Your local mall?

[RobbieB]

Doing OK. Not packed, not empty.

 

[davebarnes]

Our local mall. Cherry Creek Mall, in Denver is doing well enough to charge for parking.

 

[Just_Steve]

My local mall Poughkeepsie Galleria seems to pretty busy, parking lots are almost always full. When I have to go to the Apple store I have to go to the mall in Danbury CT, my god that place is mobbed every single day.

 

[Scrapr]

I quoted (and did) a TI demo job in the local mall. I had a hard time finding the right space to meet the estimator as there was so much being redone. Estimator said 54 spaces being redone. This mall does have a Sears. I think this one is closing.

There is a mall across town in the same era that looks like a ghost town. Mid week afternoon and it is dead. They do have some good retailers (REI, Nordstroms, Macy's, etc) but they have not kept up the energy that the 1st mall has.

So 50% from my experience

 

[HadEnuff]

Our local mall. Cherry Creek Mall, in Denver is doing well enough to charge for parking.

?? wow. just wow.

 

[HadEnuff]

We just moved to a small town where the mall had already nearly collapsed. The movie theater is still there and about the only retailer that interests me. The library has taken some space. And a fitness center has taken a large space.

The shopping center is such a bad idea, I am glad it is in decline. It encourages nearly everyone who wants to shop, to drive. It encourages pollution by driving and the leakage of oil from parked cars, too much concrete for parking, often difficult for workers to get to their jobs (they often live in less expensive areas), and more.

It would be great if downtown could recover its old popularity and most people lived close enough to use active transportation to shop.

Perhaps most of you would disagree but this would be my hope for shopping.

I agree with the sentiment. When I moved to the small town, from which I recently moved, it still had some nice stores "downtown". I moved there in '77, and the local mall, which is now in serious decline, was new, up and coming, and eventually suffocated the local stores, which either closed up entirely, or moved to the mall.
As much as I agree with your sentiment, the decline of the mall has not spurred a resurgence downtown. As others have pointed out, the decline seems to be from the decline of the big chain anchor stores, like JC Penney, Sears, etc, and the smaller chains have moved to the strip malls.

 

[mystang52]

33 years ago I moved to my current residence here in northern New Jersey, and I would describe it as a shopper's mecca. Surprisingly, it still is. There are 3 brick and mortar malls within a handful of miles of each other, and a slew of shopping centers. One of those malls recently announced an expansion to add something like 60 (not a typo) additional stores.

At least in my neck of the woods it appears brick and mortar is alive and well.

 

[jollystomper]

In the nearest city to us, one mall seems to be doing well, although there are a couple of vacant storefronts. the second mall has been shut down for several years. It has two anchor stores left but they blocked off their entrances via the mall years ago. There has been a lot of debate about what to do with that site. My guess is that it will be demolished and apartments/condos will be built.

 

[street]

No malls with in 4 hours from me. The small western town I live in are closing stores all the time. I don't beleive I could buy a shirt here if I wanted too. Stores brick/mortar are disappearing here left and right.

 

[Aerides]

Our local mall. Cherry Creek Mall, in Denver is doing well enough to charge for parking.

Boca Town Center has 5 separate pay Valet parking sections. Anchored by Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom, this mall is not going anywhere. We did lose the Sears, and the wing that it was in was definitely on the decline, but the other 80% is crazy.

 

[Car-Guy]

Nearest mall to us is 75 miles away and the population of that town is less than 50k. I'm guessing the mall has enough room for about 30 stores but only 8 to 10 are open and operating. JCP is still there and one or two other recognizable brand names. All are clothing stores of one sort or another except for one of the chain eyeglasses stores.

It is odd to see the parking lots are 70+% full but the mall is almost empty. Maybe there are using it as a park and ride for the local college which is only a few miles away.

 

[jfn111]

Since I live in Bloomington MN the Mall of America is the closest mall and it is doing well. The city council is about to approve a $250 million water park addition.
I grew up with the Southdale mall. (Edina MN) My great uncle was one of the developers and it was the first enclosed shopping mall that was anchored by competitors, Dayton's and Donaldson's. Dayton's became Macy's which is still there. The Donaldson's space was taken over by Marshall's and the JC Penny space, which was added during the 60's, is now becoming a Life time fitness.
The last time I was at Southdale it was a ghost town compared to the MOA.

 

[Midpack]

No change here, mostly a continuation of the trends we've seen for the last 10-20 years. High end malls seem to do fine, and outlet malls are busy, but the middle tier malls continue to lose ground all around us (to online and Walmart/Costco/etc.). We stopped going to the local mall years ago, and several other malls nearby have closed, one even bulldozed. The local mall is a hangout for teenagers and young parents, the only seniors we see there are walkers who aren't spending money.

30-40 years ago we used to go to a mall almost every weekend as part of our Saturday ritual, but that was before online became a real presence. We don't miss malls at all, nor Sears, Penney or any of the mid level department stores. I'll still shop at Nordstroms occasionally, but I can't remember the last time I bought anything from any other department store. Shoes are about the only thing left I hesitate to buy online, that a department store would have. YMMV

 

[athena53]

I can't even tell you how the malls in my area are doing- the last one I visited was 2 years ago, to get what I wanted at a specialty stationery store. This is shop-till-you-drop country (Overland Park, KS) and there were plenty of high-end names but it was pretty dead. One cosmetic place had an employee standing by the door, frantically trying to engage me in a conversation about my earrings, hoping, I'm sure, to draw me in.

I take my granddaughter to Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines- it's anchored by Target, which is doing well, but I can't say the same about the mall. She likes playing on the coin-operated cars, planes, etc. and then we get ice cream or Starbucks (she likes their cake pops). We rarely buy anything there other than food. Many stores are closing, some are empty, some replaced by seasonal businesses, some replaced by non-stores such as a gymnastics school and a place with a lot of bouncy houses.

Thinking about why I personally don't go to malls: first, I don't spend what I used to on Stuff. The clothes are typically all cheap stuff made in China and many are made for twenty-somethings and would look silly on me even though I'm in better shape than many twenty-somethings. I also want to go to the store that has what I want, get in and get out. Shopping is not a hobby for me.

Here's an interesting site that shows malls years after they've closed.

DeadMalls.com

 

[Cobra9777]

Our mall is doing OK for a small town. We never go except occasionally to Barnes & Noble, which is an anchor by the main entrance. But I'm told that it's completely occupied (no vacant stores). The parking lot is never as full as it was back in the 80s and 90s, but it's typically at 20-50%. The major anchors are all still there except Sears which just closed last month, as expected. The restaurants around the perimeter of the parking lot all do quite well. We go to two of them somewhat regularly.

I'm not a big "shopper," although DW is. It's one of her hobbies. She prefers places like Belk, Bealls, and Target. She also likes the Marketplace concept and occasionally the upscale malls in Dallas that are thriving. I prefer to buy everything on Amazon. The only B&M stores I go to are Home Depot and Lowes.

Maybe Amazon can buy up these malls and convert them to some combination of quick-delivery mini warehouse, drive-through pick-up, locker pick-up, drone base, driverless Uber hub, etc.

 

[Jerry1]

Shoes are about the only thing left I hesitate to buy online, that a department store would have. YMMV

Try it. The selection is much better on line than any store could possibly have. Plus, the return process is very easy. They know you might need to try a few before you buy/keep them so they have a good process.

 

[athena53]

33 years ago I moved to my current residence here in northern New Jersey, and I would describe it as a shopper's mecca. Surprisingly, it still is. There are 3 brick and mortar malls within a handful of miles of each other, and a slew of shopping centers. One of those malls recently announced an expansion to add something like 60 (not a typo) additional stores.

At least in my neck of the woods it appears brick and mortar is alive and well.

Paramus, right? My guess is that part of their success is due to people coming in from NYC to buy clothing with zero sales tax. And, once you've made the trip, may as well have a meal and see what else is on offer.

 

[CRLLS]

Our local small mall is a ghost town. The only anchor store left is a VonMaur. The 16 screen theater has upgraded the seating this last year. Another mall about 10 miles away is maybe 5 years behind the first. It too will be empty IMO. The outlet mall 20 miles away just shut down and the land is for sale. On a road a couple of miles further west, it seems that the strip malls just go from one to the next, for 30 miles. 4 and 6 lane roads with stop lights everywhere. 40 years ago, that road was a 2 lane "Limited Access Roadway". Not so much limited access today! I think these strip malls will see increasingly stiffer competition from the main on-line sellers and have a hard time staying open. Maybe they will start to close in 5-10 years? There can only be "x" number of fast food places, restaurants and sports bars to fill those voids.

 

[gayl]

Walnut Creek has no problem staying full but I wonder about Neiman Marcus foot traffic. They have a new concept: Maker to Market where locals sell handicrafts of all kinds.

Concord has a problem staying full but they're getting a new bookstore (Barnes & Noble) .... lost the Amazon store front to WC

Other cities aren't doing great. Richmond is considering turning it's oldest mall into desperately needed housing. A city on the peninsula is turning a Valco mall into multi use : stores 1st floor, condos above. I see this as the wave of the future

 

[gayl]

Since I live in Bloomington MN the Mall of America is the closest mall and it is doing well. The city council is about to approve a $250 million water park addition.

Multi use malls are the wave of the future IMHO

 

[timo2]

Our local mall. Cherry Creek Mall, in Denver is doing well enough to charge for parking.

But multiple lower end malls in the Denver area were torn down and replaced by the new urbanization faux downtown outside store arrangement. The high end malls like Cherry Creek and Park Meadows are doing well however.

 

[timo2]

On the other hand, people seem to be fascinated by photos of abandoned malls

From the article: "Dead malls are popping up all over the states, particularly in the Midwest, where economic decline has sped up the "going out of business" process. This map, put together by a Dead Malls Enthusiasts Facebook group, shows that well.

As Americans are faced with multiple shopping options and more stores are leaving malls, it should be interesting to see if malls and mall culture will survive.

What you are about to see is what happens when malls are abandoned. It's apocalyptic and really, really creepy."

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/completely-surreal-pictures-of-americas-abandoned-malls

 

[savory]

On the other hand, people seem to be fascinated by photos of abandoned malls

From the article: "Dead malls are popping up all over the states, particularly in the Midwest, where economic decline has sped up the "going out of business" process. This map, put together by a Dead Malls Enthusiasts Facebook group, shows that well.

As Americans are faced with multiple shopping options and more stores are leaving malls, it should be interesting to see if malls and mall culture will survive.

What you are about to see is what happens when malls are abandoned. It's apocalyptic and really, really creepy."

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/completely-surreal-pictures-of-americas-abandoned-malls

The JL Hudson store was not a mall but it was a full city block and several stories. Perhaps one of the highest rated news segments in Detroit TV history was the implosion of the JL Hudson store. It is understandable since it is likely if you lived in Detroit, you shopped there at least once. I believe many people felt a piece of their life was lost in the implosion of the Hudson store.

 

[JoeWras]

Boca Town Center has 5 separate pay Valet parking sections. Anchored by Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom, this mall is not going anywhere. We did lose the Sears, and the wing that it was in was definitely on the decline, but the other 80% is crazy.

I just threw away a blender I bought from that Sears over 30 years ago.

Glad to hear Boca Town Center still lives.

 

[JoeWras]

We live in a growing area so most of the malls are doing OK. However, they did build two new monsters about 15 years ago. On one side of town, the new mall is struggling with many closed stores. On the other side of town, the new mall is doing well and has effectively killed the well established mall. The old one is headed for foreclosure. In the meantime, it is replacing stores with things like gyms.

Two well established malls with different stories. 1) Adapted and added a lot of restaurants with outside access. Also added a ring of marketplace. 2) Static, had a crime problem, and now is about to die. Too close to the new monster.