Our mall is empty most of the time, now.
We lost Sears and Hallmark and Radio Shack and several others over the last couple of years.
Used to be full every weekend, teens used to gather their in the Food Court. Now even that has several open rentals...............
Penny, Macy, and Dillard’s are our anchor stores, rest are Niche for youth. Even those 3 don’t carry a wide range of even clothing for any one over 30. Prices are to High. Service is Ho-hum no better than a Super Store. Ethnic clothing rules, not even T shirts kids can wear to school are available as they have forbidden screen prints. Christmas is the worst time to shop.
Add in age factor and no handicapped carts, little parking, you get less shoppers. I have to even pull my hearing aids to tolerate the volume of music and Loud voices. Then you have to worry about the Thieves that inhabit malls. And YOUR GUN is NOT ALLOWED.
Early malls had upscale stores with safe monitored bathrooms and in-store lunch restaurants etc.
In the name of efficiency, Food Courts pushed out store lunch places and Mall Management put bathrooms down long hallways (not to compete with higher priced retail space) - places that became common crime sites. This was the reason for concern with ‘out-of-control’ teens ... The study showed over time shoppers started limiting mall shopping to less than four hours - or the time available between natural trips to the bathroom.
Malls were able to fame the problem in terms of ‘racism’ so they didn't realize the real problem was easy to solve. Put in large well lit monitored bathrooms for shoppers so shoppers and 'teens' don't meet down dark un-monitored hallways...
Those “teens gathering” is one reason why most malls are declining.
No one wants to fight hordes of bored teens stealing stuff, sexually harassing your kids or fighting for their entertainment to buy clothes or household goods.
Also, the Apple and Microsoft stores are jammed. But that's about it. Most of the stores have more employees than customers.
When every store has the nearly-the-same made-in-China-made-in-Indonesia-made-in-Thailand-made-in-India generic “nothing special” why go to a mall and for the chance of being assaulted by thugs and thieves and pickpockets?
For the “atmosphere” of shopping in crowds with no store clerks or helpful staff?