U.S. and European malls

The following ~10-minute video presents a thesis on why malls in the U.S. are dying out whereas malls in Europe are still going strong.

Why US Malls Are Dying (And Why European Malls Aren't) by Adam Something (YouTube)

1. Purchasing power has increased in Europe, while the U.S. has allowed entire swaths of the country to drop precipitously—e.g., the Rust Belt, The Appalachians, The Rural South, and even large parts of the West Coast.
2. The U.S. absolutely drowned the market in oversupply, with e.g., 10x as much commercial space per capita than Germany. Europe generally has much stricter commerical regulation, which “Libertarians call ‘government red tape crippling the economy,’ while adults call it ‘necessary regulations to avoid mass closures and urban decay.’” The oversupply also means that a large part of the malls are of very low quality and are already falling apart.

3. Bad urban planning is absolutely the most important reason: the U.S. has not designed anything to be nice and easy and convenient to get to, least of all malls. You have to drive everywhere and driving is, quite frankly, tedious. You can’t walk or cycle or use public transportation. There is no nature or trees or ponds or anything to make the experience pleasant. You wouldn’t walk to a mall for a coffee. My God, the notion is ludicrous. People would say ‘that’s not what it’s for!’ But why not? A shopping center should be a town square, else no-one will go unless they actually need something.

   From somewhere about ¾ of the way through the video,

   “American malls are usually not built near any meaningful public transit. In fact, they are usually not built near any meaningful place. Compare these four European malls—two from Prague and two from Budapest—with these four American malls—from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and Orlando.

   “The reason why Amazon—and similar online commerce platforms—cannot compete with the first group, but can threaten the second group is because malls in the first group are integrated into the city. The surrounding environment isn’t just a parking lot. There are things to do and see, and you can end up in those malls completely organically—as in: unplanned—as you’re walking around downtown.

   “With the second group, you have to make a conscious effort to go there: nobody will trudge through a kilometer of parking lot on foot. The GPS won’t take you there spontaneously. You have to make the decision at home to go there, and then make the effort. And then companies like Amazon come along and say, ‘hey buddy, we can save you all that effort.’”

The allure of delivery is very strong in Europe as well, but it’s not an overwhelmingly better alternative. The online shopping experience is not really a lot of fun today, either. You have to choose by picture, hoping that the vendor is reliable, jump through payment hoops, etc. Contrast with going to an actual store and holding the actual item, tapping to pay because you’re physically there. Heck, you may even stroll through a few other stores, getting some healthful movement, while enjoying artistically presented wares.