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> The model worked until it apparently didn't. If Amazon and online shopping hadn't happened, we'd still be going to the malls. I think there's a lot more at p

> The model worked until it apparently didn't. If Amazon and online shopping hadn't happened, we'd still be going to the malls. I think there's a lot more at play than just online shopping for why malls are declining. Off the top of my head here's a few theories, and I'm sure there's many other good reasons. * Customer service experiences at many stores have been declining as companies cut costs and people don't stay in this kind of career for a long time. I'd be willing to pay more to have a knowledgeable expert give me an in-depth explanation for why TV X is better than TV Y or why Game Z is the best first person shooter on a particular console or why clothes from Brand D are made much better than others, but in most cases it certainly feels like the store staff doesn't know too much about what they're even selling. Maybe this is a bit of nostalgia speaking, but I remember going to Electronics Boutique as a youth and having fun opinionated conversations with the staff: it was clear they enjoyed games and actually knew about them firsthand. * I have to be delicate about how I phrase this, but let's just say that some malls have to walk a no-win tightrope between feeling welcoming to the community and keeping some like homeless troublemakers at bay. * Most products in an average person's price range feel the same just about everywhere: it's a lot of mass-produced plastic junk that's designed to fall apart anyway. If many products are manufactured overseas and there's not much difference between what you get in a store versus online, what's the point? * As far as Covid goes: malls are again in a no-win situation. Some people are very scared of Covid to the point that they don't want to shop in person unless everybody is masked, and even then they're nervous. And some people despise masks with the passion of a million suns and don't want to subject themselves to that. There's just no way to make everybody happy.

MisterBastahrd 5y ago
From a customer service standpoint, customers are less likely to be repeat customers when everybody in the entire building is trying to sell them a credit card on top of their purchase. My grandmother, who between she and her husband never took out a line of credit for anything in their entire lives, got so fed up with the practice that she started wasting their time by agreeing to sign up for a card every time she checked out at any department store. Of course she was always declined because was an 80 year old with a credit score of 0.

MisterBastahrd 5y ago

From a customer service standpoint, customers are less likely to be repeat customers when everybody in the entire building is trying to sell them a credit card on top of their purchase. My grandmother, who between she and her husband never took out a line of credit for anything in their entire lives, got so fed up with the practice that she started wasting their time by agreeing to sign up for a card every time she checked out at any department store. Of course she was always declined because was an 80 year old with a credit score of 0.