Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
Malls. Those were those things that had 15 shoestores, a Spencer's Gifts, and a foodcourt under one roof, right? Can't figure out why they didn't last forever.
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Entertainment.
Before the internet they were the place to hang out. Especially for teens.
Most malls had multiplexes in or next to them, along with family restaurants so it was common for folks to window shop before or after movies. Or hit the restaurant after a movie. All that traffic resulted in sales.
The first big blow was cable originals.
Then the internet.
Then smartphones. Big hit there.
Then the "great recession".
Frugality became popular and people learned to do without malls.
(And for a lot of malls, the remaiing teen traffic that had been a nuisance masked by crowds became a problem.)
There's still a lot of B&M shopping going on, even in the surviving malls, but not at the levels the mall operators need to support their rents and debt loads.
Too many malls, too many stores, and much less shopping-as-entertainment.
Their heyday was the 80's.
But y2k they were already hurting.
Check this out:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jH6elLt980g