By Elisabeth Reed

As a child of the 80’s I spent much of my young teen years at THE MALL. Back when it was College Hills Mall, my friends and I shopped at United Colors of Benetton and The Closet, enjoyed lunch from Lox, Stock and Bagel, bought the latest books from Waldenbooks and played video games at the Tilt. We took our version of selfies in the photo booths and laughed at the products in Spencer Gifts. When College Hills Mall started to lose its luster, we moved over to Eastland Mall, shopping at Express and socializing outside of Hot Sam’s Pretzels.

Now, fast forward to 2017. College Hills Mall is now The Shoppes at College Hills, with retailers set up in an open-air environment, with only Target and Von Maur left as a reminder of its former self.

And Eastland Mall, has recently seen tenant after tenant disappear…from Macy’s to the Limited to the Gap to MC Sporting Goods. This is not a singular occurrence happening only to Bloomington-Normal. The fact is that many clothing retailers are closing their brick and mortar stores across the country. As a fashion merchandising professor, I could see this as worrisome for our graduates. Instead, we can understand that this is merely a shift in our buying behavior.

Let’s look at the 3 possible factors for the adjustments in our shopping habits:

Number one: Technology. With a click of a button, we can purchase new shoes, a pair of jeans or any other item you could possibly imagine. We can read reviews from shoppers across the nation to judge quality and purchase a variety of colorways and sizes that might not otherwise be available to us at the mall. Online shopping has made purchasing more convenient and easier than ever.  This doesn’t mean that the brick and mortar store can lose to technology. Some stores have integrated technology within the store environment with much success like with in-store apps, interactive live feeds and social media posts.

The second factor is the notion that we are actually starting to consume less.  With a trend towards simplifying our lives- may it be anywhere from the tiny house movement to the capsule wardrobe, many shoppers are realizing that we have been OVERDRESSED for years. With the fast fashion swing so far to one side, the pendulum has started to swing back the other direction—with many consumers searching for quality over quantity.

The third factor is a movement towards shopping small and local. While large brand stores are closing their doors, boutiques are more popular than ever. Since technology has driven us apart in many ways, we crave the interaction with each other that comes at a small boutique… where you know the owner and you see how invested they are in our community.

While our days at the traditional 1980’s mall may be over for now, it is not a time to be fearful and worry about the fate of retail. It is an ever-changing industry with exciting and interesting times ahead.

Elisabeth Reed teaches fashion merchandising classes at Illinois State University. She grew up in Bloomington Normal, graduating from Normal Community High School in 1996. After receiving an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s in fashion design from the Savannah College of Art & Design, she realized that there was no place quite like home and returned to Bloomington in 2008. Elisabeth lives with her husband, Matt and their two wild little boys in historic Founder’s Grove.

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