The America's Cup has provided a short reprieve for downtown Auckland's newest shopping centre

Commercial Bay cost one-billion dollars, and was designed for a time when nearly three-million tourists a year visited the central city.

Its owner, Precinct Properties, says half a million people visited the mall in its opening fortnight -- but that's dropped down to about 200-thousand visitors a week.

Pedestrian tracking organisation Bellwether says foot traffic is down 46 per cent, compared to the start of 2019.

But it says this week, foot traffic was down just 12 per cent on last March, with crowds descending on the central city for the America's Cup.