Back to School Shopping

Looking for places to go back-to-school shopping?

Take a family trip to Seattle Southside, a retail paradise with hundreds of stores clustered within the Southcenter shopping district. Our region is home to Westfield Southcenter Mall, the largest shopping center in the state, which draws visitors from near and far. The surrounding business district includes many more stores and restaurants, all within a five-minute drive. Our advice? Book a stay at a nearby hotel and turn what could be a stressful shopping trip (a "first day outfit" is no joke!) into an opportunity to make memories and bond in the last weeks before school.

What's At and Near Westfield Southcenter Mall

Looking for clothes? In addition to legacy department stores like Nordstrom and Macy's, you'll find hundreds of other popular clothing stores, including Abercrombie & Fitch, PacSun, Uniqlo, H&M, Hollister, Lululemon, and Levi's. There are plenty of shoe stores as well, including Foot Locker and Vans. For the littlest kids, there's also a Carter's store a short drive away from the mall.

For fun school supplies and stationery, check out beloved Japanese store Daiso. Outside the mall, just a few minutes away, you can also find a Target and a super cute stationery store, MochiThings.

For skincare and cosmetics, you'll have a blast scoping out the options at beauty megastore Sephora and natural skincare brand LUSH.

For endless ways to better organize everyone's stuff, don't miss The Container Store!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Westfield Southcenter (@westfieldsouthcenter)

Shop and Stay

Come for the shopping and stay for the family-friendly accommodations! There are dozens of hotels within minutes of Westfield Southcenter, such as the sleek, modern Hotel Interurban, Element Seattle Sea-Tac Airport, and Courtyard by Marriott Sea-Tac Area—all of which have pools, so the kids can splash, play, and burn off steam. Beyond the immediate area, more than 30 local hotels offer a free shuttle to the mall. Learn more about this convenient service, and browse our directory to find more options. You can filter your search to find hotels with pools, kitchenettes, free breakfast, free shuttles, and other family-friendly attributes.

Nearby Attractions

Seattle Southside is full of all-ages attractions that kids and teens love, and many are within a 10-minute drive from the mall and hotels. Take the crew to Dimension XR to play immersive, virtual reality games. There are options for both young kids and older ones. Spend hours at Family Fun Center playing arcade games and mini golf, racing go-karts and bumper boats, and competing at laser tag. Marvel at the magic of air and space travel at the Museum of Flight. Take everyone bowling at one of several bowling lanes. And for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, treat the kids to the thrill of flying at iFLY Indoor Skydiving.