10/25/2026
We talk a lot on here about our local Rogers Plaza, Michigan’s first indoor mall, and often criticize what it has become. This also applies to the “stand-alone” department stores in Wyoming such as Arlan’s and K-mart, as well as the former Southland Plaza. Few of us, however, accept our roles in how it might have come to this. In most cases, it’s the customers, or more importantly the lack thereof, who decided the fates of the department stores.
From giant downtown department stores to mall anchor stores to the internet. You might miss the big stores, but you probably wouldn’t shop there today. The following are the key factors that changed the way America shops (excerpted from the link, below).
“If you grew up in the 1940s or 1950s, you may remember department stores as destinations in their own right; by the 1970s and ’80s, they were more likely to be the giant anchors at the ends of your local shopping mall. Today, the department store has become an even smaller part of American life. Macy’s, JCPenney, Kohl’s, and a handful of other familiar names remain, but many stores that used to be ubiquitous have disappeared altogether.”
“The early American department store giants were designed to make shopping feel like an outing rather than an errand.”
“The sheer variety could be astonishing. Instead of visiting separate shops for shoes, clothing, housewares, and toys, customers could find all of those things under one roof.”
“The biggest stores became part of the identity of their cities, and their Christmas windows became traditions in themselves.”
“The department store’s golden age changed after World War II, when millions of Americans moved to the suburbs and the automobile reshaped where people lived, worked, and shopped. Downtown stores had once benefited from pedestrians and public transportation, but increasingly, shoppers wanted easy parking and stores closer to home.”
“As malls became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, department stores became their anchor tenants, occupying enormous spaces at opposite ends of the shopping center and drawing customers through the smaller stores in between.”
“Instead of heading downtown on a Saturday, families could spend an afternoon at the mall, shopping for clothes, appliances, toys, shoes, and household goods under the same roof, fueled by a quick meal at the food court. For teens and tweens, the mall offered a place to hang out with friends in an environment parents felt comfortable allowing them to roam.”
“The rise of discount retail put new pressure on the traditional department store model. The year 1962 saw the launch of three major discount brands: Kmart, Walmart, and Target. As their territory expanded during the 1960s and 1970s, they offered many everyday products at lower prices while operating more streamlined, stripped-down stores.”
“Department stores also became caught between different kinds of competitors. Discount retailers could undercut them on everyday basics, while specialty stores such as the Gap, Ann Taylor, and Express focused on narrower categories and specific customer groups, offering deeper selections and quickly changing fashions. The old department store promise of “everything under one roof” was less compelling when shoppers could find lower prices at discount brands or go to a specialty store elsewhere in the mall for a more focused shopping experience.”
“With the rise of the internet, the department store faced a competitor with no aisles, no parking lot, and no closing time. Online shopping made it possible to compare prices instantly, search for specific products without walking through an enormous store (or even leaving your couch), and have purchases delivered to your home.”
“E-commerce wasn’t the sole reason department stores declined, but it added another layer of competition to an industry that was already struggling to adapt.”
“The sprawling one-stop shopping experience that defined American retail for generations, however, has become something that many shoppers now remember fondly but rarely seek out in person.”
To read the full article, go to https://historyfacts.com/us-history/article/american-department-store-history/?lctg=f7e96c9b-4aac-4e42-ae58-4903e029776a&fbclid=IwdGRjcAVKq5VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAWZkaWQWUQ_sY5F5DgLEGPxQVCQcHw7dfv-1QHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6LGd_DZPeYojayHDKfLHc5n2l0MbztuBI12pxWXtXAvjZr0P5j0pmpeShoHg_aem_VlqQhqYPXxHqEvWMQRjd4Q&utm_campaign=3562952680&utm_content=email_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=21951859
