A Strong Grip
I worked at my first job when I was 16.
It was a weird job.
It was 2005. I worked at a store called Babies-R-Us, and sold breast pumps to mothers. I had never used a breast pump before, but I was a great salesperson.
Portable technology. Improved comfort. A strong grip.
The store was located at a shopping mall in the state of Ohio. This mall opened in the late 1980s as the second-largest mall in the state.
In the 1970s-80s, on average, a new mall opened in the United States every three days. But in 2005, as I worked at this mall for over two years, I started noticing fewer people coming to the store.
And as the customers decreased, so did my paycheck.
In 2010, there were 35 million visits to American malls. By 2013, there were 17 million visits — a 50% decline in three years.
The mall that I worked at in Ohio is now mostly abandoned.
Except for the parking lot.
Further Reading: Welcome to the Era of the Post-Shopping Mall by Amanda Hess for The New York Times.
