Malls/retail parks

Malls and retail parks emerged as familiar features of everyday social life following the appearance and dissemination of large supermarket chains and hypermarkets. They are commonly developed alongside processes of gentrification as anchor or auxiliary elements as part of inner city regeneration projects and have also been developed as regional shopping centers located in peripheral locations. The boundaries between malls and retail parks have become increasingly blurred as they are now commonly found on one site, typically at an out-of-town location. More recently, these retail formats have been faced with considerable challenges namely, the effects of the financial crisis in 2008, intraregional competition, the rapid advance of e-commerce, and the experience economy impacting upon consumer behavior.