What do you think empty malls should be used for?

Here in Asia they built communities around the Mall to keep it thriving. You see high-rise condos popping up next to it so anyone who needs something can just go down, walk in and get all they want. Plus like every mall nowadays, they also provide amenities such as gyms, medical centers, dental offices, banks and multi-purpose areas for company promotion shows to attract more people.

Why American malls don't have grocery stores and not connected to public transportation.

Malls work in Europe because they are withing the city, they act as a community hub and they're easy to get to and they are quite small compared to US Malls and Mega Malls.

As a child of the 80s, it's really weird to see the mall become a thing of the past. For better or worse, it was the center of teen life back then, providing a safe indoor environment where we could hang out till 9 or even later if we went to a late movie. We all complained about how soulless malls felt, and they're certainly no replacement for a real town- or city center, but I still miss them nonetheless as a real archetype of that decade.

The reason I dont go to malls anymore. They got rid of all the seats and replaced them 20 year old sales pyschos. I Litterally cant sit down without paying, I cant walk without being hastled.

It’s the opposite in the Philippines where there are so many giant malls everywhere. Even with the emergence of online shopping people still make it a point to go to visit shopping malls. Because they are one stop destinations where aside from shopping you can do your banking, renew your drivers license, go to medical clinics, spas, recreation, have your dogs groomed. And not to mention gardens and great places to each.

Here in southeast Asia it's a place to hide from heat, a place to enjoy lunch and dinner, and do everything else in the mall. There are lots of restaurants and fast food chains, grocery stores, electronics store, fashion shop, banks, even antiques. We basically go there, spend around 4-8 hours doing probably all of the tasks we need inside, and return home. Even if we can now order food and groceries online, we sometimes had to go to the bank inside the mall, and then we probably just eat there.

I can't imagine Kuala Lumpur without the malls which are perfect places to hide from the heat

Old shopping malls never die, they just get de-mall-ished.

The middle class was growing, the work hours were getting shorter, citizens had money in their pockets to spend, credit card debt was low. Then the corporate class became financial wizards, instead of merchants. The MBA's lost their focus, they focused on the investment class on wall street instead of growing their business. The failure of capitalism, when most is owned by so few.

Towards the end of the 10s I only ever went to malls to go to see a movie. I remember when I was younger, my family used to spend a day at the mall not just shopping, but also hanging out. There was this one place that let you paint and fire your own pottery. By 2016 it had gone. ALL the niche market stores had left (books, games, etc.), so what remained were 60 acres of clothing and kiosks full of cheap junk. Once the pandemic hit and movies started streaming, I no longer had any reason to go to the mall.

I find the malls today all have the same brand stores with few quirky independent stores . I remember in the 80’s the malls were smaller but had more variety than today.

Philippine mall culture won't die because of Filipinos preferring to feel the product rather than looking at it online. Malls also provide amenities and comfort because of the a/c.

I wonder how much land use is a factor in the U.S. Here in Canada, almost all the major anchor store chains have disappeared, yet our malls are still thriving. When Target pulled out of Canada a few years ago, the mall near me chopped up its anchor spot into a Marshalls, HomeSense, H&M and a few other little shops. Since Sears died, they're now converting that space into movie theaters and a supermarket. Malls are still popular here even without anchors, its just that traditional department stores aren't

Honestly I dont see how malls cannot work, they should look to Asia for inspiration - combine all essential places from the grocery store, the gym, cafe, restaurants, bars, movie theater, coworking space, tutoring center, hair salon, dental, and yes the church, in one place - people WILL come to the mall. In North America these places are scattered.

Malls are kind of depressing. They all look the same, have the same businesses and just kind of sterile.

I wish they would have mentioned all of the mixed-use development that has begun to spring up around many malls, like in Paramus NJ at Garden State Plaza, where they are building apartments over ground floor shopping to create a walkable community around the mall. I think that is the brightest future possible for malls.

I'm from just outside of Pittsburgh. Within an hour of my house I have at least 10 malls... It's just not sustainable anymore.

As a Boomer there's almost nothing that I need to buy. I've got it all and then some. However, I still prefer to shop in an actual store for clothing and shoes because I can see the "actual" color of the items and I can try them on before I buy. Please, Please don't tell me that I can "send it back."

So, all the rich communities' malls are thriving while the used-to-be-middle-class malls are dying. I wonder what's causing this change?

I surprised America had not seen how malls work in Asia . Medical practices , areas lower rebt crafts and small boutiques

Todays malls will have to adapt in order to survive. They’ll still have places to shop but things were you would rather get at the moment instead of waiting like you do online. Mostly they’ll be places to go and hangout rather than shop.

I'm personally very sad to see stores go. I like to see what I'm buying in person as often things are not represented properly online, I can't see the quality. I also hate not being able to try something on. Returning things by mail is a pain in the backside! I hate going to the post office especially to return something that was not as pictured. I have things sitting in bags right now that need to go back and I have no return labels. Ugh. Annoying. And many places charge you to send it back. I'd much rather go to the store, see it, try it and be done.

They are still busy here in Australia. Westfield started here. I think people go there to alleviate boredom more than anything.

I like how the upper class is talking about it and the middle class is like we don't go there because ya wanna inflate the prices cause you in a mall. We are not paying inflated prices to go to a mall and this video is proof of that.

I'm a regular mall visitor, but honestly I get tired of finding a shirt or coat that I like that's not in my size because they went out of stock. It's more convenient to just order online now.

5:45 - "It's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin

If mall owners had adjusted their layout and universally connected themselves to offices. Medical, legal, governmental, even work related are way of the future. Mix use with public spaces to gather.

Growing up in Europe in the late 80's early 90's, I still have fond memories of malls. Malls are still around but they are just not the same anymore, they just feel so sterile and boring compared to the vibrant and colorful malls we had in the 90's. They just feel like places you want to get the stuff you want and leave, instead of a place you want to spend a lot of time in

The thing is though no matter how convenient online shopping is, it gets boring just sitting down all day cooped up scrolling on a computer or phone/tablet. It’s nice to step out of the house and actually move your body and see people.

I miss going to the mall. The last time i went to a mall was 15 years ago hahaha. Nowadays a single phone provides all the entertainment.

Their malls needs to be nicer like the ones in Asia. There is so much stuff to do like ice skating/huge christmas trees, etc, and many places to sit and chill.

Turn the empty malls into apartments or micro apartments for single people. There is a mall like this somewhere already. I forget where it is. They rented out the micro apartments to people who don't need a lot of space. There were people that were college students, people needing an apartment closer to work, and people looking to rent space for a home-based business.

I get emotional thinking about the end of malls, which is ironic considering I don’t shop in them anymore. Still, it’s just nice to know that they’re still there. Which they’re not anymore.

The mall of America in minneapolis is jam packed today. I visited it for the first time a few months ago and let me tell you. This mall is not just a mall, it’s an experience. A place to spend the entire day like an amusement park. There were thousands of people inside, and there must be well over a hundred stores, it was awesome. It even has an entire aquarium as well as actual amusement park rides.

The 'K' shaped recovery applies to malls too.

The internet has killed off the shopping mall experience - the slow death started 20 years ago.

The main reason I avoid malls is.... people. I hate slow walkers and people getting in my way. I'd rather shop from home to be blunt.

I strongly believe that the downfall of Malls were not from online shopping, but the shrinking middle class coupled with stagnate wages. As the number of people who could afford more than more than basics shrunk we see malls collapse.

The mall scenes needed some 70s and 80s music for the background. Jackson Browne (Somebody's Baby), Loverboy (Everybodys working for the weekend), Sheila E (The Glamorous Life), Vanilla Ice (Ice Ice Baby)

I miss malls. My health prevents me from going much though but man I get nostalgic for it. Especially if I want to go see a movie.

Everyone shops online nowadays. Even in asian cities, malls are starting to decline nowadays. I think its better to make malls into mostly places for entertainment, food, and general place to hangout (like starbucks even though its expensive lol).

I miss going to the malls. Last time I visited the mall was like 125 years ago. I should probably be dead by now

I miss the days where my parents used to leave my brother and me at an arcade for a few hours so that they can go shopping without us whining.

Chick fil a has existed since the 60s is what blows my mind the most. I thought it opened in the mid 2000s

I get a better mall experience by going to my local park and shopping online while I walk around

Looking across social media people are as creative as ever, somebody give those guys a try at redesigning the malls and opening different kinds of restaurants

I’m so glad they highlighted Atlanta and Greenbriar Mall💯

Milwaukee’s old downtown mall is now apartments! All the old stores are apartments and the entrances are where store entrances used to be. As a result you get beautiful windows too because the mall used to be to show things off. They’re expensive tho... lol.

Asian malls work because there are residential apartments within them.. Really big ones also have offices. You can live, work and play within a mall. So malls are closer to vertical towns with public transport links (bus and rail) between the one mall to another and to the city. They aren't just for shopping.

The problem in America is that malls (for the most part) never really had the things people need on a regular basis and when the big box stores like Wal-Mart came along, people had even less reason to go to the mall. Here in Australia on the other hand, our shopping centres/malls have all the things that people need on a regular basis. A small local centre will usually have a full-line supermarket as its anchor with a bunch of useful shops built around it (things like a bottle shop, bakery, newsagent, pharmacy, doctor/dentist/optical/other health places, hair/nail/beauty places, cafes/fast food/takeaway/casual dining and maybe others depending on the centre, its size, its location etc) The next size up will typically have all of the above (maybe more than one of some of them) plus a discount department store and/or second supermarket, clothing/accessory/footwear/etc shops, mobile phone carrier stores, discount stores (our version of the dollar store) and maybe others depending on the area and who wants to move in. Then the big centres will have (depending on size) multiple discount department stores, multiple supermarkets, maybe a full-line department store or 2 plus lots of smaller shops including things like electronics stores, fresh food and all sorts of stuff as well as entertainment options such as movie theaters, arcades, bowling, mini golf plus lots of food options across the range (from cafes and food courts to more expensive restaurant options) The fact that centres of all sizes have all the essentials people need everyday is why Australia doesn't have the "dead malls" the US has (unless you count the one that that got hit by record levels of flooding and will need a total knockdown and rebuild that is)

American malls met their demise not because of Amazon, but because mall operators failed to shift from a retail-centric business model, to an entertainment-centric business model. Here in the Philippines when malls were popping up brand new every month. Hardly any stalls still cater to clothes and retail items. The majority focused on fine dining, cinemas, and a re-designed mall layout putting emphasis on outdoor green spaces which are ideal for restaurants and less of the indoor space for clothes shops. There is probably too little investment appetite in US for constructiong new, green malls. And thats why their industry is dying. They have the cause of the demise completely upside down.

Not sure bout y'all, but the "anchor stores" were the ones I disliked most and never went to.

When I was in 5th grade my neighbors invited me to go with them to the state fair in Albuquerque. The highlight of the trip was going to the newly opened Winrock Shopping Center. It was certainly different than the downtown shopping trip I had been on a couple of years before.

They should turn it into a safe area for exercise for the masses. We no longer have forests to walk through in the city but something like this would help.

We've done this to ourselves. Regardless of whether you're rich, poor, or middle class, when you spend money, do it in a way that keeps the people around you employed.

There are a number of factors for the decline of malls. One of the most important one is the fact that so many of the non-anchor tenants who filled malls in the 70s and 80s went out of business in the 90s and 2000s. Find a list of of mall tenants from the golden age of malls and you will realize how many of those retailers no longer exist. Also not helping was the consolidation of the department store market. Regions used to have two or three local department store staples where they shopped from the early 1900s to the 80s or 90s. Eventually, in the 80s and by the mid-90s, many of them consolidated or merged. Eventually most were acquired by Federated Department Stores and became Macy's. There's nothing wrong with Macy's, but it's now the successor to two or three stores that would have had their own anchor slots in the 80s and 90s.

Malls are detrimental to Downtowns. For example how are stores in Downtown Minneapolis suppose to compete against Mall of America in Bloomington (Minneapolis suburb). Wonder how places like Union Square in SF is going to survive post pandemic when half the stores are boarded up.

I think those simple, rectangular urban malls should be retail, office, and educational on the bottom floor, and affordable housing above.

Here in asia, i got to malls because they have a lot of food shops to choose from. Some are small stalls, some are fast food restos, some are buffets, etc. Plus malls here usually have cinemas and grocery stores. I never buy clothes or shoes online, i want to see them and try them on. I also don't buy electronics or fragile stuff online. So i still go to the mall for them.

Malls work best when they are adjacent to a foot traffic node. The problem with American malls sort of represents the problem with American suburbia in general. Once the novelty factor is over, people would literally need to make a trip TO the mall, and if there isn't anything that interesting, people would rather drive somewhere more convenient or more interesting. The proliferation of online shopping further weakens malls in suburbia. In prime locations across the world (including the US), successful malls are located at transport interchanges or at least within very dense downtowns. People will pass through them due to the convenience of the mall being on their route to somewhere else. That ensures that the customer flow will last, and the incentive to keep the place updated will also last.

Here in india, we got malls attached to railway stations. So anyone who gets off a train has to pass thru the mall. Thats kinda relaxing coz theyre air conditioned and cooler than the outside. And ppl end up spending their money. Win-win. Then there are malls themed on venice, like they got canals, just like the venetian LV. Quite innovative ig

What I do not like in malls is that there is no artisan shops , it is only brands selling processed stuff . So I do not go there.

It's similar to how public libraries rise and fall and rise again.. Libraries need to promote experience and not books alone, simply put they need instagramable areas and interactive services. Libraries do not provide books alone nowadays, they are a tourist destination and social hangouts.u

I never shop at a mall.. They seldom have anything I want or need.. My shopping experiences revolve around Lowe's, Walmart, Kroger, eBay, Amazon and a few individual online sellers..

Like many men, I detest shopping and the Pandemic introduced me to pretty much 100% online shopping. You can actually SAVE money as most impulse buying is eliminated. Love it. Never going back.

Oh wow, over here in Germany, malls are few, relatively new and still have the Go. One point: Almost all are very reachable by Bus/Tram/Metropolitan Railway.

where i'm from the most successful malls, jam packed with people, are 40%-50% restaurants and food vendors. honestly food is what keeps the customers coming back. also the malls gotta be connected to subway.

Here in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a mall close to me died a quick death. Built in 2000, it was too large, too expensive, too remote (for the time), too close to other more "popular" malls. With only one anchor store and a few brave risk-taking retailers, within 3 years it closed, and laid dormant for years... Fast forward 2020: pre-pandemic, was *finally* purchased for pennies on the dollar and is being redesigned as a mixed-use mini-city: hotel, apartments, offices, supermarket, cafes, pubs, specialty stores, nature park & entertainment center. Funny, I could have suggested that instead of the big white elephant, 20 years ago.

Companies will buy malls for cheap to turn them into fulfillment centers

i miss malls, i remember that i would go to the mall with my friends and sometimes with my cousins and hang out for a while and get a slice of pizza or i would go buy a t shirt, i even bought movies, i still have 2 tv shows on dvd that i bought the last time i went to the mall, my online shopping experience has been ok at best

Interesting topic. Here in Australia the popularity of shopping centres is still high and there is significant investment going into them, lots of new shops big and small, decent profits. Online shopping is limited by distance here, we don't have same day/next day delivery on Amazon, even prime customers have to wait 3-5 business days

im a teen living in london and malls are so popular here! literally we go malls even when we dont have money😭

In jakarta indonesia, i think in the past decade mall has transformed to shopping place to hangout place, newer malls have alot of restaurants and cafe instead of stores, because hangout (we say “nongkrong” in our language) is a big culture in indonesia Some bigger mall even have little community, they have apartments and or office space, clinics, even nice and big park

Anchor stores set the tone for the mall. So many of them are gone. Bullocks, Sears, The Broadway, May Company, Robinsons, all gone.

I think it would be great if they started shifting retired malls into multi-floor skating rings/arcades with arts and fashion boutiques.

I totally miss going to the mall in the 80s and 90s, when the place was always packed. Now I go to the Holyoke Mall, and there still are people there, it definitely isn't the way it was in the heyday

I think Colombia just built one of those “office” malls , my fiancé went there for dental work and its pretty nice

In my country malls are still booming even though we also have online shopping available. maybe because we spend our time not only to eat and shop we also spend our quality time with friends and family.

it's very different here in the Philippines for many reasons 1) there's aircon (it's very hot and humid in here) 2) we prefer to see the product instead of shopping online because of fraud and some of us are skeptical (although online shopping is a bit cheaper at times and there's COVID so it's more convenient) 3) they provide many services like medical services, recreation, spas and barber shops, and u can even apply there for a driver's license or a passport 4) it's a place where we can meet each other (especially for teens like me) 5) it's kind of in the city center and it's accessible to residents

i have seen some old beautiful malls where they turned the whole lot into apartments that looked onto a park area in the middle.

I actively avoid shopping at department stores like Sears, JCPenny's, or Macy's, so I don't quite understand that how they would affect malls.

Lo-Fi on a quicktake video? Not just your average xylophone/jazz tracks? Well, I'm delighted.

Malls are great when they are a new experience. America has had malls since the 1950s. Most people commenting from other countries saying the malls in their countries are great and thriving is because its a new experience for you guys. Most of your countries outside of Europe and Australia didn't have American style malls until recently or as early as the 90s. Also, like the video said....online shopping is more convenient. Another big problem is that here in America we just built too many of them.

I definitely agree with the re-greening idea mentioned at the end. Many of these malls are just concrete jungle eyesores that really have no reason to exist anymore. Should definitely just be demolished.

Having just watched the Hyperloop video and knowing how malls exists for all airports, each Hyperloop station should be at the heart of every existing mall to mutually save cost. This would also symbiotically generate income. It would bring malls back to into the future.

As consumer protection is/was designed to protect consumers and businesses from any loss or high prices, since TAXES and Taxation are related to one another and that it protects consumers/customers from long term losses and that it restores businesses.

0:46 gotta love hearing mall history from people that weren't even alive when malls were booming...

THE MALLS IN ASIA ARE GREAT. THEY ARE MOSTLY FOOD COURTS, THEY KNOW PEOPLE LIKE TO EAT AND GO TO MALLS TO EAT NOT SHOP FOR GOODS. THEY BUY ON LINE OR IN OUT DOOR MARKETS. HAVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO THE MALLS.

America should copy the mall business model of Japan 🇯🇵. They have grocery stores and mass transit at their super awesome mega malls.

Malls built before 1980 were ~93% successful/profitable within 2 years, but the mall built in San Luis Obispo, California, a college town, was NEVER successful or full, and closed by mid-90’s. SLO had a very lively (classical) downtown that a mall couldn’t compete with…in the outskirts.

Nowadays the only reason I go to the mall [pre COVID] was for the Hot Topic at Queens Center Mall or the Apple Store at Westfield World Trade Center. I think malls that are near or in mass transit hubs and have stores that people actually shop at, even just to pick up an online order, have somewhat of a chance of surviving post pandemic. The suburban malls, yeah those days are numbered. Although IF I do get a job in an office that used to be a mall, that would be kinda cool!

Malls have had attractions like theme parks and water parks since the 1980s when West Edmonton Mall opened

"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."

Couldn’t agree more! “REPURPOSE” should be the mantra of the retail mall sector, Although I was under the impression that Amazon was poised to take over some closed anchor stores and developing a “cashless membership prime store” what became of this this conceptual format is unknown?…

I remember the late 70s and 80s ... The mall was The Place to be

... And rise again. Malls are far from dead. There will always be people wanting to go there shopping or just getting out with friends...

The other thing they got too expensive products thing are cheaper outside the mall just like they said online or just at the store down the street

Seems like malls died down for a while but property managers refreshed them and changed what their main focus is. There's a lot more 'activity' type stuff in the ones near me. Not a glorified department store where you go in, go to the store, buy stuff and leave. People go to them more as a community center without entering a store. I'm in Minnesota and Mall of America is still pretty popular. Google Rosedale Mall. It's incredibly stunning for an American mall. it looks like one of those UAE malls. Very pretty interior. Even smells nice.