Coming to your mall: New stores, European fashion, supermarkets

Your local mall may look less like a ghost town this time next year. Expect to see more stores opening in 2010 to replace those lost during the recession. And some of the shopping centers will take on an increasingly international flavor, as a variety of European chains are expanding rapidly into the U.S.

Throughout the year, recession-wary merchants have been going through their real-estate holdings like Santa parsing naughty and nice children, according to shopping mall developers. And having survived 2009 with less carnage than feared, retailers are expected to open stores next year carefully, but steadily.