[Secret Agent Man]

The malls of the 1980s were the internet of that time.

Malls were THE big box store before big box stores were under one roof/name and had everything and was fresh and new.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Malls had a good 50 year run, and there are still plenty of malls that are doing good business and aren't overrun by undesirables. But a lot of them were built back in the 1970s or so and are showing their age, and remodeling them simply isn't worth the money.

The trend now is toward a faux town square sort of shopping complex, combining retail, restaurants, movie theaters and residential units in an outdoor environment. A few of these have been built in my area and they're doing great business. The irony is that they're basically trying to recreate the old time downtown shopping experience that the malls killed back in the 70s.