Whatever Happened To Mall Culture?
Mall rats—that's what they called young adults who unequivocally loved the mall in the early 90s and 2000s. Mall rats were people who spent most of their free time in the mall, in the food court, in the stores, and at the adjacent movie theater. Why the mall? Simply speaking, the mall use to function as a centerpiece for both the young and old. The mall was a shopping center and a focal point especially for young adults living in the suburbs and those who did not have many other outlets outside of their home.
The mall was a place where teens and young adults could have one communal meeting space without being under the ever-watchful eye of their parents or their teachers. The mall is where the first kisses happened. The mall is where people got to hold hands, and canoodle before going home to do homework. The mall was where classmates became lifelong friends. The mall was also the place where teens got their first gig at the local smoothie shop or sold knick-knacks at a small kiosk. It was where teens learned important life skills, important finance skills, and important people skills.
So if the mall was this foundational, all important place? Where is it now?
The mall of our youth is not the same as the malls we see today. The malls we see today are different on many fronts. Many articles and journalists have lamented over the decline of the mall, specifically in western society, specifically in America. The mall of yesteryear, for the most part, is no longer the same today. Malls are chronically empty, under-performing, or shuttering down.
Malls nowadays have a host of empty stores, empty parking lots, and empty cafeterias. Some people still like going to malls, for sure, but they are far and few in between. Over the past decade, hundreds of malls across America have shuttered down, citing low performance, low revenue, and not enough foot traffic. To make matters worse, there are a whole host of issues that have happened in malls, including peer violence, stuff being stolen, and people having to flee for their lives on more than one occasion.
The pandemic also contributed to the lack and decline in malls. There was more caution in public, crowded spaces, which the mall historically represented. More people who had to stay at home vetoed any place that wasn’t necessary to go to. Most people only ended up going to places like the grocery store, post office, and occasional trips into the office during this time period. The mall ended up being one of the first places to be vetoed in this scenario, making it more vulnerable to places closing and store failure.
There also seems to be little incentive to go to malls nowadays, both as a place to gather and as a place to shop. Most teens these days are chronically online and spend most of their time flitting between different social media channels. They are not at the mall like they used to be and are not as interested in mall culture as their former counterparts. Also, with the never-ending choices presented by online shopping, there almost seem to be very few reasons to go to the mall—not even to pick up clothes. Nowadays, one can buy anything with one click and put things on auto-pay. You can order clothes online with a swipe of a hand or a press of a button. Something that you order in the morning can be there in the afternoon with same-day shipping. Plus, many things that can be ordered online can be picked up by a Door-Dasher or delivery driver, making it even less appealing to step foot in a store.
And this all coincides with the perpetual lack of third spaces. A third space, or third place, is a place outside of work or home that serves as a gathering or relaxation spot before transitioning to your next stop for the day. A common third place is a coffee shop. It is a place to relax, unwind, contemplate, read, and commune. It can also be a place to see familiar faces, talk with others, meet a friend, or grab some light bites to go. The function of it is to be a place to unload your mind and have a place other than home (or work) to exist in. Unfortunately, the pandemic has changed our relationship with third spaces. Once a common backdrop for life, third spaces have become a bit of a rarity unless you live in a walk-able area, and even then, the relationship with them can be fraught.
For example, many coffee shops have become pseudo-workplaces with the rise of remote work, hybrid work, and freelancing. The coffee shop as a temporary workplace makes it a bit difficult for it to also serve as a place to unwind. This can contribute to a never-ending feeling of being on, or at least not fully being off. This can lead to feelings that the coffee shop is more akin to a co-working space rather than a true third space. Furthermore, some people have been dealing with the fact that the staff and others may only allow you to stay in the space if you purchase an item or act busy- and if you are there for too long it can get odd. All this put together can make it slightly inconducive to have the coffee shop act as a regular third space from home and work.
Essentially, the third space of our past has been transformed to the online world in our present. Oftentimes, physical spaces are no longer the only contenders for being a third space. Instead, social media, chat rooms, and internet forums act as online (and informal) third spaces. And this can be hard for some, as people spend most of the day on the internet already for work and school. It is also getting harder as social media has become overtaken by big brands and corporations looking to sell products rather than create connections or communities. Without having the internet as a true digital third space, people are turning back to having a more physical one.
In general, the mall works better than a coffee shop for a third space because it has historically represented a one-stop shop for everything. The mall has always function as a catch-all place for stores, a place for coffee, a place for food, and a place for movies. You didn’t have to go anywhere else. It was the premiere cornerstone and centerpiece of daily living. Because of this, and just good ole feelings of nostalgia- people are craving the resurgence of the mall. And people are actively embracing the idea of a potential comeback.
Can malls make a come-back?
Coincidentally, just because the mall has suffered in the past decade or so does not mean that it cannot experience a resurgence. In fact, younger generations do want to spend more time offline, not less. Many in the Gen Z cohort report being lonely and are looking for community. Malls and mall culture can capitalize on the rise in the need to have a space away from home and a space away from the computer. There are several ways to accomplish a comeback and studies are suggesting that post-pandemic there have been growing interest in reviving malls. More shoppers are looking for community, connection, and a place to be among others. In order to take advantage of that, malls have to take a chance on being innovative for a new audience rather than just sticking to what they know.
Malls can take advantage of various trends that have been showing up over the past year. For example, girl power and ‘the fun economy’ are things that keep popping up again and again. With the commercial success of movies like ‘Barbie’ and the concert film ‘The Eras Tour', there is guaranteed foot traffic coming into stores and places that celebrate pop culture. Malls have (with great variety) embraced some of these emerging trends. For example, one fun thing that happened during the summer was that people took time to dress up and dress in pink for the world to see. Some stores offered discounts if you showed up dressed in pink. The stores, companies, and brands that capitalized on the Barbie craze definitely saw a boost in sales and made a lasting impression on new customers. And those who ignored those trends did not see the same love returned.
Another way for malls to continue on is by being a place young adults want to be at and also be social in. For example, making shopping a unique and immersive experience may lead to more foot traffic in stores. Some examples include having concierges in stores, having interactive try-on hauls, hosting fashion talks, and curating fashion events to help bring traffic into low-traffic areas in the mall. There is also a big push to embrace quiet luxury trends and trends that cater to the customer and consumer overall. People want to feel part of something and also feel attended to. Malls can capitalize on that by providing fully 360-interactive service and events that really tailor and cater to those who come and shop there.
Additionally, malls should capitalizing on holidays. The upcoming holiday season including Thanksgiving and Christmas can be the first true test if malls can make a comeback in the post-pandemic world. There is a return of people wanting to celebrate something, and to celebrate holidays in particular. Malls can serve a dual purpose in spreading that holiday cheer and also being a place where everyone can gather and meet. They can provide a space that people want to be at, that people feel happy being social in, and a place that people can share their experience both online and offline.
Other ideas include just embracing the new. This may mean that malls may have to embrace having new decor and may have to update that plain cafeteria court. They may have to court new restaurants that provide good food, good experiences, and good discounts. They may have to update the movie theater and not just leave it as a dilapidated state. They may have to rent out to new boutiques and host pop-up shops rather than let a retail space sit empty. They may have to keep and continue to embrace new kiosks, new products, new ideas that will keep people coming back. Essentially, in order to succeed and reach a new generation of consumers they have to provide continued investment in young and older people who want to look for community but with a modern twist.
And it may not be a perfect fit, and it may take time, but Millennials and Gen Z will (most likely) be at the forefront of bringing mall culture back in some shape or form. Though, we may not fully return to the days of simple mall hangouts or quick errand runs, we can all accept that we will have to adapt in order to see a new version of the mall take shape and form. People are getting tired of the internet, and many are turning to offline ways to have fun and just get a break from the online world. Malls can fulfill that role in a very big way, as long as they remember that they can be the staple and backbone of a thriving community once again.