In the 1980s, there were around 2,500 malls in America. We’re down to 700 today. Forecasters expect there to be just 250 in a decade—killed by the internet, by recessions, by social media, Covid and computer games, by an accumulation of trends that’s made many of us, in our darkest hours, long for mullets and acid-washed jeans. [via wsj.com]

I tire of folks using 'the internet' as a blanket excuse for why things have changed. It's like blaming your health diagnosis on the doctor that discovered it.

The reason 'the internet' ruined the American mall is because of shelf space. The magic of online retailers is they have nearly infinite shelf space.

Brick & mortar stores have finite shelf space, so they fill those shelves with common products - products that cater to common people, the middle of the bell curve.

The problem is, people spend money to change - especially people with higher levels of disposable income. They don't spend money to stay the same. They already have that.

They want new, in-style, transformational, or...uncommon products. And the internet opens the door to greater possibilities. It provides access to uncommon products, allowing buyers to reach further than they previously could. Incremental change has given way to monumental change.

Your local mall doesn't have enough shelf space to service the monumental change of a diverse population. And your local population isn't large enough to support a diverse collection of uncommon stores. The internet fixed that.