I recently stumbled across (and promptly binge-watched) a YouTube series by Dan Bell on dead malls. These shopping complexes are in danger of failing due to high vacancy rates, low foot traffic and high crime rates.
Ever since I watched the Dan Bell series, I have been fascinated by the idea of dead malls. I think I find them so mesmerizing because in the 1980s and 1990s malls were the physical embodiment of the apogee of the cult of consumerism in post World War II America. So it is both frightening and captivating to watch the systematic decline of such a culturally important U.S. institution.
Of course it wasn’t always this way. The concept of the mall, a collection of stores connected by pedestrian walkways and fully enclosed for protection against the weather, only developed gradually during the early to mid 20th century. It wasn’t until 1956 that the first true fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall opened – Southdale Center in a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. After this revelation, malls grew rapidly in popularity in the U.S. throughout the remainder of the 20th century.
In the 1980s and 1990s, malls were the place to be. They took on a cultural significance that is difficult to convey to those who came of age after their greatness had already begun to fade. In a time before social media or even the internet, malls were the hot hangout spot for teenagers and young adults looking to meet friends and have fun. Adults loved malls too; in the age before e-commerce they were the best way – and often the only way – to experience almost unlimited shopping choice.
But nothing in this world lasts forever, including the dominance of American retail. For the last two decades, the U.S. consumer has been relentlessly buffeted by regular financial crises, a perennially weak job market and excessive debt loads. Given these economic realities, the rise of dead malls was inevitable.
It also didn’t help that retail space, often in the form of malls, was horribly overbuilt in the U.S. from the 1970s until the present. It is estimated that the U.S. currently has approximately six times the retail square footage per capita of Western European countries like France and the United Kingdom. American retail culture was bound to face a reckoning eventually and dead malls are just a symptom of that comeuppance.
But there were other powerful secular trends at work in the rise of dead malls as well. For one, the Great Recession of 2008-2009 permanently changed shopping habits for a wide range of people. Consumers who had been happy to splurge at the mall before the economic crisis now found themselves pinching pennies wherever they could.
The growth in internet shopping giants like Amazon, Overstock and Newegg also went hand-in-hand with more frugal consumers. Shoppers can use the internet to compare prices quickly and easily across a range of products. As a result, it has been said that the internet is the single greatest margin destroying invention in the history of mankind. Dead malls are a haunting testament to the truthfulness of this statement.
But perhaps the most intriguing thing about the phenomenon of dead malls is the implication for our economic future. In my opinion, dead malls signal the beginning of the end of rampant, unthinking consumerism. For decades the unspoken rule that everybody followed was “more stuff is better”.
I think modern society has fully explored the limits of that philosophy. Unrestrained consumerism is abhorrent, and all too often ends in hoarding, monetary destitution and spiritual impoverishment. However, I don’t believe this means the end of shopping, or that we will all live as ascetic monks.
Instead, I believe a trend toward luxury minimalism is taking hold. Luxury minimalism is a philosophy of buying few things, but making certain that what you do buy is of the highest quality. One of the areas that should disproportionately benefit from this trend is quality antique and vintage goods.
Did you know that it is possible to purchase a stylish vintage Mid-Century fountain pen for less than $100? Or that you can buy a 1960s era, solid 14K gold retro mechanical wristwatch for around $500? If other cultures excite you, then fine, handmade antique Japanese lacquerware can be acquired for only a few hundred dollars or less. There are almost limitless choices, and the best part is that these high quality heirlooms can double as investments as well.
