The problem, of course, is that malls have large indoor spaces in between stores, lots of seating, a food court, etc. For anyone outside a major city, it's the next best thing. Now they're gone, and ... nothing really replaced them, since cops harass people who hang out at parks.
Indoor social spaces being even more critically important as climate change expands the regions of the country that are intolerably or even lethally hot or cold for half the year
Before malls, diners were a big thing. They weren't free, but they weren't expensive, and people stayed a lot longer. Then, they didn't want that, and a lot of diners failed. Big surprise. Honestly, places not realizing they're hangouts, and failing after ruining that is a bit of a thing.