We've heard about it for a long time now that malls are dying. And in large part it is likely true. Stores are going out of business and you can see it when you are inside the mall, that places where stores used to be are boarded up.

I had a different mall experience yesterday. I was at the Freehold Raceway Mall and to me, it did not seem like the mall was struggling.

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Now granted I went on a rainy day where there wasn't much to do, and it was also a Saturday. I am not sure what this place would look like on a random Tuesday during the year.

In that instance maybe it would be dead. But from what I saw, the mall was still thriving.

All the stores that I went into had tons of people inside browsing around. The lines to checkout were also really backed up.

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Normally lines and crowded stores would annoy me. But for some reason it did not bother me yesterday. Likely because we've heard forever that New Jersey malls are doomed, and even if only for those few hours that I was there, it was nice to see the place so crowded.

Online shopping certainly has changed the ways of a lot of shoppers everywhere in the world, and it absolutely has its perks.

To me though, nothing compares to actually seeing the item in-store and being able to try it on. It is the superior way to shop.

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Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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