To account for the popularity of any of the now popular phenomena would be strictly speculation on anyone persons" part. I do know, however, that some of the fads of the day come and go just like the seasons in a year. For now, I plan to speculate on only one of these "fads." .
I believe that shopping malls are in abundance right now because of the need for something to do, so they spring from the depths of the otherwise homebound person's boredom. When a person is out shopping, for the most part, it is done out of necessity whether for groceries, which are needed for nourishment or the much-needed new socks because the others have holes. Most of the time a shopping malls is used as something to do; they seem to becoming a growing need. A Shopping Mall can take a complete day full of emptiness and turn it into a very lucrative business, and for some, time well spent. .
Although I have worked in retail for over ten years, I feel that great majorities of the shopping malls are a great waste of time and space. However, there would be no need for them if not all of the people in the world felt they had to shop. Thus, the reason there are millions of shopping malls all over the country, if not the entire world, is our insatiable appetite to spend the money we work so hard to earn. A great amount of us Americans put 30% of our earnings right back out on the non-essential shopping; of course, this is merely "speculation." .
Unfortunately, we will never learn, and because of this, there will always be the-ever-popular "strip mall" popping up on our neighborhood corner where the park once sat, and we will ask our neighbors, "When did they build that?".