Death of The Mall

I remember the hustle and bustle of Main Street in my hometown on weekends and holidays growing up in the sixties and seventies.  It served as a meeting place, especially for African Americans,  who shopped till they dropped,  mingled with friends, or got a jump on the night ahead at one of the seedy bars or corner clubs.

But then they built a strip mall on the edge of town, and to add insult to injury,  a neighboring community built an indoor facility with seventy-six stores that nearly destroyed the downtown of both communities.

Years later,  the mall's heyday may be over due to modern technology and changing trends in the U.S. economy.

Online shopping has boomed in recent years.  It beats mall traffic and pushy store clerks,  especially during the holiday season.  But most importantly,  it allows a customer to shop without leaving the comforts of home.  And with the proliferation of smartphones,  shoppers can browse the store shelves of businesses while on break at work or on the subway headed home.

Moreover, stiff competition in a shaky retail market is having an impact on the future of malls.  For example,  Dollar General Stores and similar shops have siphoned off a share of the retail industry,  with small, well-designed stores on virtually every corner.  They specialize in decent,  affordable merchandise and serve as a crucial source of employment for those living in hard-hit rural and inner-city areas.

Similarly,  Walmart has threatened the future of malls since its transformation into a supercenter.  The retail giant, which boasts billions in annual sales, captivates customers with a wealth of fashion and household products.  Walmart stores also deal in meats and produce in most areas at a reasonable cost.  And like Dollar General,  Walmart employs thousands.

To survive,  it's been recommended that malls diversify or reevaluate how they do business.  It's been suggested that they add supermarkets to their host of stores or offer something for everyone regardless of age or gender, like Discover Mills or the Mall of Georgia in suburban Atlanta.  These malls survived the Great Recession when others went belly up.  Moreover, opening chain stores and galleries in urban areas has proved successful in New York City and Baltimore,  where residents live in food deserts and nice clothes are hard to come by.