Nowadays, the trend of purchasing items from big shopping malls rather than local shops has increased, While some say that it is a positive development, others argue that it has a detrimental effect on local economic development but I think it has more negatives as compare to positives.
Admittedly, if there is a large shopping center in the vicinity, almost every item will be available in such a mall, which makes it easier for people to purchase various items without much hassle and it saves them lots of time. An example of this is the MBD mall in Jalandhar, where a lot of people come to purchase, as all sorts of items are available there.
Despite the advantage above, there are negatives to having such big enterprises in a certain area. They pose a serious threat to the local economy and livelihood of people who own small shops. If these small businesses are not able to sell items, cash flow will reduce causing problems for their families. They may have to close down their shops sooner or later due to the lack of business. This, in turn, results in people turning to malls and shopping centers as there is no other alternative for them. Umpteen numbers of cases have been reported in news articles and television about shops going out of business due to the presence of bigger players in the market.
To sum up, the presence of malls and shopping centers is a boon to some people who love to shop, but it also leads to closing down of different shops due to fewer sales, thereby affecting the economy of that region. In my opinion, such trends will only have a negative effect on local shops and businesses.