[chubot]

Uh I grew up in NJ suburbs in the 80’s and 90’s - that was already the case, and there was a hit movie 3 decades ago about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallrats

(But malls are much less popular now, probably mainly due to the rise of Internet retail)

[fugalfervor]

Mallrats grossed 2 million against a 6 million budget. It wasn't a "hit"