THE MALL IN AMERICA Whenever we go out shopping or relaxing at malls, we actually don’t see or recognize any effects of malls as we mostly go there for these two reasons. Malls are an integral part in the lives of America. They are shopping centers that have created a lot of buzz in many writers. This is because we have more malls in America than high schools. Malls have received praises from people like James J. Farrell, Jon Pahl and George Lewis who view malls as not only shopping centers but also as places that provide a reflection of the American culture and serve as centers of pleasure and entertainment. In contrast, William Kowinski and David Gutterson criticize malls for just being an artificial environment that creates disorientation among American shoppers. In my opinion, malls are just magnificent commercial buildings that create a sense of false dreams and imagination. Mall appreciators argue that the malls are centers of entertainment and pleasure for mall visitors. George Lewis in “The mall as Refuge”, asserts that “kids come to look around, meet and make friends, stay away from home and hang out- because there is nowhere else to go” (1990, P. 309). He believes that teenagers go to malls to socialize and to escape from the troubles in their lives and at home. Therefore, malls serve as a second home for kids. Similarly, Lewis says that with the controlled environment of malls, with the security and the central location of malls as a good reason why many retired, and old people visit malls. Here they get to meet up with old friends, exercise, eat out, and share experiences with their old friends. These two groups as Lewis claims are misfits in society because; the world considers them as unproductive. Jon Pahl also ... ... middle of paper ... ...goods. Works Cited Farrell, James J. (2003) Shopping for American Culture. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.), (2009). Writing and reading across the curriculum (pp. 267-272) New York. Guterson, David. (1993). The Mall as Prison. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.), (2009). Writing and reading across the curriculum (pp.286-293) New York. Kowinski, William. (1985). Mallaise: How to Know if You Have It. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.), (2009). Writing and reading across the curriculum (pp.323-327) New York. Lewis, George. (1990). The Mall as Refuge. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.), (2009). Writing and reading across the curriculum (pp.304-315) New York. Pahl, Jon. (2003). The Mall as Sacred Space. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.), (2009). Writing and reading across the curriculum (pp. 294-299) New York.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
...ed the lifestyle of Canadians. Their effect on Canadians contributed to the making of our consumer capitalist society. While department stores introduced several innovative ideas to the business world, their negative impact significantly contributes to our materialistic lifestyle. Donica Belisle’s “Retail Nation: Department Stores and the Making of Modern Canada” clearly define these aspects and describe the mass retailers relationship between the public, its stakeholders and Canada’s national identity. The author’s well researched information and various perspectives of a situation support her arguments effectively. In conclusion, Donica Belisle’s book excels in its presentation as it is well written and well organised. She successfully communicates her main points and eliminates bias by presenting both sides of a story, making this a good book for others to read.
In the article, “Mayhem at the Mall,” The Cafaro Company based in Ohio, coordinated a training exercise to prepare local crisis officials in the event of a mall shooting. The training exercise took years to construct, and was created to ensure local crisis officials respond efficiently and effectively. The Cafaro Company aimed to make the “active shooter” scenario realistic. The scenario was implemented at Meadowbrook Mall property, in Bridgeport, W.Va. The training exercise involved local police, firefighters, and mall employees. John Karlovic, Chief of Security at Cafaro’s Company, reached out to police department’s in the communities where the own malls, supplied them with blue prints, tenant lists, and invited them to in to practice, (Bell,
Merchant elaborates on the extent of managing exotic gardens inside buildings particularly the mall to recreate a heavenly atmosphere. She considers the work that goes into maintaining these gardens to keep them pristine, from the expensive water works and pesticides utilized to keep the unclean and destructive nuisances from diminishing the aim for perfection in a desirable atmosphere (p.5). These gardens produce the atmosphere to make people happy and content. The greenery provides the feeling of being outdoors while truly being completely inside. She indicates mall landscaping is inspired by surrounding environments that are
Who doesn’t like shopping? I can’t name one person. Phyllis rose states many positive qualities in her essay “Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today”. One of the positives qualities she mentions about shopping is that it’s a form of therapy. Being that I love to shop. Rather it’s online or going to the stores it’s something I also find very therapeutic. You don't really need, let's say, another sweater. You need the feeling of power that comes with buying or not buying it. You need the feeling that someone wants something you have--even if it's just your money. To get the benefit of shopping, you needn't actually purchase the sweater. After a long stressful work or school day there’s nothing more relaxing than walking around
Shoe stores, people love them hate them but cannot keep away from them. Let’s be honest everyone loves shoes. Two big shoe stores at the Mall are Champs and Footlocker these stores are notorious for having the newest styles, trends and up to date freshest shoes. These two stores are very similar in some aspects but in some are very opposite varying in their placement of merchandise,sales, price’s, staff, and appearance. But in overall it comes down to who has the best sales and customer service which both are very similar.
I walked into the front of the store to see a crowd of people searching for a good grocery cart. One that wouldn’t wobble every second that you pushed it. I took a look at many of the faces as they were beginning or ending their shopping experience. The people walking in looking for a cart seemed unsure or not pleased to be there in the first place. While the people leaving looked happy and eager to get home. I took this as a clear sign that this was not the most enjoyable place to ...
For the purpose of this essay, we will examine the retail location of Old Navy at the Third Street Promenade at Santa Monica. Upon entrance of this store, there is a group of mannequins grouped together like a family. Immediately the store is telling mothers that this store is for them and their for families. Even the way the store is organized shows that it is designed for women. Everything is compartmentalized into little "rooms" that appeal to the mentality of mothers. Aisles are large enough to accommodate strollers and running children. Also, at the checkout stand, there are rows with toys and other things meant for children. This fortifies the image that mom are the ones who are the ones who shop at Old Navy. Mothers like knowing that they are shopping at a family store. Another spatial design that shows that working moms are the targeted consumer at Old Navy is the fact that the entire first floor is women’s clothing. The second floor is where the men’s and children’s clothing are found. The store as a whole is designed to resemble a house, a place where women are more inclined to feel comfortable and take
Tremendous shopping centers, malls, even those little corner shops became an icon of American culture and its society. We are constantly manipulated by these so called convenient public places where escaping from it would be almost impossible. There are probably a 50% of chances that we will start our day with a cup of coffee in one, buy our afternoon lunch in the other one, or end up just walking around one. Shopping centers are everywhere; we cannot escape from it. Moreover, we do not want to escape from it as we are constantly underestimating the power and the real impact these places have on our society. Thus these places play a huge role in the process of socialization and are largely influencing the development of our society as a whole. In order to understand the way these places are emphasizing the gender differences and inequalities between the sexes, I decided to visit the local store Walmart and through an observation of its environment and its settings try to record its power of gendering. I was looking for a proof that gender is not merely an element of individual identity, but a socially constructed institutional phenomenon which is even imposed in our shopping centers and local stores.
Ron Johnson spent a great deal of time and money to promote his ideas of “stores-within-stores” by turning floor space into an area to house several branded boutiques. He did this in order to attract a target market of a wider demographic which includes age, gender, and generation. One of the m...
Goss argues that developers and designers of the built environment, specifically shopping centers and malls, use the power of place and understanding the structural layout of the space to boost consumption of the retail profits. Shopping centers are separated from the downtown area of shopping, either by distance and/or design. These establishments emerge for many to be the new heart and location for public and social life. In his article The "Magic of the Mall": An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Built Environment, Goss also argues that the regulation of the spaces within the mall creates an atmosphere of "community" rather than one that is "public". This article’s main argument is that developers manufacture an illusion of doing more than just shopping when designing malls and shopping centers.
...act, Langham Place is not alone. There are more and more shopping mall operates their business in the same manner as Langham Place. Though these shopping centres tried to make breakthrough using different methods, it seems that impressions of these shopping malls are blurred in eyes of public. Since these shopping malls are usually invested by large-scaled enterprises with great powers, merchants without resources to apply different tactics like these large-scaled shopping mall, will one day be eliminated. Those survivors will become copies of one another. As Shoppers' Paradise famous for selling products with different characteristics, if similar shopping malls are seen everywhere and merchants with distinguishing feature disappears, Hong Kong will soon lose its competitiveness among tourists. Resent among society may also arise and raise different social problems.
City Mall. While in turn the mall would bring increased foot traffic, it would also bring
According to “The Mall Phenomenon” the average person spends $330.82 in a mall that is an increase from past years where the average was $316.80. Also, according to “The Mall Phenomenon” people will on average visit the mall 3.4 times per month and stay 1 hour and 24 minutes in the mall. People tend to go to stores and spend time and money as a stress reliever which can help and also hurt you. In this essay, I will be telling you about the “Grand Mall Seizure” also I will be telling you about the “Champagne Taste, Beer Budget.” The other thing I will be talking about in this essay is what mall/stores I spend most of my time and money in.
Of course the happiness ended when we went to Riverchase Galleria for food. The mall was gigantic with shops scattered to the sides, pristine with polished white floors, and jam-packed with people. Corridors were sprawled out like branches and food scented the air. The building itself was one-million and five-hundred seventy square feet, two stories tall, and completed with two hundred plus stores. When I