Malls aren’t obsolete and Gen Z is helping to prove that

LOS ANGELES - You can almost smell the Auntie Anne’s soft pretzels, can’t you? 

Giant shopping malls have become a staple of consumerism in America. Families make a day of it on the weekends to let their kids ride on that marvelous carousel and have their choice of the dozen or so restaurants in the food court. 

Malls were once the metropolis for shoppers and while they aren’t as shiny as they used to be during their heyday, they aren’t going anywhere and younger generations are seeing to that. 

First indoor shopping mall

The very first indoor shopping mall was built in Edina, Minnesota, in 1952 and was called the Southdale Center. 

Southdale Center would officially open to the public in 1956 and had 72 stores and had 5,000 parking spots, according to the Hennepin History Museum. 

It spanned 80,000 square-feet and cost about $20 million to build. Southdale Center had all the adornments we see in malls today, including a skating rink, an enormous bird cage, a water fountain and it even had a post office. 

This mall laid the groundwork for what all future malls across the country would look like.  

Mall Santas

One of the biggest draws of Southdale Center opening in Minnesota was their first Christmas celebration called "Winder Wonderland," according to the Rent-a-Christmas website.

The mall was the perfect location to set up Santa’s workshop and North Pole displays which also increased foot-traffic for stores in the mall. 

Photos with Santa Claus added a healthy boost to the popularity of indoor malls. 

In-store displays during the holidays was and still continues to be a huge draw for shoppers as well, according to a Holiday Outlook survey conducted by PwC. 

"Nearly one-fifth of consumers rank holiday displays and store atmosphere (22%), holiday-specific products (21%) and making an event out of the shopping trip (17%) as a top three factor influencing their decision to visit physical stores during the holiday season," the survey found. 

Sbarro’s, Waldenbooks, and Sephora, oh my

Indoor shopping malls began to sprout across the U.S. with the help of a postwar economy and the construction of the Interstate Highway System, as well as huge commercial investments assisted by changing tax laws, according to Smithsonian Magazine. 

Malls became "the new Main Streets" of America, even slating themselves as a pop culture staple with the invention of board games such as Mall Madness and TV game shows like Shop ‘Til You Drop, according to Time.

Stores such as Waldenbooks, Hot Topic, Sephora, Bath and Bodyworks, Sbarro’s, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, and the like have become synonymous with your local shopping mall. 

Between 1970 and 2000, over 800 shopping malls were built in the U.S., and that includes the largest mall in America: Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minnesota. 

Gen Z likes malls

In the mid-2000s, the rise of online shopping and the 2008 recession contributed to the decline of malls. 

Between 2010 and 2013, mall visits during the holidays, which is typically the busiest shopping time of the year, dropped by 50%, according to Time. 

Vacancy rates in regional malls hit an all-time-high in 2011 at 9.4%, Smithsonian Magazine said, but that is slowly changing. 

While it’s not the case for some of these "zombie" malls, there has been a renewed effort to revive the once-thriving department store hubs consumers frequented during their heyday. 

Rather than demolishing or abandoning these giant stores, experts say property developers are looking to provide not shopping experiences, but convert the space into necessities such as grocery stores, office space, gyms, clinics, and even schools. 

On the other hand, for the developers who are revitalizing malls rather than converting them, a healthy number of Gen Z shoppers are breathing new life into them. 

According to a survey conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers in 2023, Gen Z-ers have much clearer visions on how to achieve their financial goals and value a successful career over having the nicest or newest things. 

This group of consumers prefers to check out items in person and recommendations from friends and family about a product or service has far greater sway on what they decide to purchase in-store or online than any influencer.

An overwhelming 97% of surveyors said they preferred to shop at brick and mortar stores and value the social aspects of going out to shop. 

Why Gen Z shoppers prefer in-store

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