The fall of the mall

By Solé Scott

Editor-in-Chief

The demise of malls is an indescribable feeling that has certainly changed society negatively. 

Every Saturday I would go to the mall with my mother and remember the hustle and bustle of it all. Fresh smelling tea from Teavana, delicious pretzels from Pretzelmaker and perfume shops are what I miss today. 

Now, I know there are malls still alive, such as Westfarms mall in West Hartford, Milford Mall in Milford and Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, Massachusetts. 

However, the majority of the malls we and our predecessors enjoyed are no longer here and have swiftly disappeared, becoming new apartment complexes or something else more useful. 

We are slowly but surely losing anchor stores such as Sears, Kmart, JCPenney and Lord & Taylor. There are many more, but these are the stores we all shopped at least once in our lifetime. 

There should never be parking spaces available when going to the mall on the weekend. That is when you know the world is truly ending and we are in the early stages and need to prepare for what is to come. 

One of my favorite stores, Forever 21 announced they will be closing all stores and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. First it was Sears, then my beloved Justice, now it is Forever 21. The place where I transitioned into a teen during 8th grade.

Another negative of this is the loss of trying clothes on in-store. Now I have to buy something and pray that it fits me. Without malls, there are not many options of clothing stores I like that are stand-alone. 

You won’t ever see a Free People, Abercrombie and Fitch, PacSun, Bath and Body Works, Claire’s or Foot Locker outside of a mall for reasons that are unknown. Pretty soon though these stores will need to make a transition outside of the malls or else they run the risk of high rent and the possibility of bankruptcy. 

I do not know when the shift in mall culture happened, but I suspect it was the same time as the hype of Black Friday dying down. You no longer see a sea of people at the malls on Black Friday. I remember the lines would be out the store and wrapped around all the way down the hall. 

I remember the excellent deals in store that are much better than online now. Like gaming consoles and electronics really used to be on sale and were bought like hot cakes by customers. 

I remember the coin fountain and begging my mother for change so I could make a wish or two. Now, I barely see anyone sitting at the fountain, let alone throwing coins. I am saddened to see once beloved malls become abandoned sitting on lucrative and becoming exploring territory for YouTubers.  

I was bummed when my high school years began and the mall was not a place to meet up after school. In fact, we had no meet up location, which is not what old movies promised me. I loathe living in this generation where everything that once was is becoming a distant memory.