Fashion

[handygal2]

Almost half of the malls in the United States are in danger of closing in the next few years. This is sobering news.

Here's the link to a brief article:

http://nyp.st/2dgqawh

[2blonde]

I suppose online shopping and outlet stores have a lot to do with this. Where I live in a NE Ohio suburb of 50,000, our city is well known for it's retail.  We have a large mall here that was built maybe 45 years ago. They've maintained it well, added on, and upgraded it several times.  It's still a popular place to shop, and I see no danger of it closing any time soon.  People come from other cities to shop there, so that helps too.

[GATORGIRL]

I am old enough to remember when shopping malls first became popular.

Wow.

[ChynnaBlue]

That's not a surprise - they've been on the decline for years. Most new malls are being built as 'lifestyle centers' - mixed-use properties, with apartments, offices, stores, restaurants, and services in one place.

[Kachina624]

I live 15 minutes from a large mall but haven't been there in years.  I now do all my shopping online, with clothes coming mostly from QVC.  I can no longer do the walking mall shopping requires.

[StylishLady]

As time passes, things come and go. Large enclosed malls are the latest. We have one near me that seems to be doing well. The anchor stores are still open, and other smaller spaces do not stay empty for long. Down to my south, the two large open type malls seem to be doing better. Outparcels are still getting new restaurants built on them and there are few if any vacant properties.

[Vivian]

Time marches on. In my small city there was an uproar in the early 1970s when our local mall was built. Protesters lamented the effects the mall would have on downtown shopping. Now it's the malls that are threatened. Onlne shopping has supplanted those visits to the mall. What goes around comes around.

[Snicks1]

It's all cyclical.

[colliegirls]

One of our malls seems to be slowly taken over by low lives, that is why I don't go.  It has become a hang out instead of a shopping experience.

Our other malls seem to be doing well. I love to shop, on line shopping is not the thrill I get from shopping in real life.

[bonnielu]

We had two malls.  One has been closed for 20 years.  Cannot get the city and the prospective tenants to agree.  Too many regulations.  And in any case over time everyone is shopping online.  Only busy place is Walmart and Costco.  

I shop Amazon mostly and I guess that makes me part of the problem.  But I get free shipping and I don't have to spend time looking for things.  Catalogue shopping works well for me as well.  I get great deals online and also by catalogue, some with no shipping charges and some with no tax. And I use Ebates and get cash back.