4:08 Shoutout to my fellow Hickory Farms gift box enjoyer. When my dad worked at a real estate firm 30 years ago as a junior agent, all the senior agents scoffed at the corporate office gifts of Hickory Farms stuff and left them behind. My dad happily took them home from the office parties and my brother and I ate them like for the next 2 months
As a chandler resident, Chandler fashion center is a beautiful mall. The saddest part of the mall isn’t even the Sears wing which is actually doing quite well. It’s actually the outdoor area known Chandler Village. Most of the restaurants closed over the years with BJ’s being the most recent as they relocated near ahwatukee. The remaining tenants are still strong. Hopefully the spaces get filled in the near future.
It's nice to see a shopping mall that's doing well. All of our local ones have closed and are torn down. Malls decorated for Christmas was a found memory of the season and I'm glad to see its still around.
Nice to see there are still some malls doing ok and actually trying to decorate for Christmas. I remember my father taking me to Parmatown Mall (in Parma, Ohio) on Christmas Eve in the early '70s to get gifts for Mom. The entire place and all the stores were decorated and it was fully packed with people. For a 10 year old kid it was both scary and fun at the same time. Love your channel! I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!
Oh, and yes, I'd love to see a video on Scheel's. I thought it was still the mall, not the inside of the store. It doesn't look like a typical sporting goods store. I'd love to hear about the concept and their approach to sporting goods especially since it appears to be working (contrary to the other sporting goods stores that have died) judging by the traffic in the store.
I worked at Fashion Square mall in 2001-2002. Moved back home to CA and haven’t been back. Seeing it in this video was such a shot of nostalgia. Great memories.
My local mall, Potomac Mills Mall, which opened in 1985 and owned by the Simon Group, was packed on Black Friday. I am sure it has been very busy each weekend in December. This mall is doing well with over 220 stores
I used to live in NOVA. PM is still one of the better malls in the area and has a huge variety of shops and businesses. The food court is a bit meh but it has a decent bit of options. That Round1 location in the mall kicks butt though. You guys are spoiled.
@davinp I’m so happy to hear Potomac Mills is still doimg well. A little over 10 years ago when I lived in MD, this was my go-to mall for clothing quite a few times over the year, and I really missed it when I moved away. I really liked Potomac Mills Mall.
Certain malls are doing great depending on the location and the type of anchors. My local mall which had a renovation few years has lots of shoppers and its mostly recreational like a Christmas tree and a seasonal ice rink! People are still shopping at malls, but it’s all about the mall experience that you can’t do with online shopping!
@@marbledillon even some high end malls aren’t doing well due to expensive leases from the real estate. It’s about sustainability from those stores and unique shopping experience.
Places with tourists, Intl 🌏 visitors help. They buy retail items because many of them get $$$ worth of US stuff then sell it at 2x 3x the price in other places. Orlando FL has a lot.
@@DavidLLambertmobile those tourist malls in Florida are really cool, they’re like a resort. We have some stores that appeal to tourists that sell authentic souvenirs, since they’re impulse buys.
Super regional malls that have thought outside the box to secure non traditional anchor stores and that have invested in keeping their infrastructure up have done fine in the larger metro areas. It's the smaller local malls, especially in more rural areas that have really struggled to survive. But in both Atlanta and Houston which I've spent most of the past three decades in you can find several of these destination type malls that are doing quite well.
Thanks 😊 I know Chandler is south of Phoenix, as I lived in NE Phoenix, in 1976. I think Phoenix itself was about 500, 000 back then. I remember the Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale, which was gone when my wife and I visted Phoenix in 2003. There was the Metrocenter NW of us, back then, opened in 1973, which was new then, now closed. Sorry to hear that Monte's La Casa Vieja steakhouse in Tempe. My parents and I also went to the Picadilly and Ferguson cafeterias back in 1976. I was 32 then and worked a while at Stewart Title Co on Central Ave. near the Financial Center, and I remember Goldwaters Dept store toio. I saw Sen. Goldwater in 1964, at an Amateur Radio Cenvention in NYC, when he was running for President. He was licensed as K7UGA and I saw his antennas from a distance when I lived in Phoenix. A lot has chabged and I will be 80 next year, and a Disabled USAF Veteran from 1969 to 1973. 73 de W2CH Ray
I always wonder how Dillards stays in business whenever I walk through one. They never seem busy enough to financially justify their massive footprint.
I'd add, I did 4 security shifts at a Kate Spade shop; Orlando FL. 2010s. That location had little inventory 🛒 but the cheapest items were $300. 🤑 Spade died, ⚰️ suicide early 2020s.
Visited two malls today - last minute Christmas Shopping, YAY. First one was Oveido Marketplace. It had...fair traffic for 11:30 AM - but not 3 days before Christmas "fair". I talked to one of the store owners who'd been there for 9 years, she said the abandoned key store at the far end of the mall was going condo and they expected that would help a lot, with foot traffic. The other was the Altamonte Mall, and it was "mid". I mean, seemed busy but more of a "December 9th" level of busy? But we were also there at 1:30 PM, local. The Target store we went to was jam packed though.
About the flamingos - it’s a common theme nowadays in unseasonably hot places (like the Southwest US and Florida) that celebrate Christmas to decorate with summery items like lights on palm trees and yard flamingos. It’s a twist on holiday decor.
I was at Great lakes Mall in Mentor Ohio ♥️ it's thriving, was busy as hell and all the stores are open there's maybe two store vacancy. Gen X here!long live the 80s
This video is so cozy, Christmas is my favorite holiday and seeing decorations always makes me happy. I'm glad these malls are doing well, at least with foot traffic. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
We were in Toronto for the holidays and decided to stop by Square One Mall out there, and omfg, that place is MASSIVE and thriving. Being from Chicago, we always hear that Woodfield is what a busy holiday time mall looks like. Comparing things to Square One was non-existent, that mall was massive and completely packed.
My wife and I went to 2 malls over Christmas weekend. The first was Crystal mall in Waterford, CT. Only 1 of 4 anchors is occupied. It was dead on the Saturday before Christmas and part of the mall smelled like sewage. A rug shampooing company was hitting some rugs, I wonder if there was a backup somewhere? Santa was set up in the deadest, darkest part of the mall ( Sears wing) where it smelled the most. It's too bad because this mall has so much character and architecture, you can really feel that old energy. The second mall was Enfield Square in Enfield, CT. This mall is mostly empty with no anchors. A Target has been added, that's the most active part of the mall. Other than that there's no one in the rest of the mall. There are small independently owned stores that get no foot traffic at all. Santa was in the center court and it was dead. The rumor is no store leases have been renewed, probably close in 2024. Again which is too bad because it is such a cool place........
I was playing this video on my phone while sitting on the floor folding laundry. I left the video running and went to the bathroom, when I came back my cat was sitting on my laundry and staring intently at my phone. I guess he was watching it too 😂
I went to Chandler Fashion Center on Saturday 12/23/2023 and it was packed! I had to park on the backside of Scheels to find any parking at all. Very good to see!
I did most of my xmas shoping in a mall this year lol. Half an hour after open it was pretty dead but when I left a couple hours later it was like a train stopped and let 400 people off at once.
Closing the video with a quiet walk through Dillards was just so on point. Thanks for a great year of content, Merry Christmas. Also, loved the shout out to Hickory Farms, I love that place too!
I would definitely go for an in depth look at Scheels, they are based in North Dakota, got their start in Minnesota all the way back in 1902. They today operate 32 stores in 15 states. They are also employee owned, just like WinCo Foods, which is a very successful grocery chain with stores in the Phoenix area.
Those tree toppers are an emulation of a chandelier style called "Sputnik." It's supposed to be some high falutin artsy thing that's thousands of dollars each.
It's good to see a mall thrive. I go home to PA and the majority of malls are dead. Living in Virginia Beach and Lynnhaven Mall is still quite busy like I remember in the 80's/90's. I honestly thought after Stranger Things Season 3, that malls around the world would see a boom in popularity again. Unfortunately not :(
Malls in Mexico are doing quite well. The problem with malls in the U.S. is that most of them look dated or rundown, are in the middle of nowhere, and have uninteresting stores and very few things to do besides shopping. A family in Mexico can spend an entire day in a mall, because there're restaurants, cinemas, a great variety of stores and other fun things to do that don't involve shopping at all.
I'm in south Central Pa and definitely it's hard to find a thriving mall. King of Prussia is great and we're about an hour from Towson, MD and they have to a nice mall, the Towson town center. In WA state where I lived previously they had several busy malls in the area.
I went to Lynhaven several times when I was in high school growing up on the Outer Banks, even though Green Briar was much closer to me. I'm glad to hear it is still doing well.
@jenbentzel1981 Pa's long I 80 🛣 has many dead or near death malls ☠️. These retail areas were in places with no industry, growth, few people-🏘. Pittsburgh area had a few malls pushed for years by seniors, older crowds. These pop phased out by 2010 or so.
Thanks for this fun look at a Christmas-time mall…in Arizona or wherever, most malls seem to all look pretty similar. I live in Md, near DC. I haven’t even been to the mall lately, but my husband went in to the Macy’s at our local big indoor mall. He said Macy’s and the entire mall was super jam packed. I’m glad to hear that. I think it makes those of us who grew up with mall shopping kind of sad to see so many iconic stores and malls close. Happy Holidays everybody!
The reference to the price of Prada handbags reminded me of taking my Mother shopping several years ago. She lives in a very small city with limited shopping options; at the time I was living across the country in a city of about 1.1 M people. I took her into a boutique that sold purses for more than her car! 😂
Greetings from Supestition Springs! ITs still at around 2/3 residency, and the BIG RC race track store/anchor, has closed but its still always busy, none the less!
There is a Scheels by where I live in Colorado and it’s always very busy. It’s an awesome throwback to the 80s and 90s where there’s great customer service and tons of people shopping in person.
Went to South Shore Plaza (eastern MA) on Christmas Eve, just to see how it was doing. Unlike so many malls these days, SSP was bustling, the Food Court was busy, and there was a line of kids waiting for Santa. The surrounding community is relatively upscale (though hardly downtown Boston), and several local competing malls are either moribund or closed/recently demolished. As for its Christmas decorations, most of it was kept to near midpoint of the main corridor, looking like 8:17 and serving the same purpose. Oddly, this mall also has one of the few remaining Sears. It was a desert merchandise-wise, and it lost its upper floor years ago and turned into a Primark.
The malls here in DFW seem to be doing pretty well this season. Nothing like 10-15 years ago, but there's definitely life and people spending money. I am glad that they aren't going as extreme with holiday hours as they used to. I remember working at Sears the few years it was open 24 hours on Black Friday (actually 30 since it started on 6 pm on Thanksgiving). I know for a fact that the money they spent keeping to stores open was not worth it from about 2 am - 5 am.
I remember when the Dillards opened in the city I lived in and it was shoulder to shoulder people there like you talked about at the sporting goods store. Now its a ghost town and has not been touched since it opened. Dillards had awesome stores when they were new. Not so much now. Thanks for the video and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
There was an excess of retail space, causing a lot of dead malls, but it wasn't like there was no need for the retail space at all. Now that the novelty of online shopping has worn off, and the enshittification of online has been going on for a while, I think malls may be due for a second wind. They will never, ever be what they once were, but people have been burned by online shopping enough now to give brick and mortar another chance. It turns out that it's really nice to examine the goods in person, especially clothes.
Nice Capcom style intro. Funny thing I was just playing my trusty Super Nintendo and was playing X-Men Mutant Apocalypse on a free Magnavox "Channel One" Crt TV that i saved from my old high school when i worked I.T. for the same school system i graduated from when i lived in Michigan. I now live in Florida.
Back in the 80's and early 90's at my local mall. They had a Santa village with anamatronic animals and elves. The mall was always jammed packed with shoppers.
Here in New Jersey, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that most of the malls I've been to this Christmas are alive and well. Even malls that I'd written off as being dead were fairly busy. And malls that already get decent traffic, like Garden State Plaza in Paramus, were totally swamped. Seriously, I went to GSP the other day and had to park at the furthest possible corner of their massive parking lot - I don't think I've ever seen it that busy!
I love to see how malls come to life and show their personality at Christmas time... it's becoming a lost art. Wouldn't it be amazing to live in a world where malls are brought back and refreshed into places where people actually want to hang out and spend time? They could even create jobs for local makers to make decorations out of recycling material in their communities rather than being wasteful, and provide workshops for visitors to the mall. Anyone else want to live in this reality?!
Starting in 1992 I spent most of two decades working in one mall or another. A solid decade of that time was with just one company which is practically unheard of anymore. As such this video had some massive nostalgia for me, especially since it's been over 10 years since I last stepped foot into a mall to go to work. I won't call it the best time of my life but I will say that I had a lot of good years back then where I was reasonably happy at my job and content with my career.
I went to my local Simon owned mall. Definitely had a good crowd and felt like a mall during Christmas. The newest anchor there is a Scheels, but I didn't make my way over to it. My area is dominated by strip malls so seeing a traditional mall busy is always a good time. Unless you get stuck in a long line like I did in one store lol
The last two times I went to a mall I ate at the Chick-Fil-A and that was it. I used to be a bit of a mall rat, but I grew out of it and the malls have degenerated into... places I don't care to hang out.
see you next year - I will never miss any of your vids...you are a tradition in my online viewing....have a wonderful rest of the year and a GREAT 2024
Malls were winter Wonderlands back in the day if you want to see an awesome video, Look up Oak Park Mall and independence Center 1991. Those are my local malls and a guy snuck a camera in ,these decorations don’t even compare.
Independence Centre isn't doing too well, but I went back to Oak Park a day or two ago and it was very crowded. The parking lot was nearly entirely crammed full. Though I think it has been the more popular of the two malls for quite a while now.
times change and we knew that. i didn't expect them to change quite this fast. the pandemic, 9/11, the crash in '09, the wretched inflation under today's admin, looking back they all accelerated our run into modernity. i do feel blessed to have grown up for a brief time without the internet, the 24/7 news cycle, the horrible political division we seem to be unable to get away from. it will always sound cliche, and as crazy as it sounds we will call these times simple one day, but back then time moved slowly and things were simple. we all knew malls would wane in their popularity and usefulness, but i never in a million years thought it would come so soon. i really hope the kids are still able to maintain some innocence, believe in santa in spite of their immersion in an information age. i just googled "is santa real," and it breaks your heart.
10:34 I definitely felt that way the very first time I visited NorthPark Center in Dallas. Just like Scottsdale Fashion Square, it has a mix of high-end, luxury stores along with more affordable options; it was intimidating walking by those luxury stores for the first time, but I got used to it. To be honest, even with money to blow, I wouldn't buy their stuff (I would save my money instead); a lot of their products are Veblen goods that are overpriced, and even luxury brands can often get away with skimping on quality when people only care about exclusivity. Actual rich people aren't carrying handbags (for example) that prominently display logos of brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, etc.; they tend to downplay status symbols. As for myself, I am content with clothes from brands like White House Black Market (especially) and Aritzia (to a lesser degree). Their products are upscale but not high-end, and are somewhat minimalist. Unfortunately, many fashion brands have skimped on the quality of their products across the board, which is an unfortunate trend that needs reversing. WHBM had been a perfect balance of quality and price when I first started buying from them in 2017, following a gender transition. WHBM is now part of a conglomerate that owns several former competitor brands, namely Ann Taylor and Talbots, and I'm concerned that with less competition, the quality of their product (along with that of Ann Taylor and Talbots) will continue to decrease. As a now-private company, they are also no longer accountable to shareholders. In my opinion, in this day and age, it would be great if WHBM could strike it on their own again, and not be owned by another company for the first time since 2003. To actually have to compete in the market would encourage them (or any brand) to not skimp on the quality of their product nor customer service. The problem is, WHBM has been part of the Chico's FAS family of brands since 2003, and they've become so integrated with Chico's to an extent that it could be painful to split them off. Chico's FAS themselves became part of the KnitWell Group in January 2024 after Sycamore Partners acquired them and took them private; fortunately, Chico's/WHBM, Ann Taylor, and Talbots, respectively, are not really integrated with each other at this time, despite their shared ownership. I suspect that this would likely change if the parent company were to implement cost-cutting measures, however. At that point, they would basically have too many brands that serve the same market segment (somewhat-upscale women's clothing brands, with a sophisticated/mature target customer), particularly if their aesthetics are not distinguished from each other. Although involving a totally-different target market and product, this hypothetical situation reminds me of the situation with Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister in the early 2010s, where these two brands (under common ownership) failed to adapt their product to changing fashion tastes. Additionally, they did not distinguish their aesthetic from each other; Hollister was cheaper than A&F, allowing Hollister to cannibalize A&F. More markedly, I am reminded of the failure of Ruehl No. 925 (which shuttered in January 2010), which was supposed to be A&F's highest-end, highest-quality brand, yet they still maintained essentially the same product aesthetic as Hollister and A&F, despite their older target market. The A&F brands had different target markets but maintained the same aesthetic; I suspect that brands with similar target markets and similar aesthetics would face pressure to consolidate into a single brand, and that there is a slight risk of this happening to Chico's/WHBM, Ann Taylor, and Talbots. More specifically, I think that WHBM and Ann Taylor have a risk of cannibalizing each other, along with Chico's and Talbots. What initially attracted me to WHBM was that near-perfect balance between quality and price; they will always hold a special place in my heart as the first women's clothing brand I truly fell in love with following my gender transition. It was actually in one of their fitting rooms where I truly felt like a woman for the first time. Sentiments aside, I think there's now a market for a new women's clothing brand that has a similar aesthetic to the likes of WHBM and Ann Taylor to make an entrance.
I don't comment much but I want to say that I always enjoy your content and hope you and yours have a great holiday season. Can't wait to see your videos in 2024. 🎄
Really enjoyed that! Thank you. I love malls and it breaks my heart that all the malls I grew up with are gone or dying. With the popularity and convenience of online shopping, 'progress' is killing what's left of our past. Glad to see malls doing well, at least in some areas. Merry Christmas (belated, just found the video).
Here in LA malls are still popping on weekends. Most always have great Christmas decor. There's also a mix of indoor and outdoor malls. But probably most outdoors
I live near Arrowhead Town center. The place has no Christmas decorations or customers. The only pop up Christmas kiosk is the calendar/game kiosk. In the last few years stores had lines to get into the store, while this year you'll be the only customer in those store. It's nice to see other malls are still festive
I was at my local mall (birdgewater NJ) on the 29th and was very happy to see it was packed. Its nice to remember the past when malls really were still gathering points
some great displays this year! also cool to see so much foot traffic during the holidays, some of those malls seem to be holding on just fine from the looks of it.
I went to a mall tonight near where I live in Knoxville, TN. I too love parking outside of Dillards. It’s funny you mentioned that because I just walked through Dillards to get to my car. The mall here was surprisingly busy and it gave me lots of fantastic memories of the mall I used to go to during Christmas in Savannah, Ga. We have an outdoor mall here too. Wasn’t the point of the mall to escape the elements and have everything under one roof? I always thought outdoor malls were going backwards because you have to worry about the weather and driving . Anyway, I loved the last mall’s decorations the best . Thank you and Merry Christmas ! ❤️🎅🎄
Yeah, not a fan of outdoor malls only outdoor mall in West Michigan is Tanger Outlet outside of Grand Rapids only been to Tanger once when it first opened in 2015 in the fall was a nice evening. When I shop in GR I go to Rivertown best mall in West Michigan doing quite well.
We had an outdoor mall back in the 70's in my hometown. It was fun you could see your family at the end of it and one time I could hear my dad's sister all the way down it because she was so loud lol
I love your channel because I really think you need to be a certain age/have lived in a certain time to appreciate what Christmas at the mall means, and you get it. Awesome video. Hit me in the feels in what's turning out to be one of the most unusual Christmases I've ever had. All the best to you and yours!
I made my first and only seasonal trip to the mall today. Newbury Comics and Victoria Secret. And checked out Primark, which was worse than H&M which is also there. Surprisingly busy around lunch. I live on one of the main roads to get there and the traffic hasn't been indicative of how busy it has been.
Honestly I haven't gone to much retail places with Christmas decorations because I *work* in retail during the holidays and crowded retail areas depress me now ("""._.) Although the place that gave me some Christmas cheer was going to Christown with friends shortly before Thanksgiving. They already had their Christmas decorations and was the first mall I went to as a kid so the older architecture with some of the little decorations and mall santa gave me a lil nostalgia.
Great video as always, dude. Makes me feel nostalgic for the Phoenix area, which is kind of tough to do, haha! My favorite mall at Christmas was always Arrowhead. Always liked the layout of that mall, and they always had decorations throughout, instead of just in certain places. Cheers, and enjoy your break!
Great Video. I really love your videos especially being a resident of Southern California and seeing some familiar places. Not sure if you know already but the Carlsbad Mall in North County SD the old Sears has been converted into a Collectibles Expo called the Ninja Xchange Collectible Expo. It’s really cool and has all types of awesome collectibles. I feel like you would really be into it.
Seems to be very location dependant. The malls in our area (PNW) are absolutely filled beyond max capacity. Parking lots extend out miles into the road where people are circling to find spaces.
If you grew up in the 80s or 90s....... You damn well, that is not a busy mall. OP has no idea what a busy mall looked like back then. This video reminds me of what a mall looked like if you showed up before the stores opened.
4:08 Shoutout to my fellow Hickory Farms gift box enjoyer. When my dad worked at a real estate firm 30 years ago as a junior agent, all the senior agents scoffed at the corporate office gifts of Hickory Farms stuff and left them behind. My dad happily took them home from the office parties and my brother and I ate them like for the next 2 months
Free food is free food, I say. Your dad was a smart cookie!
My son loves those. My mother gets him one every year and it's gone in like one day lol
Hickory Farm's cheese was awesome
The height of the holidays 2023 looks more like a typical day at the mall in the 80s.
Last minute panic shopping, as Amazon won't arrive in time and they want to give something nicer than some hankerchiefs or a pair of socks :D
As a chandler resident, Chandler fashion center is a beautiful mall. The saddest part of the mall isn’t even the Sears wing which is actually doing quite well. It’s actually the outdoor area known Chandler Village. Most of the restaurants closed over the years with BJ’s being the most recent as they relocated near ahwatukee. The remaining tenants are still strong. Hopefully the spaces get filled in the near future.
I do wonder what will fill the vacant food court anchors.
Chandler was cool to go to as a teen. It was huge and so clean 2003-2004
If the mall gave a real good incentive to fill the spaces, they may get them filled.
Now Buffalo Wild Wings is the lone survivor
It's nice to see a shopping mall that's doing well. All of our local ones have closed and are torn down. Malls decorated for Christmas was a found memory of the season and I'm glad to see its still around.
Nice to see there are still some malls doing ok and actually trying to decorate for Christmas. I remember my father taking me to Parmatown Mall (in Parma, Ohio) on Christmas Eve in the early '70s to get gifts for Mom. The entire place and all the stores were decorated and it was fully packed with people. For a 10 year old kid it was both scary and fun at the same time.
Love your channel! I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!
Oh, and yes, I'd love to see a video on Scheel's. I thought it was still the mall, not the inside of the store. It doesn't look like a typical sporting goods store. I'd love to hear about the concept and their approach to sporting goods especially since it appears to be working (contrary to the other sporting goods stores that have died) judging by the traffic in the store.
I would love a video on Scheel’s, I loved their Christian Thanksgiving commercial, it was so wholesome!
(8:59) "who has Prada purse money..." -- my guess would be the people who live in Scottsdale.
Yea, plenty of people do apparently. High end malls/tenants are absolutely crushing it nationwide.
Maybe Prada outlet money.
I live in Scottsdale and could only dream of shopping at Prada, Dior, Gucci, and other luxury Brands.
I worked at Fashion Square mall in 2001-2002. Moved back home to CA and haven’t been back. Seeing it in this video was such a shot of nostalgia. Great memories.
I'm glade you moved back to California. I wish the rest of California's would do the same. Merry Christmas
My local mall, Potomac Mills Mall, which opened in 1985 and owned by the Simon Group, was packed on Black Friday. I am sure it has been very busy each weekend in December. This mall is doing well with over 220 stores
I used to live in NOVA. PM is still one of the better malls in the area and has a huge variety of shops and businesses. The food court is a bit meh but it has a decent bit of options. That Round1 location in the mall kicks butt though. You guys are spoiled.
Tyson’s Mall or Fair Oaks are nice too
@davinp I’m so happy to hear Potomac Mills is still doimg well. A little over 10 years ago when I lived in MD, this was my go-to mall for clothing quite a few times over the year, and I really missed it when I moved away. I really liked Potomac Mills Mall.
Certain malls are doing great depending on the location and the type of anchors. My local mall which had a renovation few years has lots of shoppers and its mostly recreational like a Christmas tree and a seasonal ice rink! People are still shopping at malls, but it’s all about the mall experience that you can’t do with online shopping!
This 100% correct. The middle to higher end malls are doing fine. The lower tier malls with lower quality stores are the ones which are struggling.
@@marbledillon even some high end malls aren’t doing well due to expensive leases from the real estate. It’s about sustainability from those stores and unique shopping experience.
Places with tourists, Intl 🌏 visitors help. They buy retail items because many of them get $$$ worth of US stuff then sell it at 2x 3x the price in other places. Orlando FL has a lot.
@@DavidLLambertmobile those tourist malls in Florida are really cool, they’re like a resort. We have some stores that appeal to tourists that sell authentic souvenirs, since they’re impulse buys.
Super regional malls that have thought outside the box to secure non traditional anchor stores and that have invested in keeping their infrastructure up have done fine in the larger metro areas. It's the smaller local malls, especially in more rural areas that have really struggled to survive.
But in both Atlanta and Houston which I've spent most of the past three decades in you can find several of these destination type malls that are doing quite well.
2:36 ♪♫♪ Red gold and green, ♪♫♪ red gold and green! ♪♫♪
3:50 Why is there a guy wearing a 12 JIM KELLY Bills jersey in Arizona? Im from Buffalo and I LOLd when I saw that
Thanks 😊 I know Chandler is south of
Phoenix, as I lived in NE Phoenix, in 1976. I think Phoenix itself was about
500, 000 back then.
I remember the Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale, which was gone when my
wife and I visted Phoenix in 2003.
There was the Metrocenter NW of us,
back then, opened in 1973, which was
new then, now closed.
Sorry to hear that Monte's La Casa
Vieja steakhouse in Tempe.
My parents and I also went to the
Picadilly and Ferguson cafeterias
back in 1976. I was 32 then and
worked a while at Stewart Title Co
on Central Ave. near the Financial
Center, and I remember Goldwaters
Dept store toio.
I saw Sen. Goldwater in 1964, at an
Amateur Radio Cenvention in NYC,
when he was running for President.
He was licensed as K7UGA and I saw
his antennas from a distance when I
lived in Phoenix.
A lot has chabged and I will be 80 next
year, and a Disabled USAF Veteran from
1969 to 1973. 73 de W2CH Ray
I always wonder how Dillards stays in business whenever I walk through one. They never seem busy enough to financially justify their massive footprint.
Mark up. 🛒
I'd add, I did 4 security shifts at a Kate Spade shop; Orlando FL. 2010s. That location had little inventory 🛒 but the cheapest items were $300. 🤑 Spade died, ⚰️ suicide early 2020s.
Visited two malls today - last minute Christmas Shopping, YAY. First one was Oveido Marketplace. It had...fair traffic for 11:30 AM - but not 3 days before Christmas "fair". I talked to one of the store owners who'd been there for 9 years, she said the abandoned key store at the far end of the mall was going condo and they expected that would help a lot, with foot traffic. The other was the Altamonte Mall, and it was "mid". I mean, seemed busy but more of a "December 9th" level of busy? But we were also there at 1:30 PM, local. The Target store we went to was jam packed though.
About the flamingos - it’s a common theme nowadays in unseasonably hot places (like the Southwest US and Florida) that celebrate Christmas to decorate with summery items like lights on palm trees and yard flamingos. It’s a twist on holiday decor.
I was at Great lakes Mall in Mentor Ohio ♥️ it's thriving, was busy as hell and all the stores are open there's maybe two store vacancy. Gen X here!long live the 80s
This video is so cozy, Christmas is my favorite holiday and seeing decorations always makes me happy. I'm glad these malls are doing well, at least with foot traffic. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
We were in Toronto for the holidays and decided to stop by Square One Mall out there, and omfg, that place is MASSIVE and thriving. Being from Chicago, we always hear that Woodfield is what a busy holiday time mall looks like. Comparing things to Square One was non-existent, that mall was massive and completely packed.
My malls in Southern California were packed. It was a very good feeling
My wife and I went to 2 malls over Christmas weekend. The first was Crystal mall in Waterford, CT. Only 1 of 4 anchors is occupied. It was dead on the Saturday before Christmas and part of the mall smelled like sewage. A rug shampooing company was hitting some rugs, I wonder if there was a backup somewhere? Santa was set up in the deadest, darkest part of the mall ( Sears wing) where it smelled the most. It's too bad because this mall has so much character and architecture, you can really feel that old energy. The second mall was Enfield Square in Enfield, CT. This mall is mostly empty with no anchors. A Target has been added, that's the most active part of the mall. Other than that there's no one in the rest of the mall. There are small independently owned stores that get no foot traffic at all. Santa was in the center court and it was dead. The rumor is no store leases have been renewed, probably close in 2024. Again which is too bad because it is such a cool place........
Just went to the mall out in victorville, ca. Almost couldn't find parking, very nostalgic shoppikg with the wifey.
I was playing this video on my phone while sitting on the floor folding laundry. I left the video running and went to the bathroom, when I came back my cat was sitting on my laundry and staring intently at my phone. I guess he was watching it too 😂
I went to Chandler Fashion Center on Saturday 12/23/2023 and it was packed! I had to park on the backside of Scheels to find any parking at all. Very good to see!
I did most of my xmas shoping in a mall this year lol. Half an hour after open it was pretty dead but when I left a couple hours later it was like a train stopped and let 400 people off at once.
Closing the video with a quiet walk through Dillards was just so on point. Thanks for a great year of content, Merry Christmas. Also, loved the shout out to Hickory Farms, I love that place too!
I would definitely go for an in depth look at Scheels, they are based in North Dakota, got their start in Minnesota all the way back in 1902. They today operate 32 stores in 15 states.
They are also employee owned, just like WinCo Foods, which is a very successful grocery chain with stores in the Phoenix area.
Those tree toppers are an emulation of a chandelier style called "Sputnik."
It's supposed to be some high falutin artsy thing that's thousands of dollars each.
It's good to see a mall thrive. I go home to PA and the majority of malls are dead. Living in Virginia Beach and Lynnhaven Mall is still quite busy like I remember in the 80's/90's. I honestly thought after Stranger Things Season 3, that malls around the world would see a boom in popularity again. Unfortunately not :(
Idk if you’re close to king of Prussia mall but if you’re driving distance to that at least you have that.
Malls in Mexico are doing quite well. The problem with malls in the U.S. is that most of them look dated or rundown, are in the middle of nowhere, and have uninteresting stores and very few things to do besides shopping. A family in Mexico can spend an entire day in a mall, because there're restaurants, cinemas, a great variety of stores and other fun things to do that don't involve shopping at all.
I'm in south Central Pa and definitely it's hard to find a thriving mall. King of Prussia is great and we're about an hour from Towson, MD and they have to a nice mall, the Towson town center. In WA state where I lived previously they had several busy malls in the area.
I went to Lynhaven several times when I was in high school growing up on the Outer Banks, even though Green Briar was much closer to me. I'm glad to hear it is still doing well.
@jenbentzel1981 Pa's long I 80 🛣 has many dead or near death malls ☠️. These retail areas were in places with no industry, growth, few people-🏘. Pittsburgh area had a few malls pushed for years by seniors, older crowds. These pop phased out by 2010 or so.
Thanks for this fun look at a Christmas-time mall…in Arizona or wherever, most malls seem to all look pretty similar. I live in Md, near DC. I haven’t even been to the mall lately, but my husband went in to the Macy’s at our local big indoor mall. He said Macy’s and the entire mall was super jam packed. I’m glad to hear that. I think it makes those of us who grew up with mall shopping kind of sad to see so many iconic stores and malls close. Happy Holidays everybody!
The reference to the price of Prada handbags reminded me of taking my Mother shopping several years ago. She lives in a very small city with limited shopping options; at the time I was living across the country in a city of about 1.1 M people. I took her into a boutique that sold purses for more than her car! 😂
This is a great channel. The nostalgia hits hard, but it's rad at the same time.
Northbrook Court is doing terrific right now, the halls are filled with shoppers and bags from multiple stores. It’s good to see they’re doing well.
Greetings from Supestition Springs! ITs still at around 2/3 residency, and the BIG RC race track store/anchor, has closed but its still always busy, none the less!
There is a Scheels by where I live in Colorado and it’s always very busy. It’s an awesome throwback to the 80s and 90s where there’s great customer service and tons of people shopping in person.
Went to South Shore Plaza (eastern MA) on Christmas Eve, just to see how it was doing. Unlike so many malls these days, SSP was bustling, the Food Court was busy, and there was a line of kids waiting for Santa. The surrounding community is relatively upscale (though hardly downtown Boston), and several local competing malls are either moribund or closed/recently demolished. As for its Christmas decorations, most of it was kept to near midpoint of the main corridor, looking like 8:17 and serving the same purpose.
Oddly, this mall also has one of the few remaining Sears. It was a desert merchandise-wise, and it lost its upper floor years ago and turned into a Primark.
The malls here in DFW seem to be doing pretty well this season. Nothing like 10-15 years ago, but there's definitely life and people spending money. I am glad that they aren't going as extreme with holiday hours as they used to. I remember working at Sears the few years it was open 24 hours on Black Friday (actually 30 since it started on 6 pm on Thanksgiving). I know for a fact that the money they spent keeping to stores open was not worth it from about 2 am - 5 am.
I remember when the Dillards opened in the city I lived in and it was shoulder to shoulder people there like you talked about at the sporting goods store. Now its a ghost town and has not been touched since it opened. Dillards had awesome stores when they were new. Not so much now. Thanks for the video and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and happy new years. I haven't been to a mall in probably over 7 years but then my family never were big into malls.
FREAKING CAPCOM INTRO!!! NICE!
There was an excess of retail space, causing a lot of dead malls, but it wasn't like there was no need for the retail space at all. Now that the novelty of online shopping has worn off, and the enshittification of online has been going on for a while, I think malls may be due for a second wind. They will never, ever be what they once were, but people have been burned by online shopping enough now to give brick and mortar another chance. It turns out that it's really nice to examine the goods in person, especially clothes.
My favorite part about these videos are the MUSIC!!!! They are soooo comforting. i love it. Please dont change
Nice Capcom style intro. Funny thing I was just playing my trusty Super Nintendo and was playing X-Men Mutant Apocalypse on a free Magnavox "Channel One" Crt TV that i saved from my old high school when i worked I.T. for the same school system i graduated from when i lived in Michigan. I now live in Florida.
2:37 Great, now I've got the "Karma Chameleon" earworm playing in my head...
God his videos are so freakin comforting
Chandler fashion center is a nice mall I go there a lot this year
7:50 Wow, this mall looks so much like a British shopping centre!
Back in the 80's and early 90's at my local mall. They had a Santa village with anamatronic animals and elves. The mall was always jammed packed with shoppers.
Here in New Jersey, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that most of the malls I've been to this Christmas are alive and well. Even malls that I'd written off as being dead were fairly busy. And malls that already get decent traffic, like Garden State Plaza in Paramus, were totally swamped. Seriously, I went to GSP the other day and had to park at the furthest possible corner of their massive parking lot - I don't think I've ever seen it that busy!
I love to see how malls come to life and show their personality at Christmas time... it's becoming a lost art. Wouldn't it be amazing to live in a world where malls are brought back and refreshed into places where people actually want to hang out and spend time? They could even create jobs for local makers to make decorations out of recycling material in their communities rather than being wasteful, and provide workshops for visitors to the mall. Anyone else want to live in this reality?!
"4:00" Yes pleas!
Starting in 1992 I spent most of two decades working in one mall or another. A solid decade of that time was with just one company which is practically unheard of anymore. As such this video had some massive nostalgia for me, especially since it's been over 10 years since I last stepped foot into a mall to go to work. I won't call it the best time of my life but I will say that I had a lot of good years back then where I was reasonably happy at my job and content with my career.
I remember when the line to see Santa at my Mall would be very long. It was a magical time indeed.
I went to my local Simon owned mall. Definitely had a good crowd and felt like a mall during Christmas. The newest anchor there is a Scheels, but I didn't make my way over to it. My area is dominated by strip malls so seeing a traditional mall busy is always a good time. Unless you get stuck in a long line like I did in one store lol
The last two times I went to a mall I ate at the Chick-Fil-A and that was it. I used to be a bit of a mall rat, but I grew out of it and the malls have degenerated into... places I don't care to hang out.
see you next year - I will never miss any of your vids...you are a tradition in my online viewing....have a wonderful rest of the year and a GREAT 2024
The last mall seems like a luxury mall for those who are rich
I think I liked the decorations in the first mall the best
Malls were winter Wonderlands back in the day if you want to see an awesome video, Look up Oak Park Mall and independence Center 1991. Those are my local malls and a guy snuck a camera in ,these decorations don’t even compare.
Independence Centre isn't doing too well, but I went back to Oak Park a day or two ago and it was very crowded. The parking lot was nearly entirely crammed full. Though I think it has been the more popular of the two malls for quite a while now.
times change and we knew that. i didn't expect them to change quite this fast. the pandemic, 9/11, the crash in '09, the wretched inflation under today's admin, looking back they all accelerated our run into modernity. i do feel blessed to have grown up for a brief time without the internet, the 24/7 news cycle, the horrible political division we seem to be unable to get away from. it will always sound cliche, and as crazy as it sounds we will call these times simple one day, but back then time moved slowly and things were simple. we all knew malls would wane in their popularity and usefulness, but i never in a million years thought it would come so soon. i really hope the kids are still able to maintain some innocence, believe in santa in spite of their immersion in an information age. i just googled "is santa real," and it breaks your heart.
I love the background music in your videos. It has that chill "mallsoft" vibe. If I have a rough day, watching your videos hits me right
10:34 I definitely felt that way the very first time I visited NorthPark Center in Dallas. Just like Scottsdale Fashion Square, it has a mix of high-end, luxury stores along with more affordable options; it was intimidating walking by those luxury stores for the first time, but I got used to it. To be honest, even with money to blow, I wouldn't buy their stuff (I would save my money instead); a lot of their products are Veblen goods that are overpriced, and even luxury brands can often get away with skimping on quality when people only care about exclusivity. Actual rich people aren't carrying handbags (for example) that prominently display logos of brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, etc.; they tend to downplay status symbols.
As for myself, I am content with clothes from brands like White House Black Market (especially) and Aritzia (to a lesser degree). Their products are upscale but not high-end, and are somewhat minimalist. Unfortunately, many fashion brands have skimped on the quality of their products across the board, which is an unfortunate trend that needs reversing. WHBM had been a perfect balance of quality and price when I first started buying from them in 2017, following a gender transition. WHBM is now part of a conglomerate that owns several former competitor brands, namely Ann Taylor and Talbots, and I'm concerned that with less competition, the quality of their product (along with that of Ann Taylor and Talbots) will continue to decrease. As a now-private company, they are also no longer accountable to shareholders.
In my opinion, in this day and age, it would be great if WHBM could strike it on their own again, and not be owned by another company for the first time since 2003. To actually have to compete in the market would encourage them (or any brand) to not skimp on the quality of their product nor customer service. The problem is, WHBM has been part of the Chico's FAS family of brands since 2003, and they've become so integrated with Chico's to an extent that it could be painful to split them off. Chico's FAS themselves became part of the KnitWell Group in January 2024 after Sycamore Partners acquired them and took them private; fortunately, Chico's/WHBM, Ann Taylor, and Talbots, respectively, are not really integrated with each other at this time, despite their shared ownership. I suspect that this would likely change if the parent company were to implement cost-cutting measures, however. At that point, they would basically have too many brands that serve the same market segment (somewhat-upscale women's clothing brands, with a sophisticated/mature target customer), particularly if their aesthetics are not distinguished from each other. Although involving a totally-different target market and product, this hypothetical situation reminds me of the situation with Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister in the early 2010s, where these two brands (under common ownership) failed to adapt their product to changing fashion tastes. Additionally, they did not distinguish their aesthetic from each other; Hollister was cheaper than A&F, allowing Hollister to cannibalize A&F. More markedly, I am reminded of the failure of Ruehl No. 925 (which shuttered in January 2010), which was supposed to be A&F's highest-end, highest-quality brand, yet they still maintained essentially the same product aesthetic as Hollister and A&F, despite their older target market. The A&F brands had different target markets but maintained the same aesthetic; I suspect that brands with similar target markets and similar aesthetics would face pressure to consolidate into a single brand, and that there is a slight risk of this happening to Chico's/WHBM, Ann Taylor, and Talbots. More specifically, I think that WHBM and Ann Taylor have a risk of cannibalizing each other, along with Chico's and Talbots.
What initially attracted me to WHBM was that near-perfect balance between quality and price; they will always hold a special place in my heart as the first women's clothing brand I truly fell in love with following my gender transition. It was actually in one of their fitting rooms where I truly felt like a woman for the first time. Sentiments aside, I think there's now a market for a new women's clothing brand that has a similar aesthetic to the likes of WHBM and Ann Taylor to make an entrance.
Ha - I live in Fargo which is corporate HQ for Scheels. It's been fun to see it grow.
I don't comment much but I want to say that I always enjoy your content and hope you and yours have a great holiday season. Can't wait to see your videos in 2024. 🎄
Really enjoyed that! Thank you. I love malls and it breaks my heart that all the malls I grew up with are gone or dying. With the popularity and convenience of online shopping, 'progress' is killing what's left of our past. Glad to see malls doing well, at least in some areas. Merry Christmas (belated, just found the video).
Here in LA malls are still popping on weekends. Most always have great Christmas decor. There's also a mix of indoor and outdoor malls. But probably most outdoors
Merry Christmas to you too!
Glad to see that some malls are still surviving 😊
I live near Arrowhead Town center. The place has no Christmas decorations or customers. The only pop up Christmas kiosk is the calendar/game kiosk. In the last few years stores had lines to get into the store, while this year you'll be the only customer in those store. It's nice to see other malls are still festive
Hell yes to a Scheel's episode! I've never even heard of them until this video but would love to see something in depth about them.
I was at my local mall (birdgewater NJ) on the 29th and was very happy to see it was packed. Its nice to remember the past when malls really were still gathering points
some great displays this year! also cool to see so much foot traffic during the holidays, some of those malls seem to be holding on just fine from the looks of it.
Hickory Farms is a classic. And yes many good memories munching the summer sausage whole going through the NES game manuals.
Merry Christmas to you,your friends and family. Blessings and good health in the coming year🎁
I went to a mall tonight near where I live in Knoxville, TN. I too love parking outside of Dillards. It’s funny you mentioned that because I just walked through Dillards to get to my car. The mall here was surprisingly busy and it gave me lots of fantastic memories of the mall I used to go to during Christmas in Savannah, Ga.
We have an outdoor mall here too. Wasn’t the point of the mall to escape the elements and have everything under one roof? I always thought outdoor malls were going backwards because you have to worry about the weather and driving .
Anyway, I loved the last mall’s decorations the best . Thank you and Merry Christmas ! ❤️🎅🎄
Yeah, not a fan of outdoor malls only outdoor mall in West Michigan is Tanger Outlet outside of Grand Rapids only been to Tanger once when it first opened in 2015 in the fall was a nice evening. When I shop in GR I go to Rivertown best mall in West Michigan doing quite well.
We had an outdoor mall back in the 70's in my hometown. It was fun you could see your family at the end of it and one time I could hear my dad's sister all the way down it because she was so loud lol
Their scheels at The colony, Texas
Please do a video on them
Merry Christmas 🎄 thanks for the memories
Thank you for this! Always love your christmas at the mall vids
Awesome video happy holidays
I love your channel because I really think you need to be a certain age/have lived in a certain time to appreciate what Christmas at the mall means, and you get it. Awesome video. Hit me in the feels in what's turning out to be one of the most unusual Christmases I've ever had. All the best to you and yours!
the main mall for the New Orleans area was absolutely insanely packed christmas eve
i went here last year during my road trip last year when i went across the Southwest. it was nice to walk around here during the day and night
this is crazy to see. i live in houston and our malls are packed body to body this holiday season. it’s a mad house
I made my first and only seasonal trip to the mall today. Newbury Comics and Victoria Secret. And checked out Primark, which was worse than H&M which is also there. Surprisingly busy around lunch. I live on one of the main roads to get there and the traffic hasn't been indicative of how busy it has been.
Merry Christmas!🌟
Arrowhead mall in Glendale is doing well too! I was there at the beginning of December and it was pretty crowded with all their decorations up.
Went there yesterday, traffic was so nuts it took 20 minutes to get there from the 101 and Peoria and then it took 10 minutes to park.
Honestly I haven't gone to much retail places with Christmas decorations because I *work* in retail during the holidays and crowded retail areas depress me now ("""._.) Although the place that gave me some Christmas cheer was going to Christown with friends shortly before Thanksgiving. They already had their Christmas decorations and was the first mall I went to as a kid so the older architecture with some of the little decorations and mall santa gave me a lil nostalgia.
Merry Christmas!! Those trees at the Fashion Square Santa meet and greet were so beautiful!!
In the northern Virginia area the malls and many of the smaller stores are doing great this year. It was nice to see the crowds back.
Good to see malls doing ok. The one in my hometown is still alive and kicking and its just a one level mall since the 80s
I had to laugh seeing Santa bring his own cushion to sit on, that was so festive......LOL
4 minutes of non skipable commercials...nice. Love your content though, it's fantastic, definately takes me back to the good old mall days.
Crazy to see american malls that empty. You can barely move in our local malls, they are busy 6 days a week.
I've been to 3 malls this year and it's so nice to experience Christmas the way it used to be.
Great video as always, dude. Makes me feel nostalgic for the Phoenix area, which is kind of tough to do, haha! My favorite mall at Christmas was always Arrowhead. Always liked the layout of that mall, and they always had decorations throughout, instead of just in certain places. Cheers, and enjoy your break!
I was at Superstition Springs about a week ago, so mid Dec. Sat evening, and it was dead.
Great Video. I really love your videos especially being a resident of Southern California and seeing some familiar places. Not sure if you know already but the Carlsbad Mall in North County SD the old Sears has been converted into a Collectibles Expo called the Ninja Xchange Collectible Expo. It’s really cool and has all types of awesome collectibles. I feel like you would really be into it.
Thanks for a good year. I just ate some food for Christmas with my Fiancée. Nothing big, as usual. I hope you had a great Christmas.
Seems to be very location dependant. The malls in our area (PNW) are absolutely filled beyond max capacity. Parking lots extend out miles into the road where people are circling to find spaces.
If you grew up in the 80s or 90s....... You damn well, that is not a busy mall. OP has no idea what a busy mall looked like back then. This video reminds me of what a mall looked like if you showed up before the stores opened.
I would do....maybe not anything but a fair few things to visit the 80s or 90s when the mall was at it's peak in this country.