Redefining Retail

9Shopping Malls Apocalypse?

Shopping malls have been part of the retail landscape for decades. For many they offer a safe hub where people can shop for everything they need, get a haircut, pick up or drop off items for the drycleaner, or simply hang out with family and friends—maybe sharing a meal or watch a movie together. Malls are often considered the connective tissue of local communities, especially when they're located far from urban areas.

But many malls, particularly in the US, have struggled to maintain their relevance in our high‐tech era, largely because of changing consumer behaviour and the rise of e‐commerce. In fact, although brick‐and‐mortar stores still account for the lion's share of consumer retail spending, many people today consider the idea of browsing in a giant mall obsolete—instead relying on digital channels to discover new products and services. Additionally, fewer people are inclined to concentrate all their shopping into one expedition to a more distant location, perhaps for reasons of having less time for errands in general—a trend that benefits smaller stores situated along work commutes.

Shopping malls in the US started as open‐air affairs perhaps as early as 1922. Aside from some suburban malls from the late 1940s, it seems the two oldest “fully enclosed, indoor” malls opened in Wisconsin in 1955 and Minnesota in 1956. In the 1980s, the heyday of the large iconic shopping mall, there were 2,500 in the US. As of 2022, there are just 700—and by ...