Picture this: It’s 2015, you have a $20 bill crumpled in one hand and a Forever 21 bag in the other. Inside is a pack of colorful scrunchies and two new crop tops that you can’t wait to show your friends later at the food court. American shopping malls are a hub for commerce and grounds for connection. But the digital age of online shopping has brought upon an unfortunate reality: the death of the shopping mall.
In its prime, online shopping was an additive to the in-person experience; functioning as a means to check the availability of products or sizes in other stores nearby or to view the entire collection as opposed to the floor set. Upon seeing its innovative and logical systems, online shopping became the new ‘norm’ and is now a completely revolutionized way of purchasing items. Its progression was rapid. E-commerce sales first began in the mid-90s with the creation of Amazon and eBay, according to a research article from Alpine Rings and the changes of online shopping in the last 30 years. With further incentives, namely Amazon Prime, Paypal, and other factors added to appeal to consumers, the boom in online shopping was undeniable.
In later years, an online shopping option seemingly appeared on every platform. Two major e-commerce contenders, Instagram Commerce and TikTok Shop, are elevating the consumer’s purchasing power. Now, when you see an ad on social media, you no longer have to close the app and open a separate browser to search for the product. Instead, an image pops up and all you have to do is click on it to be ushered to checkout in the app itself. It’s a tease, really. The ease of it all is just too irresistible and the numbers prove it. A study done by Business Dasher revealed that 70% of active users shop on Instagram and 44% of those active users shop on Instagram on a weekly basis. This modernized process of online shopping is replacing a culture we once knew — no more Black Fridays. Forbes reported that, “In TikTok Shop’s first U.S. holiday shopping season (2023), 5% of all American consumers shopped the site for gifts, Capital One reports.” The article continues by saying, “Based on TikTok Shop’s user growth, the share of U.S. consumers who spend at least part of their holiday budgets on TikTok Shop will be noteworthy in 2024. Retailers, brands and independent merchants that aren’t testing the platform yet could miss out on this seasonal opportunity.”
The blunt shift in focus to marketing e-commerce has forced stores to adjust to accommodate new priorities. Physical stores now have less inventory and pose as a showroom. Employees even encourage customers to turn to the store website to find more extensive options of the latest collections. With less product on hand, it becomes harder for customers to rely on physical stores to have what they need on demand. Gone are the days of running to the mall to find an outfit for an event day of; this new wave of shopping promotes a playing field where it virtually impossible for the in-person shopping experience to compete with the online alternative.
The most significant reason behind the increase in online shopping, and the death of shopping malls, is obvious: COVID-19. As was necessary, we normalized a state of isolation. Social anxieties increased and social skills decreased after the pandemic, making the in-person shopping experience less desirable. Why leave the comfort of home to ‘deal with’ the annoying teenagers and shoppers in the mall, when all you need is simply a click away?
Shopping malls, while very, very good at sidetracking you by advertising the next sale, were more than just places to shop. They were safe spaces for children and young adults to gather. They were a place where you could spend your entire day, with occasional pit stops to the food court. They were the background of many milestones: a first piercing, a first job, a first kiss. Even the older generation loves shopping malls, using their square footage to simply walk around and get their steps in for the day.
The mall was an accepted hangout space, particularly for kids and teens. Now the experience is riddled by curfews and restrictions, judgment and irritation. We are pushing them out. But where are they supposed to gather now?
Matthew Christopher describes the emptiness left in the wake of losing a central grounds of connection in his article for Atlas Obscura, titled, “The Life and Death of the American Mall.” “I don’t believe that ghosts haunt us, but memories most certainly do,” he writes. “A dead mall is filled with echoes and the sting of lost youth. Even if we find nothing to mourn there, the Age of Malls as we once knew it is over and will most likely never be repeated.”
“A dead mall is filled with echoes and the sting of lost youth.”
-Matthew Christopher, “The Life and Death of the American Mall”
It’s over. The safe space that we got the chance to experience is gone for younger generations. ‘Sephora tweens,’ a trending phrase to describe the 12-year-olds playing with the in-store makeup samples, turns over both sides of the coin on the issue. Adults have expressed concern for impressionable young girls unknowingly using products that have acids and retinols, chemicals which are harmful to younger skin. Adding to the cons, a swarm of teenage girls in a store that sells luxury fragrances, makeup, and skincare products is less than appealing for some shoppers. However, 12 or 13 years of age is around the time which younger girls express an interest in beauty routines and makeup.
The problem lies in the fact that there is no age-appropriate alternative to support this coming-of-age curiosity. In the past, Claire’s was the start of our jewelry obsession, Justice was the equivalent of brand names, and Lush beauty bombs were a self-care staple. Where are the Claire’s, Justices and Lush stores now? We have stopped investing in the experiences of our youth and instead have met them with a low level of patience and understanding in the most transitionary early years.
The emergence of online shopping has its pros and cons, decided upon by the individual. However, its effect on how we interact and shop is abundantly clear. The death of the American shopping mall is not just the death of traditional commerce, but it’s also the death of a culture we once loved.
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