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posted by martyb on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-need-for-pants dept.

In the 1980's people wrote about malls as cultural centers, as temples to shopping. Now, they're dying.

Many observers are speculating about the growing trend of so-called dead malls: once-flourishing, large retail spaces that now have a high vacancy rate, low numbers of pedestrian traffic, or the lack of an "anchor" store (typically a department chain). Is it because of economic recession, or stagnant middle-class wages and growing income inequality? Or has the death of these malls been hastened by the rapid growth of online shopping?

It's difficult to say, but the dead mall phenomenon is becoming a cultural item of interest -- for retail historians, urban explorers and documentarians alike. We may read about dead malls in The New York Times or The Atlantic, but film footage can say much more than words.

Is Amazon to blame?


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  • (Score: 2) by Oakenshield on Tuesday April 25 2017, @07:19PM (2 children)

    by Oakenshield (4900) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @07:19PM (#499502)

    That shit's been gone for years and years. Malls these days have no space for "events." The interiors are filled with cart/kiosk obstacles selling sunglasses, watches, cell phone plans, perfumes, ugly jewelry, and trendy made-in-China junk. At Christmas, there are even more. If you're lucky, they MIGHT bring in a Santa at Christmas where they sell $30 photos of your kids. Just look for the "absolutely no cell phone photos" sign.

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  • (Score: 2) by quacking duck on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:25PM (1 child)

    by quacking duck (1395) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:25PM (#499538)

    Interestingly, a major mall in my city recently finished a years-long renovation and expansion of a new 3-floor wing to accommodate 20-30 more stores. The ground floor at the very end of the expanded wing is kept clear of those popup kiosks for "events", and last year they had a fashion show to showcase a local music event that would be in a few months.

    That said, the smaller shopping malls are indeed having problems. I just had a counter-anecdote to the idea that malls these days have no space for small or medium-sized events.

    • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday April 29 2017, @12:40AM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Saturday April 29 2017, @12:40AM (#501362)

      Well, from my own experience in recent years and reading the comments here, it definitely seems to be varied: many malls are dying, but some malls are doing just fine or booming. I've seen a few malls that were doing great, and plenty that looked like they were on the way to bankruptcy. I guess it just shows that malls still have a place in certain areas, when they're run by smart management, and have figured out how to retain customers (and are located in places where they have paying customers), but meanwhile in many places these things just aren't in place and the mall is spiraling down. Overall, that industry is contracting, but that doesn't mean it'll completely disappear any time soon.