parking, and lots more, to keep you coming again.
- Opening Hours: Opens 9 am-5 pm, Monday to Friday; 9 am-3 pm, Saturday; 9 am-2 pm, Sunday.
The Bridge Mall at Greenacres is well known for its conducive and friendly environment, neat and well organized. You can window shop if on a low budget, but don’t get carried away.
Summary of the Biggest Malls in Port Elizabeth
1. The Baywest Mall
2. Greenacres Shopping Mall
3. Walmer Park Shopping Centre
4. Sixth Avenue Shopping Mall
5. Pier 14 Shopping Mall
6. MetLife Mall Shopping Centre
7. Cleary Park Shopping Mall
8. Fountains Mall
9. Moffett Retail Park – Shopping Mall
10. The Bridge at Greenacres
How Important Are Malls In Port Elizabeth?
Although the proliferation of malls has been ongoing for years in Soweto, a major city in South Africa, the development seems to be gaining more ground in other cities, of which Port Elizabeth isn’t left out. In towns like Port Elizabeth and Polokwane, residents can now take a walk to the nearest mall around them, and smile back with their groceries, in no distant time.
However, there seem to be some concerns that this development might hamper smaller businesses, but it looks like the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The economic importance to the town cannot be downplayed; its proximity to residents; easy accessibility to travelers and having varieties of numerous choices to make might just seem to be the reason these malls will keep springing up.
Going by all that has been said, Port Elizabeth is such a blessed city, having so much to offer its residents, travelers, and commuters. You can be very sure that you’ll have an amazing and pleasurable experience in the friendly city of Port Elizabeth while exploring the biggest malls in Port Elizabeth.
