Are malls going extinct in your area?

[happywife]

The mall I used to live in as a teen was always fully leased out.  Today, I would say it's about 65% leased out.  And many of the stores are small, non-chain stores that usually only last a few months.  I hate the mall now.  If I do need to go to the mall, I usually go directly to the store I want and then leave.  Do you still like going to malls?  Are they still thriving in your area?

[tacokick]

We have one creepy mall and one "good" mall. They rest are all going towards the fake Main Street model.

[agnes]

Are talking about Westminster? That place has needed to be redone for a while now. It grosses me out how there's carpet everywhere.

[spitforspat]

A lot of shopping is moving to big, outdoor shopping centers. But, I did go to the mall the other day to hang out in the ac somewhere other than my house. It was packed with teens!

I've never felt older than when I went into American Eagle with a baby strapped to me.

In San Antonio there are a lot of dying malls.

[agnes]

Lately I've been going to the nice one and the outdoor ones.

[spitforspat]

Oh, and one mall in my city has been turned into a community college campus.

[dexteroni]

The mall nearest to me is fine, in fact it's about to expand for the second time. But there's one a bit further away that is going the same route as the one you described - empty storefronts, independent stores that don't last, and last year its Macy's closed, which is definitely not a good sign.

[flex]

I rarely go to the malls here.

[MixedBerryJam]

They just ripped out my local mall except for the anchors at each end, a Kohls and a Marshalls, and are replacing it with a Wegmans! I had no use for that mall to begin with but I'll at Wegman's every damn day! As soon as they post jobs I'm going to apply for the employee discount. ::checks watch again::

[sweetchix]

Yes. The mall I used to hang out in when I was a growing up is now mostly a business park. It still has a BonTon and a Sears, but that's it as far as stores. We do have 2 large malls that are still doing very well and another 2 that could go under by the time my kids are teenagers.

ETA: we also have an outlet mall that will likely never go under. That place is always packed. It's in Niagara Falls so it gets Americans, Canadians, and tourists shopping there every day. 

[verypunny]

Jul 9, 2016 12:14:19 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

They just ripped out my local mall except for the anchors at each end, a Kohls and a Marshalls, and are replacing it with a Wegmans! I had no use for that mall to begin with but I'll at Wegman's every damn day! As soon as they post jobs I'm going to apply for the employee discount. ::checks watch again::

I hate to tell you but wegmans doesn't give employee discounts.

[cinderbella]

I'm 10 minutes from the Mall of America so, no. They just opened a huge expansion and are already planning another one.

But even the mall closer to me is still going pretty strong - there's turnover but not as much as in the past. I think part of it has to do with the weather here - it's shitty for half the year so we need decent indoor options.

[thebreakfastclub]

I work in buying, so the in store vs on line breakdown is a constant focus.

I saw a news piece that said there are maybe 1100 malls in the US. The bottom 300 will be gone in the next 10 years.

There are some huge and successful malls that will never die. But the marginal ones will not survive.

[dexteroni]

And the mall in my hometown is doing ok, probably because it's the only mall, and the only place to buy clothes other than like Target or Walmart.

[ZoeHart]

Not at all, we have three that are each like ten minutes apart from each other and they are consistently fully leased.

[nightlight2]

The posh mall is doing well but their food court is half empty. The old mall is dying but has a few successful trendy discount places like H&M and Forever 21. Both are owned by the same company.

All the new shopping places are shopping centers, Main Street models or an indoor collection of everything: supermarket, movie theatre, bookstore, clothing stores.

[auntie]

I almost never go to the mall.

I go to one for Lands End. Sephora and Nordstrom Rack.

[crazycakes]

I love close to the Mall of Georgia, which is always busy. We spend quite a bit of time there in the winter because they have an indoor play area and carousel, so it's a good place to kill some time with DD.

Other malls nearby are not doing well. Definitely similar to the ones you describe. I'm sure those will shut down in the next couple of years.

[glitzyglow]

In my area there are 3 malls: High-end mall, typical mall, outlet mall. The high-end one isn't normally super busy, but I avoid the other two completely on weekends. They are also building an area that is retail space/entertainment/living area that will be similar to the Easton area in Columbus, Ohio. So I guess malls/retail are doing well here.

[MixedBerryJam]

Jul 9, 2016 12:19:23 GMT -5 verypunny said:

Jul 9, 2016 12:14:19 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

They just ripped out my local mall except for the anchors at each end, a Kohls and a Marshalls, and are replacing it with a Wegmans! I had no use for that mall to begin with but I'll at Wegman's every damn day! As soon as they post jobs I'm going to apply for the employee discount. ::checks watch again::

I hate to tell you but wegmans doesn't give employee discounts.

NOOOO! The lady at my next-closest one told me they do! Way to ruin my faith in Wegmans, dude.

[lexxasaurus]

The mall in the town I lived in up north was sad during construction but they've done a total revamp and put in a lot of new buildings, have an actual indoor mall, as well as an outdoor 'mall' feel with a bunch of businesses right on the side streets and in the same area.

Between the town I work, the one my brother is in, and the one I live in there are several of the outdoor mall/shopping areas, which is alright because I actually like those a bit better.

[lurknomore]

Jul 9, 2016 12:12:04 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

The mall nearest to me is fine, in fact it's about to expand for the second time. But there's one a bit further away that is going the same route as the one you described - empty storefronts, independent stores that don't last, and last year its Macy's closed, which is definitely not a good sign.

Which is the second one...Richmond? We never go there except when we need Sears. The Randall Park mall was like 80% empty when we first moved here and then Sears left. They finally tore it down entirely a year ago or so. At one point it was the largest mall in the US. Kind of sad.

[happywife]

Jul 9, 2016 12:03:43 GMT -5 agnes said:

Are talking about Westminster? That place has needed to be redone for a while now. It grosses me out how there's carpet everywhere.

Yes!  I stopped going years ago, it's terrible.

[verypunny]

Jul 9, 2016 12:39:35 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

Jul 9, 2016 12:19:23 GMT -5 verypunny said:

I hate to tell you but wegmans doesn't give employee discounts.

NOOOO! The lady at my next-closest one told me they do! Way to ruin my faith in Wegmans, dude.

Sorry! Maybe it varies by state? We live in the wegmans capital and I've known several people that worked there that never got discounts. Report back though!

[frannyr]

yes and no. In the same major metropolitan town I'm from there's one completely dead mall and another torn down but on the opposite spectrum one with Nordstrom, Nord Rack, Macy's and every mall store you can imagine and it's usually packed and fully capacity of leased spaced.

In the smaller town I now live closer too there were two malls. One still does okay while the other is turning into a fake main street.

My opinion is that one mall in the area is enough. If the stores are worthwhile, people will be willing to drive there.

I liked looking at this website: www.deadmalls.com

[happywife]

Jul 9, 2016 12:55:09 GMT -5 frannyr said:

yes and no. In the same major metropolitan town I'm from there's one completely dead mall and another torn down but on the opposite spectrum one with Nordstrom, Nord Rack, Macy's and every mall store you can imagine and it's usually packed and fully capacity of leased spaced.

In the smaller town I now live closer too there were two malls. One still does okay while the other is turning into a fake main street.

My opinion is that one mall in the area is enough. If the stores are worthwhile, people will be willing to drive there.

I liked looking at this website: www.deadmalls.com

OMG, we opened an office in a defunct mall that's on that website LOL!!

[thedutchgirl]

Jul 9, 2016 12:19:25 GMT -5 cinderbella said:

I'm 10 minutes from the Mall of America so, no. They just opened a huge expansion and are already planning another one.

But even the mall closer to me is still going pretty strong - there's turnover but not as much as in the past. I think part of it has to do with the weather here - it's shitty for half the year so we need decent indoor options.

Same. We must live close to one another.

[agnes]

Jul 9, 2016 12:48:13 GMT -5 happywife said:

Jul 9, 2016 12:03:43 GMT -5 agnes said:

Are talking about Westminster? That place has needed to be redone for a while now. It grosses me out how there's carpet everywhere.

Yes!  I stopped going years ago, it's terrible.

i feel like it's turned in to the old Huntington Beach mall (now the Bella Terra). So either it's going to go completely out of business or it's going to get a facelift with in the next 10 years.

[penelope]

Our mall has turned into nothing but offices and classrooms. The department of Health and Human Services is there, as well as a branch of a community college from 2 hours away. You can enroll, deal with Fin Aid and take classes, all in the same place. Then there is a JC Penny's on one end and a Dunhams on the other. Oh, and a gymnastics school for elementary kids. So strange.....

[happywife]

agnes, Do you ever go to Main Place? I haven't been there in years either.