Let's Talk about Malls

American malls are crumbling.* In my short life time, I have seen most of the malls of my childhood fall into disuse and the malls of my adolescence don’t hold up. However, as I’m writing this, and doing some last minute, on-the-fly research it appears there have been a few articles just in the last week talking about how American malls are on the up as consumers return to malls with foot traffic back to pre-pandemic levels.** In light of this news, what can I say? The world is full of surprises.

Regardless, ignoring the retail landscape in the States, I feel certain I had a religious experience in Thailand. I saw the light, a vision of progress concerning the malls of the future and was subsequently baptized by consumerism.

In my four days in Bangkok, I visited four malls. One of them, Central World Bangkok is one of the top ten largest malls in the world. (I think it’s important to note that the United States is not on the list but a mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is!)***

Central World Bangkok

I found my time in this shopping fortress jarring, a little soul-numbing and possibly soul-crushing. Not sure if I can even find my soul after this experience. I’m sure the fluorescent lighting of these places and the lack of natural light contributed to this feeling.

Each one of Central World’s eight floors is a labyrinth of restaurants, stores, salons, and amusements. Each floor appears as an airport terminal and the liminal nature of these spaces was not lost on me. I saw throngs of people; visitors and workers, eating and shopping and sitting and waiting but also sleeping.

Cocooned within the confines of Central World, assaulted by the steady and piercingly cold breezes of air conditioning, I felt time slow down as I realized there was no need to leave the mall. Everything I may have ever needed or wanted could be found here.

These malls, shiny and bright, were ultimately overwhelming and eerie. Despite my discomfort, I couldn’t help but realize that there were pockets of community within these spaces in a way I had not seen in the malls back home but am certain they must have occurred at some point.

For example, on the seventh floor, in a dark and dreary corner of the mall that appeared forgotten, I saw youths playing a Pokémon style card game. It was nerdy and wholesome. And then, as I was leaving the mall, my exit was blocked by a swarm of fans on the ground floor who had spent all day waiting for a celebrity to come and give a talk. Their shrieks of delight could be heard as far up as the third floor of the mall. These kind of experiences aren’t happening at the malls back home.

This mall day in Bangkok was wild and eye opening. Surrounded by shops and more food options than I could physically grasp, I felt myself overcome by decision fatigue and questions of progress and purpose. At the malls in Bangkok, I couldn’t help but look at these sprawling intuitions as tools and markers in nation building.

On My Mind:

• Feeling vindicated. I have always despised paper straws and now the science is out. They are wack; bad for the environment and bad for you with their PFAs. I could not tell you what a PFA is but all we need to know is that they are B-A-D.

• Thailand’s government spent $15 mil on bolstering the image of Thai food. Soft power is real. (TikTok)

• I might not love croissants but I sure do love the croissant sofa by Raphaël Raffel.

• If you are protein powder inclined, it might intrigue you to swap the protein powder for tofu the next time you make a smoothie. (TikTok)

• Ella B and Mitch of Love Island fame have called it quits.

*Don’t quote me on this. Don’t hold me to this statement. I have no hard stats or numbers. Just intuition and a lifetime spent in the malls of the Northeast. (But, I’m pretty sure I’m right and the Dead Malls website has some great visuals for this topic.)
**On the flip side lol: ’Death of the mall is widely exaggerated', Are American malls back from the brink?, and this paywalled article the death of beloved brands is fueling U.S. malls’ post-pandemic resurgence
***Fyi, the UK’s largest mall is Westfield London at Shepherd’s Bush and let me tell you, in light of my Bangkok excursion… Westfield London is cute but it’s nothing to brag about.

PS - We are still not monetized but you knew that! 🙂