this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2024
606 points (95.6% liked)
Showerthoughts
29819 readers
698 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics
- 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
- 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
- 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The malls that are succeeding still are the ones that are transitioning to hosting nearly exclusively luxury and fashion stores, i.e., retailers that don't have to compete with Wal Mart and Amazon. These are obviously only viable in areas that are fairly affluent to begin with.
As far as I understand, the malls that are succeeding are the ones focused on the community itself.
High end retailers have always had an important part in the mall, since inspecting luxury goods in person is preferable to trusting the online process, but they don't keep malls full.
There were already too many malls for the American population, then online shopping showed up, but what still gets people to go to malls are the social aspects.
People assume malls as cultural hubs are dying because the excess malls have been dying off for over a decade and the popularity of Amazon or whatever, but the hundreds that are still standing are very popular, especially since covid, like apparently over 90% occupancy.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2023/08/28/future-of-shopping-malls-in-america/70649848007/
Consequently, malls are focusing on those social aspects rather than any sort of retail specifically. They're coming around to the realization that the experience of going to the mall is much more important than the products sold.
https://passby.com/blog/the-future-of-shopping-malls-retail/