Malls follow the same pattern as cities.
Some thrive, most are failing, no one's building new ones, suburbs (big boxes) are hemming in the core.
I think they're dying for the same reason too.
Mall of America is scanning my face and tracking my location right now. Dystopia is here, but I'm a nice person, so I don't mind. The more quietly authoritarian a location is, the higher value it is.
Mall of America has a membership. King of Prussia has a concierge. There is customer service all around for those with money to buy.
Nice people are allowed. The rest are escorted out. The same is true of every successful city and human development. Some barbarians are always at the gates, and the walls today are made of cameras and price tags.
Machines of loving grace will feed me ads for the new iPhone. The machines look like people here sometimes too.
A security guard circled me for a bit. Suspicion that I may not be nice? The box of recently purchased clearance footwear must count for something. When my wife comes back, it will prove I'm nice enough to be here. But I haven't bought anything in almost 20 minutes. I might be a barbarian.
Barbarians come in all kinds. Rowdy teens, the homeless, bus riders, ethnicities. All can be saved, but not all at once. This place is for nice people.