The Enduring Love for the Shopping Mall

Shopping Malls — By Shopping Blogs on January 2, 2010 7:11 am

Shopping has never been solely about buying a new dress or pair of shoes at the local shopping mall. Not in our lifetime, anyway. As far back as the 1940’s, women would combine purchasing something at the downtown clothier with meeting a friend for a meal at the corner lunch counter down the block. In the 1960’s, the rise of strip malls extended that culture to the suburbs. Then developers began staking out large plots of land on which to build the modern day mall. National retailers jumped at the opportunity, and opened stores in these huge collections shops. They quickly became the go-to place for shopping, and for gathering with friends to socialize. Soon, downtown shopping districts were feeling the effects of America’s love affair with “going to the mall,” and stores began closing, or following their customers out to the suburban shopping center.

Today, people frequent their favorite shopping mall for many reasons. The convenience of having all those great stores under one roof allows shoppers to park once and hit all the shops they need, rather than driving around town to stand-alone retailers. While large, well-known department stores continue to be the anchors, buyers can find almost anything they want. Popular clothes sellers are sprinkled throughout the mall. Kitchen stores and bed & bath shops are well stocked household goods. The retail roster is rounded out with shoe stores, and those offering toys, gifts, books, music and videos, jewelry, and specialty foods or drinks. Service sector businesses like optometrists, hair and nail salons, or tanning places are now mainstays at the mall, too.

As great as the shopping is, many are drawn to the mall for relational reasons. Retirees gather for a cup of coffee before using the hallways of the shopping mall for a walk and talk. Friends meet for a little shopping, some gabbing and people watching, or to share a meal at the food court or a restaurant. Parents chit-chat while their young kids romp about the play area, and teenagers roam the mall with pals, hoping to see and be seen.

Many experts predicted that online shopping would be the death of bricks and mortar stores, including malls. It has not happened, and isn’t likely to come about anytime soon. People still enjoy hands on shopping, and the extra benefits outlined here make malls an enduring part of the culture. 

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