A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. Many of them face major traffic arterials and tend to be self-contained with few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Smaller strip malls may be called mini-malls, while larger ones may be called power centers or big box centers. In 2013, The New York Times reported that the United States had 65,840 strip malls. In 2020, The Wall Street Journal wrote that in the United States, despite the continuing retail apocalypse starting around 2010, investments and visitor numbers were increasing to strip malls.
An example of a small strip mall in Onalaska, Wisconsin
The Park & Shop in Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C. (1930) is one of the earliest examples of a small center with dedicated on-site parking in front.
Example of a mini-mall in Los Angeles, California
A shopping center, shopping centre, also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The interior of the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a 201,320-square-metre (2,167,000 sq ft) super-regional shopping mall
Interior of the Galerie Vivienne in Paris, by Francois Jean Delannoy, 1823-1826
Bailian Xijiao Shopping Mall in Shanghai, at 109,000 square metres (1,170,000 sq ft) a super-regional shopping mall
A community shopping center in Klaukkala, Uusimaa, Finland