slo’s MONDAY 7/7 poll - Walking Around Shopping Malls

[slo]

I’m not gonna lie…..I’ve always enjoyed walking around shopping malls. When my girls were little we’d go to a mall that had a carousel and a train and spend the afternoon there. They would take their Build A Bear to buy them a new outfit and we’d have lunch - it was a great way to spend an afternoon, especially in the winter months. The mall had so many great stores, including The Disney Store, where we’d always leave with buying something. Then I think back to when I was a teenager when we were always at the local mall. Almost every weekend we were roaming the mall - so many great memories.

Yesterday my DD21 and I went to the local mall, which is what inspired this poll, and it’s not the same as it used to be. So many of the stores we loved are gone and replaced by stores that we’ve never heard of. There’s many vacant spaces including the biggest ones which were Dick’s, Sears and Carson’s. The food court doesn’t have great places anymore, which is sad. It’s still nice to walk around the mall, but it doesn’t take long now and it’s certainly not somewhere we will spend an entire afternoon at. We actually barely go now because of it. Which leads me to wonder about you. Do you spend a lot of time at your local shopping mall? Tell us today……

Do you walk around your local shopping mall?
If yes……how many times a year?
(multiple choice)



For Me…….As I mentioned above, I don’t go as much as I used to. I am liking JC Penney more than Kohls these days and JC Penney is attached to the mall. So far this year I’ve been to the mall 3 times and that’s only because I needed to shop at JC Penney for something new to wear to DD21’s graduation. I then returned over Memorial Day weekend for JC Penney’s Memorial Day sale and I returned yesterday to check out their July 4th sales. While I’m there I may as well take a lap around the mall, I may return for Labor Day sales and then I may return during the Christmas season. So I voted that I go around 6 times a year.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Like you, when the kids were little, we'd go pretty often. Now I generally go if I have a purpose -- not just to "go to the mall."

Now that we're in St. Cloud, FL, I'm not even sure if there's an indoor mall anywhere around. Most stores are in strip malls that I've seen.

 

[NAB]

We love to walk the mall when it rains to get our steps.

Our mall just lost the second anchor store…The Hudon Bay. The other was Sears years ago.that is now a roller rink on the main floor and season store on the top floor.

The malls around here are not as empty as the ones we see just across the border. Not to say some of our stores didn’t disappeared.

 

[Kitty 34]

I walk the casino; DH scrolls thru Amazon.

 

[kanerf]

I will walk around when I am going to a mall. There are not any nearby, so it is not very often.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I used to go every weekend I take the kids when they were little and like you we would spend the day shopping and have lunch we would go every Saturday night and have dinner
We would go to the mall at lunch at work because we worked right by a mall or we would do quick shopping during lunch

These days I rarely ever go to the mall the one I used to work by they were having shootings there so it just wasn’t safe to go to that mall I will not go to that mall at all ever they’ve had way too many shootings there

My local mall most of the stores are closed I was up there a couple weeks ago and one of my favorite stores was closing and I asked them why and they said they wouldn’t renew their lease and she said that they were doing that to all the stores there so I got a feeling since most of the anchor stores have left that they’re gonna close down that mall It’s really sad that mall used to be packed all the time but again it’s another mall that’s had a lot of crime and because of all the problems and issues a lot of people stopped shopping there and a lot of the stores went out of business and they only have two anchor stores left and I believe when their leases are up they’ll probably close those stores Too that’ll leave me one more that I can go to that’s about 20 miles from my house the last time I was at that mall it wasn’t very crowded either it’s just not the same as when I was a kid or when my kids were little and the malls were packed
I’d rather go shopping in a store and then do it online if I want clothing I want to go to a store and look at it and try it on I like to take a day off work and just go shopping at the mall and have a nice lunch the last time I did that was back in May I may do it again in the fall when the stores have their fall clearance sales
But it’s just not the same I do miss that and I don’t think kids these days hang out at the mall like they did when we were kids they just don’t know what they’re missing

 

[Meriweather]

I can't even remember the last time I walked all around a mall. I haven been to go to a specific store, but then leave.
Our closest indoor mall is 1/2 hour away......most of the stores I go to are closer.

 

[ronandannette]

I’ve never liked malls, I don’t even go there to shop. I can’t remember the last time I was in one and I can’t ever imagine myself just going there to walk.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We'll walk around the mall for exercise when the weather is too hot, too cold, or precipitating. We seldom shop in the mall unless there is a special occasion, like a wedding, when we would need a new outfit.

 

[leebee]

The mall here is just dead. Dick's sporting goods is still there, and Penney's but they are closing. Local theater groups have rented store fronts at one time or another. The biggest "anchor" space is now a discount furniture/flea market type of place. I'm not sure what else still exists.. maybe Claire's. It's just sad. So much of the purchasing up here is done online; our only "real" shopping options are Walmart and Target.

 

[North of Mouse]

You are so right! We eat occasionally at PF Changs in one mall and may go to one other place there, but it's definitely not a place I shop. Penny's, & Disney is gone from here and I still miss them, also Sears (although it had already gone downhill). The new trendy shops are not for me, food court blah, beautiful mall though. Never ever go to our other two. A lot of stores are out parcels now.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I rarely go to my local mall. Many stores have closed. The only stores I visit are Dillards (I like their shoe department), Lego Store and 2 "fashion" stores for my daughter. When I new mall on the other side of town was built, some retailers from the old mall like Apple and Williams Sonoma went there. The new mall is always packed. It's considered a mix use/outdoor mall with a lot of higher end stores, lots of restaurants, apartments/condos, and always something going on like a concert. Another mall like it is being built now in the next town over. There has been talk for years to do the same to the old mall but nothing ever goes through. Our JCPenney is a ghost town. Fixtures are empty. Can never find an employee for help. Really nobody ever goes in there.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I will walk around the mall when I go to get new contact lenses, because my optometrist is in one, or when dress-shopping, or Christmas shopping. I voted 3-5 times a year.

I did really enjoy it as a teen, though, and again when DS was little, for an out-of-whatetever-weather outing.

 

[amcnj]

They were pretty much the go to places for almost everything years ago. Now I rarely set foot in one. A few are down to bare bones stores. Some stores/lots are being partially replaced by medical offices and apartments.

As others have said, a restaurant attached to a mall still occasionally gets me there, and sometimes afterwards I have walked around the mall. One in particular is a huge mall and still seems to draw people, so it is interesting to see what stores are there now.

 

[Micca]

Does Disney Springs count? Over the years there have been fewer mall stores I am interested in. Barnes & Noble and the Disney Store were my two stops, Disney is gone and whatever B&N has I can get from Amazon.

 

[disneychrista]

There is very little reason to go to the Mall these days. I went sometime last year but only because a friend needed to go to JcPenny and we did a lap after that.

 

[clappyclaps]

My local mall isn't really much of one, but I walk through it regularly mainly because I have to to get to all the shops I need in my town centre. I only tend to go when I need something in particular, or when I fancy going out for a coffee & cake. Very rare I'll go just for a wander without a purpose.

We do have a proper more American style shopping centre nearby (the Trafford Centre for anyone who knows of it), but i probably only go here a handful of times a year. Its mostly shops I either dont buy from or that I have in my local town so dont see the need to venture to, so I only go when I feel inclined for a wander round and usually when its quieter. The traffic and crowds around it can be horrendous, and near christmas time people can queue for hours just to get in the car parks I used to go for the Disney Store which sadly isn't there anymore.

 

[MIGrandma]

I used to love going to malls! I could spend the whole day in one shopping, eating at the food court. But then things changed, and most malls are a shell of what they used to be. Still visit one once a year maybe, but sad to see so many empty stores.

 

[mikeuno]

They are becoming pickleball courts...

 

[Dan Murphy]

I can't remember the last time I've been in a mall. A long time for sure.

Marie used to take Vince and Natalie to nearby Randhurst Mall when they were little. When it opened in 1962, it was the largest air conditioned enclosed building in the country. It was a real trend setter for the plethora of malls to follow. Since then it was demolished and rebuilt as an outdoor mall. Very unsuccessful.

We do have Woodfield Mall nearby and that is doing very well. It's a destination mall, like Mall of America in MN. Most big malls around here are almost empty, closed or have been demolished.