Strip mall

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.^[1] In 2020, The Wall Street Journal wrote that in the United States, despite the continuing retail apocalypse that started in around 2010, investments and visitor numbers were increasing to strip malls.^[2]

In the United Kingdom and Ireland such malls are called retail parks or retail outlets. They are usually located on the outskirts of towns and cities, and serve as an alternative to the high street in the UK or main street in Ireland. Retail parks have become popular due to the widespread use of cars and the ability to park close to the shops as opposed to restricted parking on high streets, many of which are pedestrianised.

In Australia "strip shops" or "shopping centre" describes a line of independent shops and buildings along the principal streets of a city or suburban area, which are not set back from the pavement (footpath) and do not have dedicated car parking spaces.^[3]