We’ve seen some comments asking if this video was sponsored by Netflix or Stranger Things. It was not! We were inspired by the upcoming release to do a video about dead malls - and so we talked about the show in the video. WIRED will ALWAYS indicate when any of our videos have been sponsored - both in an onscreen title card as well as in our description box. Thanks for all your feedback!

Legit thought I’d clicked on the wrong video with that intro about stranger things

Malls could be community centers with gyms, libraries, studios and galleries like the SESCs in Brazil. So much potential.

She said a quarter of US malls will close in 2022.. that was probably achieved in 2020

Host: “A quarter of malls will close by 2022” COVID19 March 2020: “hold my drink”...

Turn them into apartments. Keep most of the retro mall chic, add more plants and indoor pools. People would appreciate the aesthetic.

Meanwhile, malls in the Philippines are thriving and typically gigantic, for one simple reason: air con. P.S. That means AC in Americanish. (－‸ლ)

Old malls never really die… They just get de-mall-ished.

Amazon is eyeing those malls for distribution centers.

40% of Americans have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck. Wages have been flat for decades while the cost of living has risen. Could be a factor.

Fun fact: The mall in the show is the Gwinnett Mall in Duluth GA. It is a dying mall in real life.

*Reasons:* Online shopping convenience People are busy working Middle class income shrinking Social media & social isolation Online gaming, Netflix, Uber Eats Minimalism Demographic changes Lower suburban investment

It scares me, this whole social media loneliness thing. At our Christmas gathering last year I went to see what the kids were doing...when I was young, me and my cousins would be outside or in the basement playing, or sitting around talking and laughing...I listened outside my niece’s bedroom door, nothing but dead silence...I opened the door and all 8 of them were piled on the bed - each one absorbed in their cell phones. Not talking, not interacting...just looking at their phones. It’s so odd.

im blown away that they ignore the glaring fact that the demographic malls were designed for just cant freaking afford to spend the money to keep them open

I believe Amazon has turned a couple malls into distribution centers. Is that ironic?

The only reason I miss malls is because my life was better back then. It's a nostalgia thing.

What really wasn't covered was the fall of large retail chains like Sears, JCPenny, Macy's, etc. that bookended many of these malls and were their primary source of income before leaving. If you could get all inclusive box stores like Walmart and Target to take over the empty retail space these stores left behind, Malls would probably survive much easier, but these "buy everything you need here" retail giants are anti-mall by design, and want you only shopping in their stores for everything, so it wouldn't benefit them to give you an option of buying something there, and then walking down the corridor and getting something at another nearby retailer.

I'm only 21 and I still remember how when I was a kid the malls in my area used to be jam-packed all the time and were places people went to hang out. Now it's practically a vacant ghost town. All of that chatter, footsteps, and laughter has been replaced with complete silence. It's quite sad, really.

It’s because the rents are too expensive for small retailers and consumers are sick of big Corp.

Malls didn't sell anything I wanted as a mature adult. Many neighborhoods could no longer support them due to flattening incomes and thus the advent of Walmart, Dollar Tree, etc..

Malls were the social media of there day before the internet. There is a sharp decline in the suburban middle class. Why couldn't these old malls be retro fitted as living space?

US: Malls are dying ASIA: Malls are everywhere

why not convert them into offices, daycare, learning centers and food court rolled into one?

I literally buy everything online now. Malls to me are just a hangout spot for kids.

The irony of dead malls emptiness is the energy they once held.

How about low cost apartments with parks and a grocery store? Perfect use for a dead mall.

80's: Malls killing small stores. 2010's: Online shopping is killing malls. Malls are being converted to warehouses.

I wish I was a teenager in the eighties messing around with my friends and having fun. :/

Too much merchandise in one place with too little money in ones pocket.

Is it called THE MALL because instead of going to one store you go to THEM ALL

Biggest reason malls are dying you completely forgot, c'mon Wired, you're smarter than that. *THE DEATH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS* is the biggest reason.

1970: Knock down the trees, build a mall. 2020: Knock down the mall, plant some trees.

Downtown department stores 100 years ago also ruined downtown mom and pop stores. "General stores" ruined mom and pop stores too. Mom and pop stores ruined street peddlers. It's a cycle.

I stopped going to the mall because the aggressive sales people at the kiosks made me too anxious

The mall close to where I live is *thriving* so I can definitely see how it depends on location.

I lived through the death of downtown to the malls. I remember the ARCADES. Then the mall died and our downtown became a new mini-metropolis. Condos, restaurants, shops and etc.

When your local mall gets a baseball card trading store, that's like coughing up blood as a sign that you need to see a doctor.

I was really interested in the topic of the death of malls, but that lady just kept bringing up stranger things and it felt more like an advertisement than an intellectual conversation. Why was stranger things even involved in this video???

Correction: Why malls in the US are dying. It would be more informative to compare American malls to Asian malls.

The malls were huge in the early 60’s, through the 70’s and 80’s.

between online shopping taking away the need to even go to places like malls, and the social media actually turning us into more antisocial groups, they are just unfortunately not "needed" in the same way they used to be.

Other cultures and countries have old ruins, castles and temples. Abandoned buildings are the ruins of our young culture.

Every county in every State in the USA needs Assisted Living Centers and all of these Malls could be refurbished to help with the huge shortage of beds issue for the elderly and upcoming baby boomers.

I have always felt that the mall was a substitute for the village square, where people of all ages interacted. That some have been redeveloped as actual town centers for the surrounding suburbia is a healthy sign. Suburbs are dreary places that have no heart, which is a social gathering point. Suburbs have none of the advantages of a town and none of the advantages of being out in the country. If you don't have a car in the suburbs, you are as good as dead.

Robin Sparkles says let's go to the mall today

*WIRED:* "Malls are dying" *Philippines:* Laughs in Filipino

And this was before the pandemic. Crazy.

A smaller mall could be converted into a community college, or apartments.

This feels more like a Stranger Things advertisement. She keeps bringing it up when there really is no need to.

Meanwhile shopping mall in Hong Kong still popular, I don't think you can find a vacant mall there

Covid-19. Malls were dying but I am the nail in the coffin.

"Why malls are dying" dude, I live in Canada and the malls are packed.

This is what city planners and planning students like myself are dealing with as well! Such a fascinating subject

Well you kind of forgot that the stores are becoming way too expensive for their competitors and the products are becoming less and less valuable and quality. Why spent $80 on a t shirt at a mall

So things people do with dead malls: 1) Downtownization: Putting street grids. Ground level retail. Appartments and offices up above. 2) Office space, Medical uses, Educational uses, churches. 3) Re-greeners. 4) Zombie paintball. I love the variety!

Malls are dying largely because the middle classes' disposable income is vanishing.

One thing no one mentions is that media was a significant portion of mall space. Books and magazines about your favorite stars, lots of movie and music stores, and of course a theater. These businesses were hurt or destroyed by the internet.

I'm confused. Is there a mall in stranger things

It's so weird watching that one year after and seeing them talking about gathering online and a loneliness epidemic when now we're actually in a pandemic and most of our interactions are online

“So like what’s this obsession about dead malls?” *Retail Archeology has entered the chat*

Our downtown mall was torn down, and after a while they put in a city commons. People love it. There's events and concerts there all the time.

This video did not need the Stranger Things plug

One more thing at play in the 80's: materialism, the more the better! Big box stores and the economy we're huge factors in the decline of malls. Also, the last 20 years have shown a gradual but definite shift in the younger generations thinking. Many have realized (thank God) stuff doesn't equal happiness. Now it's more about paring down and getting out there living life, traveling, living a quality life, living responsibly. Naturally, malls are getting left out of the equation. Those abandoned building structures could be repurposed in so many ways to help improve the communities they are located in, if only people with money and vision would invest in them.

When I went to malls in the Middle East I was amazed at how packed they were! I actually felt like I was going back in time to when I grew up when people loved malls.

Because of online shopping accessibility, privacy and the lack of clothing sizes. It’s not just architecture, not really the main/only issue

My grandfather is a ceramics artist and sells at “booths” at various local craft fairs and farmers markets. One of them takes place in a once abandoned mall that has been repurposed to become an indoor craft fair where instead of paying for a spot to pitch a canopy (more often than not outdoors) you pay to have basically your own little air conditioned shop for a few weeks to display and sell your goods.

Godam high renting is the cause. Why bother to open a business when it is a clear sign of lost. The transition is inevitable

Amazon and streaming services are making malls and movie theatres obsolete.

People need to come visit the malls in Asia, or Taiwan at least, and I'm sure malls in Mainland Chinese major cities are astounding too. Always lively and full of people.

This feels like a Commercial for Stranger Things. That could've been left out..... unless they were a secret sponsor?

I haven’t been to mall at all in my adult life because I’m too broke.

"Newspaper headlines..." me: what newspapers? Lol those are dying too!

Common ideas for dead malls -museums -Homeless shelters -warehouse -grocery stores -satellite stations for colleges - multi purpose faculties

Contract: "Mention at least 1 minute worth of Stranger Things" Wired: *Forcefully mentions Stranger Things at the beginning and end to make a video that is otherwise completely unrelated*

Whenever I go to the mall now, it seems my size is always sold out in what I want. So then I just go online to buy it or something else.

Official cause of death: Amazon

Turn Deadmalls into Vaporwave clubs

I love that this video is just a simple video of an expert explaing a thing, no BS, besides the Stranger Things plug...

I wish the malls come back the way they were in the 90s

In my city 2 malls close because too many thugs just hung out and started trouble selling dope and stealing so they scared the consumers and they went other places

The historical part was really interesting. As a future architect myself, I love me some architecture/architectural content any time and if comes along with pop culture references, sign me up.

I think this lady is interviewing her future self.

You got two seconds and it seems like an advertisement for Netflix

Our downtown mall is two levels and the upper level has been turned into micro-apartments and the lower is a mix of unique retail, no chains. The mall is historic and has a European architectural ambiance. It has been a big hit. All of the micro-apartments (rent is less than $1,000/mo) has been filled and the retail and artists' studios are filling up. There's even a public market in the atrium.

Why pay gas and drive to the mall, when you can just click a few buttons on Amazon? I will be done ordering on Amazon before starting up my car.

Could also be the quality of clothing and fast fashion. I’m so sick of my clothes lasting a year. People would rather pay for high quality stuff with longer life spans.

It just makes me depressed to see all the dead malls, yet I can't stop watching those videos for some reason. It's like I wish I could do something about it

I remember everyone laughing at me years ago when I said “Malls will one die out”. Hey look malls are dying.

My local mall is quickly fading and its really really sad. I love my mall and even though it has really good stores, its only busy around gift-giving holidays

In my city, there is a small mall that has a stage in the old food court area where there are local music acts, little kid dance recitals, etc. They also have public reservable meeting rooms on the ground level, a small library inside the mall, a regular drug store, grocery store and gym inside, and a large open seating and table area on the top level where social groups, clubs, support groups, and just friends of all ages meet up. It is a really cool community multi-purpose structure now. I wish more cities utilized them this way!

Here in Asia, the malls are getting bigger and bigger. They are trying to outsize each other.

Missed a point? Cornerstone stores of malls that collapsed -run by bean counters trying to maximize profits instead of visionaries that understand what people want.

Or you could ask Dan Bell. Someone who produces some of the best dead mall content with great research.

People watch abandon mall videos cause it brings a sense of nostalgia. It's not about basking in death.

Just one word : Amazon.

The destruction of the middle class. No disposable income. There’s your reason, Wired.

Need to connects malls with public facilities like bus / train stations. It'll survive for sure.

It's worth mentioning that malls are thriving in places like Asia. In China and the Philippines you can go into 8 story malls with every type of business you can think of. Some people have pointed out that climate is a factor, but I also think it's because malls have an idea of luxury behind them. So many places are just trying to experience what the U.S. takes for granted.

There is something melancholic about viewing an ancient ruin that was once majestic, and a bustling, thriving place full of life, but is now a hollow shell with no movement and no life, except the rustling of the wind blowing through it. It doesn’t matter if it is the ruins of a temple complex in Luxor, Egypt, the empty streets of Pompeii, an abandoned mining town out west, the abandoned factories of Detroit, or the empty malls across America. Something about being reminded of the impermanence of all things in this life forces you to be reflective about your own life, and how you often spent your time chasing after things that seemed important at the time, but ultimately don’t last. Of course, as a child who came of age in the 80s, there is also something nostalgic about viewing the ruin of a place that once seemed so important and such a large part of your youth, but now it has been reduced to a ghost town. Makes you long for simpler times which you know are long gone, and will probably never come again. Middle class middle America has been gutted by hedge fund speculators who have bankrupted once viable companies to make a buck, and globalists who have shipped our factory jobs overseas. The abandoned malls are but the bleached bones of a once thriving middle America, a warning to future generations not to make the same mistakes we made with our economy, just like the ruins of Pompeii half buried in the ashes of Mount Vesuvius are a warning not to build too close to the volcano, or the ruins of Fukushima are a warning not to build anything important in a tsunami flood zone. “Look on my works, Ye mighty, and despair!” says the great Ozymandias.

Wired reporter: "New season of a show!" Architecture professor: "1/3 of malls are dead."