A new SmartTan.com survey suggests that mix of large-box “anchor” tenants in strip malls with tanning salons may be changing — with fewer salons tied to malls anchored by supermarkets today than just a few years ago. According to a SmartTan.com poll conducted in May, just 25 percent of salons in strip malls say their centers are anchored by supermarkets — less than half of the 54 percent who said supermarkets anchored their shopping centers in 2008.

In the 2011 poll, grocery stores (25 percent) were followed by fitness centers (22 percent), restaurants (19 percent), department stores (8 percent) and other types of stores (27 percent) as anchor tenants.

In the 2008 poll grocery stores (54 percent) were followed by department stores (23 percent) and restaurants (23 percent). The polls are not scientific.

According to the Food Marketing Institute, the number of large grocery stores in the U.S. has actually increased from 2006, to around 36,000 today. Closures in many chains that are reorganizing may account for some of the change.