The “Shopping Mall” was an extension of Main Street. Among the chain stores were local entrepreneurs who opened boutiques that sold the things that were not available in the chains.
What happened to the “Malls” was the bus lines that brought the Free Shit Army and riff-raff to the malls. The resultant crime wave inside and outside drove many customers to shop Amazon and other web-enabled merchants to avoid the crime and miscreants.
I can have it delivered in two days, and not have to deal with the FSA, etc. sealed their fate.
As for Main Street against Walmart, wherever a Walmart is built, there are other businesses that spring up around them almost instantly. Main Street as a location simply could not accommodate the numbers of people. Walmart as a store is incompatible with a “center of town” destination. F.W. Woolworth was the precursor to Walmart and simply couldn’t compete as a “center of town” location because of the small store size and accessibility to patrons.
So, the center of town was shifted to a new “center of town”.
The bus lines weren’t just to bring shoppers; they were bringing many of the low-wage workers as well.
Wal-Mart is Amazon for people that want to try something on/measure it against something, etc.; both are the natural evolution of shopping. Amazon was also pushed by the fact that in increasing areas of this country, you’ll have nothing in common with people jabbering in foreign tongues when you step outside your home. There is no reason to be physically in a store after 9 am; it is downright depressing.