The Symbols Of Shopping Malls

The socioeconomic significance of malls is seen through visual culture, where the mall has become a place to meet up with friends and family, on any day of the week – weekends being the busiest. Hence “the mall has become a centre of life, where the most memorable moments, holidays and birthdays are spent, dinners are held all under one roof” (Stokrocki 80). In Toronto the two largest malls I explored were the Toronto Eaton’s Centre and Yorkdale Mall – both of which included over 200 stores, eateries, rainforest cafés, and a movie theatre. However what was evident about these two malls apart from the rest included anti social behaviours despite families being grouped together. Although people were together, the sense of togetherness was plastic just like the manikins of store displays. It appeared as though families were shopping just as an excuse to go out as a “family” even though children, teens and adults would disperse into the stores of their choice and meet up at the end for a takeout meal, contacting each other through their phones. In addition to this observation included the fact that families shopping with other families or family friends were more of an exploitation of social and economic class. People being able to spend at stores like Michael Kors, Coach, Tory Burch, Abercrombie & Fitch, Lululemon, Kate Spade and many more, without worrying about going over budget meant being affluent. What really needs to be questioned is the idea that if these people spend at

Urban Outfitters is a popular clothing and accessory store that was founded in 1970, and generates success from the type of merchandise it retails, as well as through the contemporary culture and ethos that it promotes to its customers. The store has stated that it is targeted towards a specific audience that ranges from eighteen to thirty years old, who are well “educated, [and] urban-minded” (“Urban Outfitters”). Urban Outfitters offers a specific shopping experience that is unique to its store, because it focuses on a well-defined audience that is attracted by its modern environment and trendy clothes. Many individuals are unconsciously lured into the store first by the placement of the store itself, then by what the consumer can see in the front windows, and lastly by the specific and well thought out placement of the store’s merchandise. It is evident that the theories regarding retail geography defined by Paco Underhill, including the stores location, the decompression zone, the invariant right, destination items, the

Human needs in the past have been satisfied by marketplaces that are community driven. It is then he claims, that the lack of communal intention that makes the Mall of America, and other malls unhealthy and unnatural. Guterson writes that malls void of community, are not marketplaces, but are rather attractions set on profit. The marketing behind the Mall of America is aimed at growing tourism, and making the mall a symbol of America and American culture. This gimmick has proved to be successful as over 700,000 people from foreign countries visit the mall every year (Guterson, 284). The attention the mall is receiving from the rest of the globe suggests that as Guterson writes, “The concept of shopping in a frivolous atmosphere, concocted to loosen consumers’ wallets, is poised to proliferate globally” (Guterson, 284). As American malls continue to be lucrative, the science of controlling shoppers will only become more present around the world. Guterson claims that the fantasy environments that malls create are so powerful that they can inspire addiction to the excitability and pleasures that malls create (Guterson, 284). Guterson warns against the future of megamalls, pointing out the emptiness that they can create inside us. After standing on the roof of the Mall of America, Guterson understands that American culture is not the modern American mall. Rather, it is the fields and farms that

In a day of, “I want it now and I’m willing to pay for it,” a shopping center has to offer a variety of stores, and also have several options. The shoe shopper will go to the place with 5 shoe stores before they go to the place with only 1. They may not realize that of the 5 available shoe stores; only 1 is in their price range, but satisfying a wider variety of consumers will help the mall broaden the shopper’s experience. But it is important to remember that shoppers are price sensitive, so not only do you need a variety of stores offering a variety of products, but you also need to be able to provide a variety of price points so you don’t limit your shopper demographics.

In “Enclosed. Encyclopedic. Endured: The Mall of America,” David Guterson’s description concerning the Mall of America researches into numerous surfaces that are entrenched throughout the mall both physically and psychologically. David Guterson claims that the Mall is a psychological impact on the applicants inside. He makes this claim through his portrayals of the shopping mall’s: exterior and interior environment, the people he interviews, and the malls many titles.

From its vast security systems, to the indoor theme park, and over 520 stores the mall is like a city within itself; closed off from the rest of the world. Guterson writes that the quality and impressiveness of the mall is not comparable to any other. The mall is “the best of the best” and people visit it because of its modernism. The modernism of the mall is displayed through features like an arcade, the gardens, trees and flowers. The argument of the essay is reasonable in the way people go to spend in the mall. It is true that people are sometimes

The North Hanover Mall is an average shopping center with various stores and small attractions. Typically, the mall is not over-crowded; however, during the evenings and weekends it is well-traveled. There are the average chain stores such as JCPenny’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hallmark, and Bath and Body Works. Likewise, there are some smaller, lesser known stores, for example, a few nail and hair salons, cafes, a pizza shop, and a sports apparel store. In general, there is a diverse mix of people shopping, from ethnicity to ages and group sizes. The night I choose to do my social observation the mall was much busier than I had anticipated. There was a Halloween event and an antique car show; both circumstances brought more individuals than usual into the shopping complex.

When entering a mall of people, I witness different shoppers. I see people that are low class, middle class and high class. I stereotype these people as window shoppers, buyers on a budget and the over buyers by their appearance and the different shopping centers in Kansas City.

Shopping has become a daily activity which happens a billion times in America and around the world. We cannot imagine how our lives would be affected if shopping was suddenly stopped. Malcolm Gladwell and Anne Norton both write articles about two sides of modern day shopping: how consumers have impacted the retail industry and how the industry influences consumers. In the article " The Science of Shopping," Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known writer and journalist, analyzes the shopping behaviors of customers and how retailers can lure customers; while Anne Norton, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, in

From the moment one enters the mall doors it becomes a mission. A mission to spend money in a selfish manner in attempt to feel better about oneself. In a crowd full of people all with the same intention, many malls have conquered our mindsets into believing we’re a community by coming together with no purpose. The mall is in fact a beast with attracting qualities. From the Stores, and food to the shiny floors and fancy designs.

According, the United State Census Bureau, the U.S. population is increasing, every eight seconds a child is born. With the population increasing sort of rapidly the construction of new neighborhoods it is going to be necessary to house these prospering families. Also, the establishment of stores are going to be needed. Therefore, neighborhood stores are going to become available and malls too, but they both are going to vary in certain aspects. Neighborhood stores are stores that provides accommodations to the locals. Malls, on the other hand, are large buildings made of multiple competitive retails stores. Nevertheless, neighborhood stores and malls seem very similar, but when looking at their square footages, remoteness from home, and marketability, they are quite different.

In Anne Norton’s, "The Signs of Shopping", Anne Norton, a Political Science Professor at the University of Pennsylvania determines the ways in which malls, catalogs, and home shopping networks create our sense of “identity”. In the first part of her essay, “Shopping at the mall”, Anne analyzes the ways in which malls and catalogs “tell you who you are by selling you what they want.” Anne first states what she believes the mall was created to be; she believes it was created to be an impulsive gathering place and place of centralized public activity. Anne then goes on to state how she believes the mall has come to exploit the lifestyles and identities of people, especially those of young women. Anne makes the claim that the mall appears to be

Pointing and sprinting from store to store, bags in hand and wallet held tight. The sounds of screaming, laughing, and talking fill the space. Cash registers beaming and cards being swiped. There’s just no other place like this; a shopping mall. Today, buying clothes or items of interest is highly popular. All of one’s favorite stores feet away from each other, this ritual is composed of elements that might not seem very evident without looking close enough. At the International Plaza in beautiful Tampa Florida, I conducted observations and my own experiences as well to analysis this ritual as a cultural phenomenon. Through this research, we can understand the true meaning of a shopping mall.

As we enter a new generation, shoppers are gearing toward online and mobile shopping, which contributes to the extinction of shopping malls. America reached a time period where the number of adults who were born in a time where online shopping was not thought of are retiring; resulting in old habits, such as shopping in malls, coming to a cease. The older generation of adults tend to revert back to familiar habits such as shopping at malls or going to a bookstore. The new generation of adults/teenagers do not use shopping malls as a hangout spot in contrast to older generation, thus leading to the decline of shopping malls. Other than shopping, shopping malls were once used for socializing. However, with the increase of social networks

Here is a typical scene from one such mall in Hyderabad. It has a 4-movie multiplex theatre, surrounded by 40-odd fast food kiosks and 20-odd shops that sell clothing, perfumes and jewellery, music and video CDs and DVDs. Not one of them sells traditional Indian meals or snacks. And the mall, like 20 others in the city, is filled with thousands of youngsters who obviously have enough to spend. We did not have such scenes in India twenty years ago, but this mall and fast food culture is expanding explosively across India. This too is part of the globalization of India, a part that causes great concern about the health of its citizens.