This is a fascinating question. I don’t think it was just Amazon either. Although the price undercutting definitely helped.

Like many others here, I remember malls having lots of cool smaller shops with various specialties. Toys, books, electronics, games, clothes, decor, whatever. It’s where you’d find more niche things.

Like if “Spencer’s Gifts” wasn’t 99% raunchy sex stuff now. (Although hey, there was that too.)

It was funny in the 90’s watching this idea of teenage girls coming back with a multi-bag haul from a mall run. Ha! Not anymore.

Nowadays though, in my big metropolitan area malls are doing okay, but you get two classes generally:

1. Run down, sketchy malls, with stores that can’t afford to decorate their storefront but they’ll have weird stuff like wall-hanger katanas and other almost-weaponry alongside dragon statues and glass pipes and stuff. Stores like this are punctuated by pushy kiosks that try to sell you snake oil.

These malls are still kinda hanging on. The ones here are trying to do cool things like theaters and experiences. I think it can be a cool place for fledgling businesses to do more experimental stuff. Unfortunately, the said-sketchiness still makes them a bit unappealing to visit.

2. Bougie malls, more numerous here. Every one is a clone because it features the exact same fashion-brand super-empires. And no, your working-class butt isn’t their target audience. Keep moving, because they removed the benches too. Along the way, you will still be harassed by pushy kiosks, but the snake oil is in much fancier packaging!

Each individual suite has like 15 items on display that cost more than the suited foot-aching sales person makes in 6 months before taxes.

I have no idea how these places are still running. Lol