Decline and Fall of the Mall?

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:



Decline and Fall of the Mall?
As shopping migrates to the Internet, downtowns may gain an advantage over strip malls and big boxes

By Jay Walljasper


In December while you were wrapped in holiday festivities, a huge shift was occurring in the American economy—one that will have a major influence on our towns and cities.

What happened? A lot of Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Solstice shopping migrated to the Internet.

It’s been a steady trend for years, but finally hit home in 2012. After enduring dampened sales over the past three holiday shopping seasons, America’s retailers were counting on a consumer comeback. Big sales on Black Friday looked promising, but when all the receipts were counted, it was another year of yuletide restraint—at least in brick-and-mortar stores. Meanwhile Internet sales continued to rise.

After New Years Sears, K-mart and even swank Bloomingdale’s announced nationwide store closings. It’s very likely holiday shoppers will discover even more empty storefronts next December. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/decline-and-fall-mall

[Pholus]

1. Sadly. While I dislike malls it's clear the replacement jobs will not be local.

In the middle of the country (MN) where I grew up 40 years ago, I remember nothing but family stores as a kid.

The first "big box" (Pamida) coming in was a major fight for our town. People at the time thought that the businessmen were greedy and just couldn't stand the idea of competition --they welcomed the change. They were wrong.

Pamida wasn't that bad. But then it got worse...

Walmart came in and dried up the family stores (and Pamida). Lots of comfortable jobs destroyed in favor of the minimum wage. The town population declined sharply.

Now the internet will dry up what managed to stay in the margins of what Walmart didn't do. Of course, that means the minimum wage jobs will now be somewhere else in someone else's shipping rooms.

As much as I detest malls, at least those jobs are local.

[rurallib]

3. Malls have replaced downtown retail areas as the communal gathering place

don't know if the demise of the mall is good or bad. America continues to splinter into more and more individual isolation.

[Nye Bevan]

2. I really, really miss going to the mall.

Because searching for a parking spot, fighting the crowds and waiting in line is so much more fun than clicking the "one-click Prime free 2-day delivery" button on Amazon.

[Mr Dixon]

6. Agreed

i made the switch two years ago, Amazon is great

[limpyhobbler]

4. I'll mostly miss the food courts.

Being able to go with 4 people and each eat at a different shitty restaurant, yet all sit together.

We didn't appreciate what we had, and now we're losing it.

[IDemo]

5. I live under a mile from the Mall

and haven't been there in years. I may make an exception soon for some JC Penney's shopping, though.

[Blue_Tires]

7. Malls died for me when all the arcades closed

[HughBeaumont]

8. Same here . . .

. . . it was amazing going in Aladdin's Castle to see what new game would be there this month. I'd be there for hours at a time when I wasn't grounded due to bad grades.

Once video games became nothing but glitzy endless 3-D versions of Pole Position, Karate Champ and Wolfenstien 3-D, I kind of lost interest. Smash TV was the last video game I played regularly in the arcades. Thank whoever for MAME . . . and too bad I don't live near FunSpot in NH, or I'd be there every day.

[Blue_Tires]

9. We had an Aladdin's, too among other places...

I practically grew up in the arcades, even when I had no money I'd enjoy trying to watch and learn from the really great players...

It's really sad at how game makers pulled the plug on arcade development...Even when I find an arcade now the "newest" games are all from the late 90s, and are beat up, faded, and barely workable in most cases...Running an arcade used to be a matter of gamer pride, and now the folks working there could care less...