The floors are too hard.
Ah yes, the mall walkers will show up.
Anecdotal evidence in my area, is that malls have a number of vacant storefronts. I can think of two malls that now have indoor play areas in what used to be retail stores. Another mall has a charter school . So it appears mall operators will rent to tenants other than retail stores, just to fill the space.
Some of them look familiar. Oh, there’s Agatha, Gertrude, Helen, Eloise, and Winifred.