TOW #21: "Are Malls Over?", Amy Merrick

As technology becomes more advanced, it changes the ways that many people live. Not only is technology changing the way that people communicate, but it is also redefining how people shop. No longer do Americans trek out to outdated malls to do their shopping, since they are able to make all of their purchases online comfortably in their homes. Amy Merrick, writer for The New Yorker, wrote “Are Malls Over?” to describe the decline of popularity that Americans have with malls. Merrick uses anecdotes as well as analogies to show how malls are becoming less popular and how malls must be reinvented in order for them to not become obsolete.

Merrick uses an anecdote to provide the background of the typical American mall. Merrick recalled, “When the Woodville Mall opened, in 1969, in Northwood, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, its developers bragged about the mall’s million square feet of enclosed space; its anchor tenants, which included Sears and J. C. Penney; and its air-conditioning—seventy-two degrees, year-round!” She then describes how this same mall is being demolished this year along with many other malls due to their outdated qualities. By providing this anecdote Merrick is showing how malls were once the hot new trend in America, but are quickly becoming outdated and unneeded. After proving that the typical American mall is becoming less popular, Merrick’s anecdote than allows her to suggest the idea of reinventing the American mall.

Merrick’s analogies allow her to show the opportunity for success if malls were reinvented. “As any cubicle dweller knows, people like natural light and fresh air and, when deprived of them, feel oppressed. So are people alienated by those older malls, with their raw concrete, brutalist architecture and fretful, defensive air?” By comparing a cubicle dweller to a shopper, Merrick is able to determine the key details, like natural light and fresh air that may reinvent the mall. Her comparison allows her to then provide others’ research and draw to the conclusion that outdoor malls with more than just shopping experiences may reinvent the mall, and make the mall popular once again.

            Today, many typical American malls are being closed. In order for malls to thrive once again, they must be able to adapt to the new technology and appeal to the shoppers. This is why Amy Merrick uses anecdotes and analogies to show how the typical American mall is becoming less popular, and needs to be reinvented before malls become obsolete. Developers need to pin point the desires of shoppers that will make a mall desirable to be frequented by the shopper to help malls thrive once again.