This is so interesting!
BR - Have not shopped there in years, although do have very fond and specific memories of their West Village shop in the 90s, which was decorated in true safari style. I bought a duffle bag that has been through a lot and we still use it today. I will now check out their website.
Mall vs. Online - Online shopping took major strives in Israel during the pandemic, but is still no where near the level available in the US. The malls are hopping.
Prices - I have noticed that shoes have gone through major inflation (they are what I gawk at most online). Second hand prices have also gone up, but less dramatically.

@Jaime—my memories of br were from the water tower place in Chicago, THE destination shopping in the early 90s. I bought a white linen long line jacket as my first major credit card purchase. My hands were shaking. I own and wore that for 20 years! The other was a pant suit from the early 2000s. Loved the jacket, should have sized up on the pants.

The water tower is now deserted. Marshall fields/Macy’s pulled out even before the pandemic

When I worked for BR ( 2002-2012 ) I liked their Heritage collection and the pants that had low rise ( forgot the name - Rayn or something ). I went completely of BR when I moved to San Jose, Ca - it was looking too much classic in style and too much 100% polyester ( used to be a bit of silk ). Now I only go to BR Factory website and sometimes to their B&M store.
The Downtown of San Jose was never shopping destination - it's all in the malls and I work at the biggest of them Valley Fair ( half of it has San Jose, CA address and half - Santa Clara, CA - lol ). There is more restaurants and eateries now than before, more people come for lunch/dinner and some window shopping.
Prices, prices... Marshall's is now my most frequent place to shop - at least I can find some cotton, rayon, linen pieces ( and at low price
point ).
Shopping on line is huge - the pandemic saying "You can always return it " is still the mantra of many shoppers.

Remembering the 3 main malls of Los Angeles, where I used to live, they mostly catered to the rich or well off. Ditto for the "new" mall in my hometown. Lululemon, Michael Kors, Free People, that sort of thing.

Most people in the U.S. hover or dive below the middle class, so it is a curious choice for mall builders. I do remember in the 80s and 90s all sorts of accessible stores for lower incomes. And they were much more popular then.

I’m another one loving BR’s recent seasons. Partly because I figured out my color palette and have been leaning into it and BR fits the bill there Partly because they’ve extended sizes a bit and I have more options there now. And yes, I also have fond memories of their safari style in the 80s when I was in college and couldn’t afford to shop there but always loved visiting and reading their catalogs.

I shop online a lot anyway because that’s where I have more options for my size. I aim to be just as picky as if I were shopping in person and my husband teases me my hobby is returning things ;). I just got this denim shirt (custom find because for some reason I couldn’t get the find to work) and my normal size is too big so I just ordered one size down. I checked to see if that was available in store, since XL is more commonly stocked than XXL but nope, not in any store near me. Guess they want me to shop online.

The pandemic seemed to accelerate all of these trends in my city. Working from home resulted in less office workers in the city centre and consequently more stores closing. The empty stores and more homeless people roaming the streets is a vicious cycle. Once I would enjoy going into the city to shop, but now only go if required and will drive to alternative suburban stores in preference to going into the city.

Your comment that the limited in-store inventory is noticeable too, so much is impossible to source unless buying online.

Many of my recent sale purchases have been online but there are a few local businesses that I frequent and am happy to pay full price for their stock, on the basis that I would hate to see these businesses fail.

Department stores are really struggling here, looking tired with few staff available to staff the sales counters much less provide assistance. I have always bought my cosmetics from department stores but am finding that they are reducing the number of brands stocked, forcing me into online shopping.

In my travels to USA over the years I made similar observations and I appreciate your "research and reporting" about the changes.
I live in Melbourne Australia and situation here is slightly different. We were the most lockdown city in the world and CBD was hugely impacted by most employees working from home. But we also have a lot of people living in CBD and once the shops were open, crowds were back. Two major department stores Myer and David Jones are next to each other in the centre and you can walk through to the adjacent malls with plenty of eateries.
Many tourists and overseas students came back in 2022 and you could see an increase in shopping bags, my measure of people shopping not just looking.
There are large malls in most of the big suburbs, mostly large chains, the survivors of Covid downturn. Some shopping destinations with quirky small businesses unfortunately suffered and there are many empty shops. I feel for those businesses.
Sydney is somewhat different.

Thinking about it, the last time I went to look at clothes in our “downtown” in Auckland (also known as the CBD or central business district) was October 2019, the day I met BJ1111 who was at a conference there. So that’s almost 4 years. I have been after dark to the concert hall or a restaurant since, but not looking at clothes. I keep reading in the newspaper about the increase in crime and homelessness there. There is a large new mall near our harbour there which was finished I think after the pandemic started (?) and it has good B&M shopping apparently, some of my family have been. I would tend to avoid the area deliberately unless I really have to go. I would go to the ballet again for instance. But I don’t feel comfortable in that area. I feel very suburban.
For me, I still do more B&M shopping, mostly in my local area where there are several small malls or little suburban centres. My beloved outlet stores are mostly around here too. I definitely prefer to see and feel and try without dealing with packages and returns. I’m fussy and I take my clothing lists with me.
I do do some research online for possible styles to check out in store, and I do occasionally order online but mainly shoes. Of my 11 items this year, only one was online, and that was an extensively researched pair of shoes from Australia.
I would say our small malls are struggling somewhat. There are some empty stores.

I live in a city of approximately 300 000 (in Europe), and I feel like I’ve seen the same happening here with B&M stores gradually over the past decade. It started with shops moving from the downtown area to new suburban malls, but now even the malls have tons of empty spaces. Downtown is catering more to tourists, with restaurants and bars taking over previous retail spaces. Since the pandemic two of the oldest department stores have been converted into hotels. As far as shopping I feel like it’s the same handful of fast fashion chain stores everywhere (and not even good ones). There are a few independent boutiques left, and some Scandinavian brands like Ganni, Samsøe, Holzweiler, etc have their own stores still, but there is definitely a decline in general. And a definite yes in regards to low stock. And apart from some of the independent boutiques service is pretty much non existent now. The positive is that quite a few new second hand and vintage shops have opened recently, after most had all but disappeared over the past decade.

The decline makes me sad, even though my health now prevents me from regular B&M shopping trips so I am part of the problem, but I feel like I am less stylish because of online shopping, even though there is technically more choice. I take fewer risks because of the hassle of returns, and there is less chance of stumbling across those serendipitous gems because you never even know you are looking for them.

I think it’s a vicious cycle where online shopping makes B&M stores suffer and pushes out the smaller businesses. Only the largest/richest chains remain which makes the selection available pretty boring, which again makes people turn online even more for variety. I don't know if it's possible to get off that carousel but I wish we could.

I live in an area with very little retail and have been shopping online for years unless I travel. The BR website looks about the same as always to my eye other than the color palette. Nothing here screams too loudly and in my experience that is always how BR styles have been. Modern classic and fairly unremarkable workday clothes.

I would say the pandemic accelerated a trend that was already happening. Because both my shoe size and my apparel size are not in the average I found less and less to actually buy in B&M. But I would shop to get a IRL feel and even if it was a size to large, id get a general idea of how it would fit and look. Now I’m finding less and less, so if something comes in 3 colors, because I’m a small city, we get the black…want to know that coffeeberry linen looks like, good luck. And in my city less people are opening small independent boutiques. So the small indie brands are getting less exposure. It’s a Vicious cycle.

Lots of retail closures in our town of about 20,000 people. Ann Taylor is still open; likewise Lilly Pulitzer and Ralph Lauren. Brooks Brothers closed long ago and J. Crew followed. Papyrus is gone.

We have lovely little indie shops like Consider the Cook, Elm Street Books, and The Adirondack Store. Lots of good dining downtown. Lots of art galleries and little shopfronts that make you say, "What the heck do they sell?"

Like Nadya, I well remember when Out of Africa made everyone crave the BR/safari look, but I was a poor college student.

I'm an online shopper with the added wrinkle that this year, I'm trying to buy only secondhand items (except for shoes and undergarments).

I guess I’m the outlier, because I’m trying to do more brick and mortar shopping! I find I make better choices when I can see the clothes in person right from the start. But choices are limited in the small New Hampshire town I live in so that means planning shopping days in Boston a couple of times a year. Fortunately my daughter lives there and is always happy to join me for an afternoon.

I live in Silicon Valley, near San Jose. There are three large, upscale malls near me that expanded successfully during the pandemic, and are still adding new stores (and dining, theaters). Two Nordstrom, two Bloomingdales, the usual mall stores like BR, JCrew, Brooks Brothers. Uniqlo is opening another store. Many more expensive shops like Ann Fontaine, Eileen Fisher... and I do almost all of my shopping online. The dominant trend that I've noticed, even before the pandemic, is the reduced inventory. I'm less interested in spending my time cruising stores and prefer to target specific labels and items that I want to add to my wardrobe. Order online and return to store, that's a useful retail development.

Late to this, but popping in to say that I for one love the new/old BR. I stopped into a b+m store here a few months ago and purchased items there for the first time in YEARS. Have been wearing them all summer. Couldn't be happier.

I used to prefer brick and mortar shopping, and still do in some ways, but since my mom passed away I don't have a good shopping partner and really mostly need petite sizes anyway so stores don't have my size. Selection over all has definitely gotten worse over time. I do love seeing the fabrics up close and touching them and being able to try things on. So now most of my purchases are online. Even there, petites are hard to find, especially since I don't want to spend a lot.

Banana Republic has always been spendy for me, with hit or miss on the fits. I actually prefer the outlet store - much more reasonable prices. Just checked out the website and not one petite sweater. I can hem pants, not much I can do about a sweater.

I’ve refined my online shopping chops since the start of the pandemic, and for now really prefer it. Shopping in person as recreation stopped being fun for me. It still hasn’t come back. I do like perusing online retail however…I find it relaxing!

I live in the suburbs of a major U.S. city and spent a long weekend there last month, and the major shopping areas were hopping. But this city is a tourist destination and a college town, so that helps I’m sure.

The closest mall to me is dead, based on all I’ve read in the local paper about it. Another mall not that far away does much better, as it was built with condos and restaurants on-site, and skews more high-end. And yet another (outside-concept) mall seems awfully busy too, at least in warm weather, based on the parking lots.

BR was never really on my radar since I didn't have a store in my local mall, and when I did stop in once it was clearly geared to career women 10-20 years older than me. Plus my budget is always pretty low. I've rarely shopped at Ann Taylor or Loft, J Crew, J Jill, etc.

That said, I started seeing ads for BR's new styling a year or so ago and fell in love. Like LBD, I love the vintage adventure/safari aesthetic. Despite looking terrible in tan and khaki! But white and not-gold yellow are good. I haven't gotten around to trying anything yet, due to budget and it's a leap, but I love this aesthetic. I'm still regretting not trying the yellow skirt last year. Maybe I can find it for resale...

I can't really say to the rest of the shopping. I avoid downtown like the plague - any downtown - and always have. Traffic around major malls hasn't improved any, I must say!

I write about retail trends for work so I feel I have some insight here. In general online shopping is down, but that's because it went crazy high during the pandemic. It's still increasing, but at a slower rate. In some countries they're seeing a return to brick and mortar and a strong increase in city center foot traffic. That's in line with what Angie and others have noted about malls in countries other than the US.

In the US, small business is the star. Small business really powered the economy through the pandemic and while there were closures, millions of new small businesses were started. So shop those local boutiques! DTC (direct to consumer) brands are huge with Gen Z (department stores, not so much) and that may also contribute to the slowdown you may be noticing at the mall including - as someone pointed out - the mall no longer being key to young people's social lives. Lastly, costs are up for retailers - including labor, which is a big challenge. So it makes sense you're feeling like prices are higher. But inflation in general is half of what it was a year ago!

Thanks for letting me exercise my work muscles on a fun YLF thread!

Thank you all, very much! So enjoyed your thoughts on how things look where YOU live - across the globe. Lots of similarity and similar trends.

Minaminu, I forgot to mention GYMS! YES! They are popping up everywhere. Weed stores too. Maijuana is legal in the state of Washington.

Laura, VERY interesting! And loved that you chimed in about the subject professionally

I am a huge department store gal. I hope they survive my life time!

I was struck by quietloud’s comments about looking less fashionable now due to shopping on line more . Me too !! And this is the first time I’ve ever thought about it or realized it . I used to dress far more “ fashion forward-ly “ than I now do , and had far more interesting and “surprise “ finds in my closet . But with the changes in the retail environment , I’m resorting to choices I normally wouldn’t even consider .

Retail is mostly struggling here too with a few exceptions. The Mecca and Sephora seem to be thriving and sneaker stores too.

As many have said the in store ranges are smaller so going in can be fruitless.

I prefer independent stores or boutiques for most things with a smattering of online chain stores.

quietloud/LJP, that is SUCH a good point ... back in the day, I used to go out to retail when the seasons change to look at the mannequins and get the vibe on the season ... with online shopping and also the ridiculous number of "seasons" now, this no longer works.

So it's either:
a) try to keep up with all the changes/influencers/trends/fads, etc. resulting in either boring things that have been done to death because every bloody one of them is selling the same thing, or else complete confusion ...
b) go to a completely "personal style" model that sometimes leaves me feeling less than fab because I do like to be reasonably current and in tune with what's what in the current moment

... fortunately YLF is a great c) with a combination of both of these under Angie's wise guidance ... but the struggle is real!! (exaggerating for humour's sake, but really, it was much easier before, I don't think that's me idealizing the past ...)

Yes, our malls are beginning to look like ghost towns. My local J Crew closed so they’re on line only shopping for me now, as are most other stores. The exception is Macy’s - they have two big stores in my area and both seem to be doing OK.
I haven’t been in BR in a long time - in fact, I don’t even know if their store is still open in my local mall. I don’t know if Athleta is still in the mall either - they never have what I’m looking for so I don’t bother going, I just order online.

I actually think I’m ahead of the curve by mostly going with online shopping. For example, I picked up maryjanes and ballet flats last fall, when I saw that bubbling up.

It’s so different from the old, wander around the mall or department store and touch and try things model.

I follow various people and sites online and when I see an idea that’s appealing, I look around for a version that suits me. Anyone who’s got a line on motorcycle boots with gold hardware, lmk

Lisa : Celine has some that Keep it Chic posted about the other day . I think you’re finding better / more fashion forward things earlier and on line because you’re buying at a higher level . Maryjane flats and squarer toed ballet flats have only filtered down to the lower price points in the last few months and haven’t appeared anywhere here yet at retail where I can actually try them on . I know Everlane has had interesting flats for a few years now but that’s a take-a-chance and order proposition .

The upscale suburban malls near me are doing very well. The “regular” mall is sad and empty. Downtown stores are closing in the big city but neighborhood stores are flourishing.

I am lucky to have 2 stores nearby that work for me and more choices within an hour or so.

I still have challenges finding what I want.

I’m with UmmLila; with online shopping you can almost always find a version of what you want at your price point, earlier than if you waited for a local store to decide to purchase, and then receive and merchandise it. My Aquitalia Mary Janes are from 2020, when I saw versions at a higher price point, and my snip toe ballet flats are from last Fall.

I see both sides!

Like UmmLila and cat2, personally, I feel that I am ahead of the curve mostly shopping online the last five years, and get my preferred lower price points and exactly what I want that way. I think that's because we are in the US. LJP and Helena are in Canada and have comparatively far fewer retail options, and far fewer discounted opportunities. Maybe queitloud is in a similar boat.

Does that sound right?

Yes.