Malls, born of America’s suburbanization, have evolved from shopping centers to entertainment centers, with each change a reaction to consumer interests and desires. First, digitization forced changes in personal capabilities and behavior, and then COVID-19 affected people’s attitudes about socializing; together, they seemingly shunted aside any need for something like a mall business model, leading many to label malls anachronistic. But a few mall operators have resisted the death knell of their properties. Physical retailers and mall operators have been experimenting with new ways to attract consumers, and as Americans have emerged from their virus isolation, they seem to be finding the mall experience entertaining again. Why are malls experimenting so extensively? The answer lies in changing consumers, the ones who made shopping centers so popular in the distant past, and the ones who made the malls struggle to survive in the recent past. The Next Mall could well simulate on a smaller scale the neighborhoods of the urban culture that suburbanites left behind –living, working, leisure and shopping, all in walking distance.