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RamBone22 t1_jbjv0fb wrote

Plus the shitty carpet pattern effects

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Asha_Brea t1_jbjv4g6 wrote

I noticed this when I went to a shopping mall that had two floors, had three escalators that went up and one that went down.

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bikeidaho t1_jbjvujt wrote

Las Vegas has perfected this effect!

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Wouldtick t1_jbjwctj wrote

The mall of America does a great job of this. Doesn’t help that you will run into multiple locations of the same store.

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Carbon_Rod t1_jbjxulh wrote

Doesn't work with me. I get so exasperated with the inability to do anything quickly that I just give up and never go there. Of course, the fact that the largest nearby mall is 90% women's clothing stores now also helps in avoiding it.

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LakeEarth t1_jbjy9lw wrote

A mall near me is shaped like a honeycomb, it's maddening.

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Mumbled_Jumbo t1_jbjycfz wrote

This feeling is exactly why I do not frequent shopping malls and casinos.

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icelandichorsey t1_jbk2gu1 wrote

So this kinda thing is normalised but when "nudging" is brought up everyone is all outraged all of a sudden 🙄🙄

−3

Jaksmack t1_jbk3213 wrote

I miss the shopping malls of the 70's & early 80's.. all the indoor plants and water features. Also, I love looking at pics of dead malls.

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cruel_delusion t1_jbk3tnr wrote

>It is named after Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who disapproved of such manipulative techniques.

Imagine having something you hated named after you.

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Kurotan t1_jbkad2m wrote

I wish offices were designed this way so the work day would feel shorter.

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Super_Turnip t1_jbkbrz5 wrote

I'm terribly prone to disorientation in malls. I hate them, hate them passionately. Within moments of walking in I'm as lost as a little kid and that triggers a low key anxiety that stays with me until I find the damn exit and make good my escape.

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Jollyjacktar t1_jbkid8b wrote

In San Diego we used to have a mall called Horton Plaza. It was totally confusing. My wife called it Escher Mall after the artist that drew pictures with impossible perspective. I said its marketing tag line should have been “You can’t get there from here.”

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Greenfire32 t1_jbkk947 wrote

This is why you need a clear objective whenever you go shopping.

Every time I enter a store, I am looking for something specific. Then I leave with whatever it was. I do not meander, I do not wander. I'm there for a reason. You would be surprised at how much money you save just by having a clearly defined goal.

Impulse buying? Not really a thing for me.

It's also one of the reasons I much prefer online over physical shopping. Usually I can just search the exact thing I'm looking for and then I'm done. But if I do end up having to go to a physical store, I put the blinders on and get out as fast as possible.

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tinymonesters t1_jbkn2g2 wrote

The grocery store i used to use all the time takes advantage of this to an extreme by fully relocating nearly everything about once a year. After the last one I just started going to a different store that keeps shit in the same place because I value my time.

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GarbageGobble t1_jbkq093 wrote

And that’s why having to go to the one store that just happens to only be inside of a mall is the most inconvenient experience possible!

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tuna_safe_dolphin t1_jbkrhh0 wrote

I fight the system by giving all of my money to Jeff Bezos! Take that capitalist pigs!

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goinmobile2030 t1_jbkvp9k wrote

I'm stuck in one now. Have been here for years. I'm addicted to cinnamon buns. Whenever I try to leave, I end up in John Malkovich's head.

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twohundred37 t1_jbkyz84 wrote

There's an awesome episode of 99% Invisible about the Gruen Effect if anyone is interested in learning more about the subject, added bonus if you've never heard Roman Mars' voice. 99pi episode

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RockItGuyDC t1_jbkzhw5 wrote

Replying to Jaksmack (#2,194,082)

Even into the 90s malls we're popping. Friday night was: go to the mall....and just wander.

Maybe get an Auntie Ann's pretzel, maybe get a new stupid shirt or poster at Spencer's, maybe play laser tag, and maybe see the latest movie. But mostly it was just chilling, running into people you know, and definitely hitting up the arcade.

I was 16 in '98, and the mall was still largely the center of teen socialization at that time.

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EvlMinion t1_jbkztji wrote

I've experienced this as well as the opposite. There used to be a really small one nearby. It had an anchor in the center and stores in a U shape around the side, plus 2 exits at either end. It was suuuper easy to get around in that one. Sadly, it's now a Walmart.

One of the remaining malls here is a sprawling monstrosity. Every time I've been there, I got a little confused trying to figure out which side I was parked on.

1

p4y t1_jbl4317 wrote

Replying to ButtersHound (#2,194,042)

Does IKEA layout their stores differently across countries? I keep hearing about people getting lost inside an IKEA and I'm like "How?" Mine has literally one main path to follow, they even put arrows pointing you towards the exit in case you accidentally go in the wrong direction.

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angeliswastaken_sock t1_jbl7o0h wrote

>It is named after Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who disapproved of such manipulative techniques.

How nice of them......

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Omnivud t1_jbl98qx wrote

I get lost as soon as I enter that shit, good job I guess

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Bierculles t1_jble58e wrote

I am completely immune against that because i am always disoriented, i have no clue where i am most of the time.

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alexxerth t1_jblf2mw wrote

Replying to Greenfire32 (#2,194,869)

I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever gone to the mall because I want something specific.

I'll go because I'm Christmas shopping and want to see what they have, but if I know what I want I just buy it online.

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sjk8990 t1_jblggr6 wrote

I'm calling my mall Hotel California.

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angelanna17 t1_jblhosj wrote

And all this time I thought I just had a terrible sense of direction.

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ljog42 t1_jblshke wrote

Jokes on them, I lose track of time and geography everywhere !

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itsarace1 t1_jblvoh6 wrote

How is this allowed with regards to fire safety/other emergencies? You figure it would be mandated that exits can be found easily.

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wdwerker t1_jblzask wrote

Is this related Costco constantly changing the location of items and the grocery store resetting the isles every so often?

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Huge_Contribution_46 t1_jbm05ve wrote

This is exactly why I stopped using malls. It was fun with my shitty group of hs friends. Now it’s just depressing haha.

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LoneRonin t1_jbm5vut wrote

Replying to cruel_delusion (#2,194,115)

Gruen may finally be getting the last laugh, as dying malls are starting to be rebuilt to be more like his original vision. They're getting converted into schools, health centers and malls in big cities are often becoming mixed use developments with shops on the ground floors and offices, hotels and housing on top.

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Planarleo127890 t1_jbm7ijx wrote

Replying to Asha_Brea (#2,193,690)

we had something similar in the west, we have 2 elevators going up, but the going down elevators was on the opposite side of the where the up elevators, of making you go through the FOOD court, because everyone cant help themselves to food once in a while.

1

Planarleo127890 t1_jbma7vp wrote

Replying to EvlMinion (#2,195,507)

we have a medium sized mall and ours is designed that way too. the corridors of the malls are either dead ends or exits to different parking lots. its also confusing if you try to double back because you are not sure if you came in from the left or the right of the mall.

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JonPButter t1_jbmlvdn wrote

I once visited the Mall of America near Minneapolis-St Paul. I came out with my head buzzing and feeling entirely disoriented.

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dressageishard t1_jbmndsb wrote

Yeh, but I have a good sense of direction when I'm shopping in malls.

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edthomson92 t1_jbmnesp wrote

My two malls are pretty straightforward. No branching paths, and one is just one floor

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AnthillOmbudsman t1_jbmptur wrote

Replying to p4y (#2,195,716)

I always wonder what happens if an IKEA has a fire. It seems there would be hundreds of deaths from people not being able to escape the labyrinth, especially when you mix in smoke and emergency lighting.

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AnthillOmbudsman t1_jbmqcfh wrote

Replying to Mumbled_Jumbo (#2,193,847)

Vegas casinos don't seem anything like they were in the old days. Back in the 1990s you could definitely get lost in them. It seems a lot of those places have thinned out the machines and made the areas a lot more spacious and bright. I was also surprised they let kids all over the gaming floors now, it was never like that back then.

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bradswegle t1_jbmz2r3 wrote

Had Gruen perhaps grown this hatred after visiting an IKEA?

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nectarine_dasheen t1_jbn21cz wrote

Replying to OSCgal (#2,196,330)

Struggled today alternatively pushing and pulling on a huge door to exit a fast food joint and there were a couple people behind me asking, “What is going ON?” Not only was it a Norman door, but it was also kind of wedged closed by insulation and a floor mat. But I couldn’t explain all that and just looked like an idiot shoving and yanking at a door for a quarter of a minute.

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OwlHex4577 t1_jbn5n62 wrote

Target has Mastered this. It’s a f-Ing time warp in there. I run in to grab milk and walk out, hours later, laden with $500 of bullsht

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MGC00992 t1_jbnbsuw wrote

This explains why I dislike these kinds of environments and avoid them if at all possible

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Business-Emu-6923 t1_jbncgqr wrote

Replying to cruel_delusion (#2,194,115)

I bet there is a long list…

In a related bit of Trivia, the Beastie Boys hated Fight For Your Right to Party.

They wrote it as a parody of “brat rock” which they saw as whiney boys complaining that they want to party but “mom said no”. It was their biggest hit, and the song they will be remembered for.

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Business-Emu-6923 t1_jbncp48 wrote

Replying to DblClickyourupvote (#2,196,993)

Its… exactly this. Like, not even just a funny parallel, this is exactly what they are doing.

We are NPCs, trapped in their rollercoaster park.

I used to play Theme Park way back in time. I did the same thing, also made zig zag paths that went past the same burger joint four times so the peeps would eventually buy one. Mmm, Mc Donald’s…

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Listen_to_Psybient t1_jbnhqgi wrote

Everything is about profit! Everything is about money! Nothing else matters!

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crucible t1_jbnrc8e wrote

>The feeling of losing track of time and geography inside a mall is called the Gruen Transfer.

Australia has a panel show about advertising called The Gruen Transfer - like me, most Redditors will probably know it for this advert that one of the teams produced.

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suzer2017 t1_jbny4ft wrote

The word "like" was not necessary in this post.

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Snail_jousting t1_jbnywrl wrote

Replying to AnthillOmbudsman (#2,198,317)

They have emergency exits all over, they're just behind the fake walls. And since there are employees everywhere, they'll probably help you find the exit. I worry more about fires in Walmart. The employees there won't help with shit.

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CitationNeededBadly t1_jboevpp wrote

LOL. I have a recurring dream where I'm lost in a mall. Somehow I'm always in the wrong "wing". Which never happened in real life, our mall had "the wing with the arcade" and the other one.

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XxRefuse2Lose t1_jbosdlb wrote

I used to work in a mall. Somehow I've never experienced this phenomenon before.

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NoesHowe2Spel t1_jboy9n3 wrote

Replying to crucible (#2,199,559)

It's a great show essentially talking to advertising people about how advertising permeates culture. It's exactly the type of show that can't be produced on advertiser-supported television.

This is from a segment where they will have two competing advertising executives produce an ad to try and sell a ridiculous concept. In the case above, it was invading New Zealand. This one was to convince people child labour was a good thing.

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jdm1891 t1_jbpha5j wrote

I really enjoy the feeling of getting lost in places like this, reminds me of being a kid again. I love to wonder around (I don't buy things all that much though, wondering is more fun)

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StanleyAteMyNewShoes t1_jbqj23t wrote

Replying to Jollyjacktar (#2,194,797)

I lived about 6 blks from Horton Plaza when it opened. Thought then and still think it is one of the ugiest, least functional "buildings" I have ever been in and was truely thought a joke by everyone I ever talked to. After one visit by locals, I think the only people who actually went there were the tourists. I just found out today that it was finally closing. I am surprised it lasted as long as it did. God but it was ugly.

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Chunkylover537 t1_jbqo56r wrote

The Gruen Transfer is also a great show on Australian tv.

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