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[I collect VHS tapes]

80s and 90s malls were a huge part of my life, and I still love a good mall.

Do you still enjoy going to malls, or is it totally a thing of the past for you?

Enjoy some mall pictures.

 

[Dacvak]

For sure. I miss the old brick-and-mortar shopping experience, and I was definitely a bit of a mallrat when I was younger.

 

[Ikutachi]

They are depressing now.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

It's complicated. The indoor malls around me became the dilapidated streets of RoboCop Detroit in the last decade.

I still enjoy a physical store--mainly the secondhand physical media places around me--but for the most part, I do all my shopping (both window- and otherwise) online.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

70s, 80s and early 90s, malls were peak.

 

[jshackles]

I went to an insanely large mall when I was in Japan recently, they're still a big deal there. It felt like stepping back in time.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Yeah if they are actually nice and do good business.

A run-down mall w/ half the stores closed has a fucked up feeling.

A nice mall with a great food court and lots of clean well run stores? Sure why not?

They do really well here in the Seattle area. Bellevue Square (+ basically a newer mall across the street) + Alderwood for instance are both large malls with a ton of business.

 

[Hookshot]

I used to, all the shops, food if you needed it. But now so much is done online I only go near one for Christmas or maybe a birthday present.

 

[Insane Metal]

Yes but not when they're absolutely packed.

 

[nush]

Sadly in the uk malls have been replaced by out of town retail parks in most places.

 

[Duellist]

Fuck no, they are nothing but clothing stores now. I go to the music store and GameStop and that's it. Rest of the time is spent sitting on fucking benches waiting for wife to finish clothes shopping lol

 

[Soltype]

I do, and for the life of me I don't understand why people adopted outdoor malls instead. I'm in Florida and it's either raining, hot or both.Why wouldn't you want to be inside?,it makes no sense.

 

[Unknown?]

I like the one in my town. It's not dead, still similar to when I was a kid minus some stores.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I do all my shopping inside the Fortnite Amazon Experience. I find it to be a better experience in almost every way.

 

[Escape Goat]

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[Highway Star]

The malls where I live have nothing but new immigrants in there. Not a word of English spoken, by staff or customers.
Not the same anymore. I miss the 80's and 90's.

 

[DKehoe]

The cinema I now regularly go to is part of a mall. I often go to later screenings and I often end up walking from one end to the other to get back to where I've parked my car. There's something kinda cool about walking around it when all the shops are closed up.

 

[Pimpollo818]

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

The cinema I now regularly go to is part of a mall. I often go to later screenings and I often end up walking from one end to the other to get back to where I've parked my car. There's something kinda cool about walking around it when all the shops are closed up.

I agree. There's a few movie theaters around here that are similar. It definitely is a trip getting out at like midnight and walking through an abandoned dark mall, knowing that everyone else at the mall is also a theater goer.

 

[bitbydeath]

Does America not have malls anymore?
They're still big in Australia.

Sydney has an ice rink in their mall.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Does America not have malls anymore?
They're still big in Australia.

Sydney has an ice rink in their mall.

America still has plenty of malls. The issue is that during the big mall boom from the 70s through the 90s we built far more malls than the country actually needed. Once shopping habits shifted and online shopping grew only the strongest malls stayed busy while many weaker ones emptied out. That oversupply is why we now see so many abandoned malls and why entire YouTube channels cover them.

But malls are still very much a thing and very much popular in the states.

 

[newtypepilot]

 

[AJUMP23]

I miss some aspects of the mall. We have outdoor shopping centers now that you walk outside and they are nice. But I miss places like corn dog 7 and other cool eateries. We do have a traditional mall in my town byput it is half traditional shops half local shops.

 

[Ozzie666]

Striking photos and a reminder of how different things were. Especially with smoking in public places. Anyone back then remembers smoking on Air planes too, kids school grounds, food places, McDonalds ash trays. Crazy times man.

Some of those clothes and hair styles have come back again and left at least twice

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

But malls are still very much a thing and very much popular in the states.

They are in deep, deep decline though. In fact, I'd wager that at least half of American now don't have a single well sustained mall within an hour's drive. The ones that are still standing tend to be crime laden / ghettoized, large portion of stores closed or boarded inside, nothing but a few high priced sneaker stores or whatever inside and maybe a half working food court, etc. I've seen it over and over again in what were once great Southern malls.

It's a shame, because open air malls are godawful, but keep getting built in the higher-end markets whereas no one restores or preserves the closed air malls. It has become a kind of flight logic, where the assumption that an indoor mall will be crime laden is quite rational today, so upper end markets flee them and build alternative open-air shopping areas in hopes that crimes or unseemly teens or whatever won't congregate and ruin those too.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

They are in deep, deep decline though. In fact, I'd wager that at least half of American now don't have a single well sustained mall within an hour's drive. The ones that are still standing tend to be crime laden / ghettoized, large portion of stores closed or boarded inside, nothing but a few high priced sneaker stores or whatever inside and maybe a half working food court, etc. I've seen it over and over again in what were once great Southern malls.

It's a shame, because open air malls are godawful, but keep getting built in the higher-end markets whereas no one restores or preserves the closed air malls. It has become a kind of flight logic, where the assumption that an indoor mall will be crime laden is quite rational today, so upper end markets flee them and build alternative open-air shopping areas in hopes that crimes or unseemly teens or whatever won't congregate and ruin those too.

They're actually currently experiencing a resurgence and have been increasing in popularity since 2021

Shopping malls are making a comeback with new experiences beyond retail

Mall operators are by completely reimagining their spaces to create destinations that blend shopping, dining, entertainment and even residential and office components.

www.10news.com

I live in Southern California, they're absolutely everywhere here and they're all constantly insanely packed.

I'm sure they're less common in bumfuck Indiana or something. I mentioned this early but we've made way too malls, so lots are dead and abandoned. But that's nothing new. Recent trends show Gen Z loves malls

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

I'm sure they're less common in bumfuck Indiana or something. I mentioned this early but we've made way too malls, so lots are dead and abandoned. But that's nothing new. Recent trends show Gen Z loves malls

I hope that resurgence continues, because I'm not seeing it much in the entire Southeast during our travels. None of the roughly 12 or so malls I recall being major bulwarks in the past have stopped sliding into further dilapidation and high ratios of closed stores, and that's not just from one or two states but from several areas across the Southeast that we visit when seeing family.

Of course, in the Southeast (where our demographic mix is a vast difference from SoCal) it's a complex race issue, where almost every degraded mall is closely associated with black crime increase, and then you have just the secluded upper-class markets that have open air ones with posh stores, to differentiate from that. So it's bifurcated by class and the middle-class malls are absolutely not visible again yet.

 

[DreamcastSkies]

Yes. I visit two local malls almost weekly. One is thriving. The other is described as a dead mall. Efforts are underway to help the dead mall.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I hope that resurgence continues, because I'm not seeing it much in the entire Southeast during our travels. None of the roughly 12 or so malls I recall being major bulwarks in the past have stopped sliding into further dilapidation and high ratios of closed stores, and that's not just from one or two states but from several areas across the Southeast that we visit when seeing family.

Of course, in the Southeast (where our demographic mix is a vast difference from SoCal) it's a complex race issue, where almost every degraded mall is closely associated with black crime increase, and then you have just the secluded upper-class markets that have open air ones with posh stores, to differentiate from that. So it's bifurcated by class and the middle-class malls are absolutely not visible again yet.

Some open air ones can be decent tho right?

We have some open air malls out here that are gorgeous, especially in OC and LA

But yes they are higher end

 

[Wilhelm_85]

I did. Absolutely. Loved going to the mall as a kid/teen.

 

[Paasei]

There's only one indoor shopping center where I'm from that is actually defined as a mall. Below is the one from my city. It's only 3 lanes, though. We call it 'De Passage'.

 

[thefool]

Yes I do. Very comfortable consumer experience.
They are still pretty big where I live.

 

[DirtInUrEye]

OP this nostalgia will wreck you:

 

[winjer]

When I was a teen and young adult, I really liked hanging out in the mall with my mates. And going to the cinema.
But now, I rarely go to a mall, and when I do, it's just to buy something I need and leave.

 

[Hudo]

No. When I (have to) go shopping, I already know what I want/need. So I just want to get my shit and get out.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Malls used to be the place to be, back when nobody had phones glued to their hands. Sure, they were always about shopping and hanging out, but now it feels like the whole vibe has shifted into hyper capitalism.

 

[DirtInUrEye]

Dossers used to do laps for no particular reason.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I'm not a fan, but during the working week they're less crowded and sometimes it's nice to have all of the stores in one place. On Friday afternoon and during weekends they become insufferable and I stay away as far as possible.

I also have to say I absolutely hate retail parks. Instead of being inside a huge building the whole time you constantly switch between going inside and out and it's a perfect recipe for getting a cold.

 

[ClanOfNone]

I miss one thing from malls, video game arcades.
I was the youngest of three, and with two older sisters in the 80/90's we spent a lot of time at the mall. I would beeline to the arcade and stay there till they were done. I can 1cc some of those games to this very day.

Well, two things, I miss Orange Julius too.

 

[Spyxos]

Yeah sure, i go there multiple times per month. What are open air malls, just a lot of shops nearbuy?

 

[John Bilbo]

I associate malls with thieves and knife attacks.

The concept itself is fine. It is just the reality that sucks.

 

[Poppinfresh]

My wife and I were just talking about the fact that neither of us has been in a proper mall in probably a decade.

Growing up in the 80s/90s I went to malls a lot, but with the advent of online shopping, there's not any reason for me to really go anymore.

I was actually thinking about hitting up the large mall that is relatively close to us, about an hour away, sometime before Christmas, just to see what it's like now. During the week, of course. You couldn't pay me enough to go on a weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

No, it's an incredible waste of time. My parents spent 3-4 hours doing groceries ina major food chain store inside the mall each Saturday when I was growing up. Now I do the same online in 10 minutes flat.

 

[spookyfish]

Used to love a good mall. (The mall I went to frequently in high school and college years was used as StarCourt Mall in Stranger Things.)

They just aren't convenient anymore, in terms of what I want to buy and where they are relative to where I live. I need to take my kids to "experience" a mall at some point. BUT -- it's not the same.

(No arcades now.)

 

[AJUMP23]

We need more Mall Musical numbers.



they remade Valley Girl it is awful and a musical, nothing like the original, but I remember this sequence was fun.

 

[p_xavier]

Yes I do. We have a new luxury one called Royalmount around here. I'm always amazed how in difficulty malls are in the US compared to Canada.

 

[Poppinfresh]

Used to love a good mall. (The mall I went to frequently in high school and college years was used as StarCourt Mall in Stranger Things.)

They just aren't convenient anymore, in terms of what I want to buy and where they are relative to where I live. I need to take my kids to "experience" a mall at some point. BUT -- it's not the same.

(No arcades now.)

The closest mall to me is 30 minutes away. The "good" mall is an hour. Same as it was when I was growing up, as I live in the same general area, but it's just not convenient when I can go online, order whatever I want (with a guarantee that they will have the size/style I want), and have it delivered in a few days.

 

[poppabk]

We still have some nice malls near me that get a ton of foot traffic. Nearly all the stores are brands I have never heard of though, and massively expensive. It's also ironic that all the companies that used to advertise relentlessly on podcasts back in the day and were online only - Warby Parker, Casper etc now have brick and mortar stores in the mall.