'Mall crawl' no longer means what it once did for teenagers today.
Years ago the place teens would spend hours socializing is now obsolete for many millennials who utilize technology to interact with friends.
“The mall was a place for us to meet. We park our cars, we go, we hang out, we interact with each other, we form this social group. Now that is all done through our cell phones,” explained San Diego State University (SDSU) marketing professor Michael Belch reflecting on his years as a teenager.
Beyond socializing, technology has also replaced traditional shopping. Stores now need to think outside of the box to draw customers off the Internet and into stores.
Unique services such as personal shopping, increased entertainment and more immediate gratification are some things brick and mortar stores can offer customers that online shopping cannot.
“I think the change is radical and marketers, store owners in particular, they've got to adapt,” said Belch.
