In Defense of Malls

I've been contemplating a shopping road trip this weekend, even going so far as to compare driving directions on Google to figure out where I can find the most Stuff We Don't Have Here in the quickest time. With Villa Grammatica in the throes of spring cleaning and my good self in ned of a small makeover (fewer black shirts? Blashemy!), I've been thinking a lot about shopping malls and why people like them.

There are the obvious reasons, of course: one-stop shopping, convenient setups, shiny colors, and that hunt-for-the-holy-grail feeling that around this corner, you will find a store full of things that DON'T have fatal flaws. The chance to run errands in a controlled climate can also be a powerful influence, particularly in the kind of weather the Southeast has suffered recently. But it took a recent trip to the comic book store for me to realize that a greater psychological factor may be at work here.

Malls are non-threatening.

Admittedly comic stores tend to be extreme examples of this phenomenon, but the fact is, a stand-alone store commands a different social dynamic. There will be regulars. There is little room to hide, if you're not a people person. There is little chance that you can pass yourself off as exactly "just looking," next to no chance that you wandered in by accident, and therefore an uncomfortable feeling of accountability when you leave without buying anything. Should you later become a regular, of course, all these things can turn into positives: personal service, a feeling of belonging to an exclusive society, etc.

So what malls do, and rarely get positive credit for, is function much the way a table of hors d'oeuvres or a wine tasting does: they give people a chance to look at, touch, and try new things without feeling too out of place. If you find that expensive clothing store daunting, you can take a quick turnaround and leave with a "Thanks," pretending all the while you were headed for Old Navy. The courage it takes to stop at a hole-in-the-wall store and pretend you don't stick out like the New Lawman In Town on an old western just isn't necessary, and in many ways that can be a relief.

The Shopping Mall Paradox: Malls are awful because they're impersonal. Malls are fantastic because they're just impersonal enough.