Nostalgia

This month, Rylie Revercomb will talk about how malls, once a staple of many people's childhood, are fading from relevancy.

The Downfall of Malls

By Rylie Revercomb

Ah, the mall. A place where fashion trends go to die. As a kid, you probably remember begging your parents to take you to the mall-- to go to Justice, window shop in the toy stores, or stare at Victoria’s Secret and wonder why your mom won’t let you go inside. The mall was like its own little world and, as you grew older, it most likely became a place for you to escape with all of your friends after school... Well, not anymore. Recently, the number of people going to the mall on their time off has dropped drastically. Has this come from trends dying? Or perhaps the dramatic increase of online shopping? Or… Maybe even something else? Hmm… Fear not, dear reader, this article will answer all of your questions about your seemingly empty mall.

The Mall: Beginnings

Believe it or not, humans did not always have the convenience of going to the mall and being able to shop at multiple places at once. In fact, we used to have barely any stores to go to, and you would be lucky if you were able to drive less than ten minutes to get to the grocery store. Shopping used to be a hassle… until a genius decided to come up with the idea of a shopping center, which later became known as a mall. According to World of Finance, a market webpage, “One of the earliest examples was the Valley Fair Shopping Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, which opened on March 10th, 1955.” It was a huge success. The shopping center was extremely convenient because you could get various shopping needs out of the way, without having to drive all over town for a specific store. Everything was right in front of you. Quickly rising in popularity, by the late '50s, more than 1,200+ shopping centers/malls sprouted up all over the US, drawing in a crowd of eager Moms shopping out and about, and teenagers looking for a new place to spend Friday nights. Malls really began to thrive from the '80s to '90s, and then hit a small downward trend. They shot back up in the early 2000s, but it seems like the 2020s has sealed the fate of a dying trend. The question lingering about, though, is: "Why?"

Image of Valley Fair Mall submitted by Royalbroil on Wikipedia

'Twas it Online Shopping?

A lot of frequent mall enjoyers, mostly Millennials and Gen Xers, believe that online shopping is the sole reason for the downfall of malls. While some online articles and newspapers have a more nuanced take on the situation, however, real people in our everyday lives have more to say on the subject and how they feel online shopping is affecting malls and stores everywhere. Highland Elementary teacher and living '80s legend Stephannie Revercomb, , said, “I believe the quick availability of doing something online and the accessibility makes it so more people don’t go out in public. This is resulting in businesses closing because they can’t compete with the societal needs of instant gratification that happens online.” This puts it very nicely. The simple answer is that in-person stores simply are not making enough revenue anymore. In short, online shopping, e-commerce, and the COVID-19 pandemic did contribute partially to this major downfall in shopping society. However, malls had slowly started the downward trend in the '90s, when digital shopping seemed like just a fad and most people were still flocking to real stores to buy gifts and necessities.

'Twas it ‘Just Not Cool Anymore’?

What else could it be, if not online shopping? Well, the simple answer is that the trend died. Malls have lost that air of coolness that they used to have. This is partially because of teenagers. As new groups of teens come and go, their interests come and go, as well. As mentioned earlier, teenagers used to go to the mall just to hang out with friends. It was a hangout spot. Get food from the food court, chat with your friends, window-shop the stores, try on different clothes for fun… The mall was popular then. But now, it is just not as cool. Many teenagers are chronically online. While this may be sad, it is also the truth. It also explains why online shopping is so much more popular now. Teenagers control trends and fads, decide what is in and what is out. When asked about where they do regular shopping, a poll taken at this very high school revealed that most kids do prefer shopping in-person. However, when the question changed to ask about the mall compared to online shopping, online won in a landslide. Most modern teenagers would pick online shopping over the mall because it is more convenient. This is especially true in the little town of Grants Pass because going to the mall takes a half-hour trip there and back, and most kids our age would rather do their shopping online and spend that extra hour doing something else. To most kids, the mall just is not cool or convenient anymore.

Image of Kids Hanging Out at the Mall by Michael Galinsky

The Mall: Endings

That’s just the end of it. As of right now, a majority of malls have been shut down since the pandemic, and those still open are drowning in debt, or losing stores every week. It is a constant sale when you go to the mall, as more stores close down and try to get rid of everything they have. Slowly losing relevance in the media, malls are beginning to disappear. Soon, they just may become a thing of the past, a fleeting memory of our childhoods as a new trend takes the world by storm. Malls are out. Online shopping is in.

Sources:

https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-us-mall
Poll of GPHS High School Students
Interview with Stephannie Revercomb

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