Marketing problem concerning a shopping mall

You have been approached by representatives of a downtown shopping mall. They have the following concerns:

Business (and revenue) at the shopping mall is declining.
Management believes that shops in the mall are losing business because of increased competition from suburban malls, but have no data to "support" their beliefs.

Discuss how you would use marketing research to help the organization clarify and analyze its management problems.
What is exploratory research and how is it used? What exploratory research would you recommend to the client?
In what ways would your exploratory research help to clarify the research problems and objectives?