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Post by John Titor on Mar 2, 2022 9:49:21 GMT 10
Shout out to slashpop for the idea, so basically what happened in 03 is you got a ton and ton of new malls being
built or being renovated, usually with a sand/beige color scheme. What made things even worse a ton of stores
got rid of their entrances ( such as Sam Goody) to a more contemporary look. As someone who was always at
the mall during this time..this was indeed a shift that occurred. Examples below of what happened. Note: not
all malls changed to this look.. but most did.
Classic look
Modern look
Examples of 03 Mall shift aesthetics ( heavy use of sandstone & beige while retaining fountains and plants)
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Post by John Titor on Mar 2, 2022 10:08:02 GMT 10
Ever since 2003, I don’t know what’s up with malls trying to look like they’re out of cartoons with crazy and wacky patterns, ugly, tall exposed ceilings. Maybe nostalgia for the 1980s. I’ve notices this blander vibe in malls around 2003. For some reason I enjoy looking at malls from 2002 and back compared to 2003 and later. At the time beige and sand stone interiors were like "the thing" so I see why it was done, honestly I think it fit the time it was in, but I do think it was a blander and downgrade to how the mall looked before. There are some other storefronts that changed such as EB Games. Classic look  modern look 
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Post by John Titor on Mar 2, 2022 11:56:08 GMT 10
Other mall shifts I noticed in 2003-More loss of regional department store names or stores, restaurants or eateries unique to a particular city and or states. For example Macy’s being in almost every mall. -More emphasis on mainstream or common names. -Store selection starts to look the same as other malls. -Stores like Target and Walmart move into malls -Big department stores downsize to clearance centers. -Big department and mall stores remodel to a rather generic, cookie cutter look, stripping out any unique characters, same with malls. -Big department stores built as only 2 story locations rather than 3 or 4 stories including basement. -More industrial white lighting than warm lighting. This was filmed just 6 days after 2003 hit. The mall already looked like they were on their death throes. This mall didn’t close until October 2008 I think. to be fair that mall in the video was a dead mall in 03 lol Edit - saw u mentioned it was on it's death lol But yeah you are right 03 is when industrial lighting came in to select stores ( u would later see this implemented heavy in Hipster coffee shops in the 2010s)
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Post by John Titor on Mar 2, 2022 11:58:58 GMT 10
I think JCPenney closed hundred(s) or so stores in 2003, so many malls already started to have empty mall anchors. That is only really the deadmalls that had that, there was not that many dead malls in 03 tbh
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Post by y2kbaby on Mar 2, 2022 12:36:04 GMT 10
I do wish that shopping malls of today still had that colorful, vibrant, feel good energy look of the 1980s/1990s/First Half of 2000s.
The MV “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne (2002) and The Hot Chick (released the same year) for example looks like the people were having the time of their lives at the malls .
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Post by slashpop on Mar 3, 2022 18:15:49 GMT 10
This is spot on. Lots of places were starting to look like upper class fancy malls or underground corporate malls in business towers that you would see earlier but a with a proto late 2000s generic LA pretentious twist. The fancy marble, sand beige, or minimalist grey blocks were replacing the malls that had stores closer to each other, less options, with more basic layout, excessive stairs, older 80s/90s tiling that had a warmer feel, some funky design, more hang out spots, more diversity. If the 90s had anything in common with 2001 and 2002 it was the preservation of malls minus with some differences. This is what I remember malls like in the 90s to the 2002. Here are pics from the mid to late 90s but it was almost the same in 2002:      Malls in 2003 onwards: Simpler rebranding Reduction of music stores. In 1997 you could have up to 2-3 stores selling music and movies in the same mall, you started seeing a reduction of as many stores as earlier. Reduction of kiosks that would sell character dolls, licensed high quality fruit of the loom shirts for movies/cartoons. Chain stores and flea markets started to be more of the place to get this merch, even though they always had carried, you could feel there was an increasing cheaper more low effort quality across pop culture merch which which was starting to became the norm at this time. Reduction of trading card kiosks Erasure of arcades More health and organic stores More focus around high end female clothing More boring stores Comic book stores not common in malls as earlier not enough geek/figure stores of the 2010s yet
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2022 19:25:58 GMT 10
I feel like many malls that have been struggling since the Great Recession, have their most of their problems going back to 2003, with all the changes that have been mentioned on here.
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Post by John Titor on Mar 4, 2022 2:55:52 GMT 10
This is spot on. Lots of places were starting to look like upper class fancy malls or underground corporate malls in business towers that you would see earlier but a with a proto late 2000s generic LA pretentious twist. The fancy marble, sand beige, or minimalist grey blocks were replacing the malls that had stores closer to each other, less options, with more basic layout, excessive stairs, older 80s/90s tiling that had a warmer feel, some funky design, more hang out spots, more diversity. If the 90s had anything in common with 2001 and 2002 it was the preservation of malls minus with some differences. This is what I remember malls like in the 90s to the 2002. Here are pics from the mid to late 90s but it was almost the same in 2002: Malls in 2003 onwards: Simpler rebranding Reduction of music stores. In 1997 you could have up to 2-3 stores selling music and movies in the same mall, you started seeing a reduction of as many stores as earlier. Reduction of kiosks that would sell character dolls, licensed high quality fruit of the loom shirts for movies/cartoons. Chain stores and flea markets started to be more of the place to get this merch, even though they always had carried, you could feel there was an increasing cheaper more low effort quality across pop culture merch which which was starting to became the norm at this time. Reduction of trading card kiosks Erasure of arcades More health and organic stores More focus around high end female clothing More boring stores Comic book stores not common in malls as earlier not enough geek/figure stores of the 2010s yet Yupp it seemed everything in the mall had to have a more streamlined look, Music Stores did take a dive in 03, Sam Goody was literally the only one left in the mall. But even by 03 you could tell the clock was ticking on Sam Goody. I did not like the rebrand they did. Book stores also took a dive, with Walden Books and Barns Noble being the only ones left. Movie theaters in malls started being erased at the mall during this time as well.
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Post by John Titor on Mar 4, 2022 2:56:51 GMT 10
I feel like many malls that have been struggling since the Great Recession, have their most of their problems going back to 2003, with all the changes that have been mentioned on here. The shift in 03 of malls took some time to get used to if you were always at the mall, at first I was not sure about it, but then I got used to it. By 2004 it was not really a thought anymore.
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