Community Chat

[homedecor1]

As many I haven't been traditional shopping at the mall in a long time.  Most purchases have been done online.

Today, since spouse was feeling a little better & I was "antsy" decided to do some returns to the mall.  Our closest one is 1 hour away.

At first, when I pulled into the parking lot I thought "maybe they're closed for the holiday" as there were barely any cars.  This is a very nice large mall with many nice stores.  Normally, on a holiday or weekend you'd never find a parking space.

Well, of course they were open.

First, went to Macy's --hardly ever shopped there.  There were few people in store and sales people far and few between.  I went to housewares section to "exchange" a fiesta dish-- department was not what I remember & very little stock.  In fact, most the areas I went thru had racks & racks of "final clearance".  

Did my return as Fiesta is no longer sold in store☹️

Then, walked down to JCP.  As I walked the mall I saw so many stores "closed" -- stores I've shopped for many years.  The reality hit when

I went into JCP -- This particular JCP was always a neat, organized and had what I wanted.  

It was the "eeriest" feeling seeing the bare sections, clearance (final) and just a "sad moment" to remember the nice things they always "had".   As I waited for someone to do the return I had a nostalgic moment -- taking kids to JCP for clothes, picking out home items and more...

I asked the young salesclerk "is this store closing?" She said "Nobody knows it's just a day at a time, I'm just glad I have a job".  (She also told me the mall was facing foreclosure so no one knew what the mall owners would do).  I did notice Sephora was closed.

It certainly is a "eye opener" when you see and remember just a year ago this mall was filled with shoppers any day of the week.  I also saw the food court only had 2 places open vs. 15+ to chose from.

Then, stopped at strip mall across street.  Wanted to go to Staples ...well, little did I know they closed & most stores I shopped were gone (Avenue, Charming Charlie, Toys R Us, Ulta, Bed Bath & Beyond, Justice and Dress Barn). 

I guess malls are definitely a dying breed☹️.  If they close this one or JCP, the closest one will be 2 hours and for sure I won't be going.

Moment over ...not really!, in better times a day out to lunch & shopping with friends was a fun day -- even if we just "window shopped"!!

[January121]

How very sad 😢.... I wonder if things will ever get back to a semblance of what they were ..... sadly to say I don’t think so 😪😪

[Anonymous032819]

Malls were dying before Covid, albeit, slowly.

Since people have been cooped up at home, they have discovered that there is no need to get into a vehicle, fight traffic, use gas, put wear and tear on the vehicle, try and find a parking spot, fight crowds in order to shop.

Covid has just hastened the death of the mall.

People have discovered that it is so much easier to shop  on line.

No crowds to fight, no traffic to sit in, and you can shop at the wee hours of the morning, when stores are closed.

Shopping as we knew it 30 years ago is gone, perhaps forever, and online shopping is here to stay.

[Kachina624]

Sounds terribly depressing.  No wonder people stay home. It's going to be very sad having no place to shop or hang out.

[happycat]

I'm afraid this is the new normal, I feel for everyone who is and will be out of work at these malls. And those of us who like to shop even if it was window shopping part of the time.

The new normal though, isn't just about shopping or malls, we may not even being seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as new "normal" stuff, I'm afraid. 

[qvcfreak]

Our office was shutdown Dec 6th for 2 weeks.  Another thorough cleaning due to covid19. On Dec 5th a couple of us went to have lunch at Luby's. We went late to avoid crowds and sadly it was very empty. 

We went back Monday and Luby's has a "Thank you for the 20 years of patronage" on their sign. The Luby's in my hometown closed a few months ago. 

And January 4th, we are back to working from home. This time it's just a precaution. They want to avoid any positives in the office because of Christmas gatherings. 

We go back on the 20th since the 18th and 19th are State Holidays.

[beach-mom]

I read an article about what the "new" mall - post pandemic- might be like. First of course, a lot won't make it. The larger ones will.

The major department stores will be more like warehouses. They will offer curbside pickup, but also have a limited shopping area inside where shoppers can try on clothes. 

Restaurants will have partitions to separate tables.

 I saw a drawing of a mock up. It looked futuristic to me.

 I think the malls we grew up with are gone. I just miss going into a store and getting help with what I'm looking for. A lot of SA's are helpful, but a lot aren't!  

[qualitygal]

I miss ours.

[qualitygal]

I do not accept this as the new normal.  Won't give into that.  That would be setteling to me.  Maybe in time that harsh reality will set in, but I'd rather fight!!! 

[AngelPuppy1]

@homedecor1 

Malls were really struggling before the pandemic hit --- so, I am not surprised to read your post!  It's terribly sad!  I have always enjoyed shopping in person and at malls and loved browsing, making a day of it, going with a friend and having lunch,etc!  It's very upsetting to see these places all closing up and so many people losing their jobs!  Before all this, I did the majority of my shopping at malls and local stores, preferring to support my local economy and also because I just plain enjoyed it!  I don't know if retail stores or mails will ever recover.