For sneakerheads, are the malls dead? Post Covid has shifted the sneaker hunt to online raffles, reservation, bots and cookgroups. The stores have been impacted by logistics and shipment delays which lead to how dry the malls are for physical shopping and pick ups.
Footsite store like Champs, Finishline and footlocker in certain areas are one step above a Shoe Carnival and Famous Footwear. A simple scroll through the mall to see what sitting will leave you asking "Where are the retro's?"
Only being able to reserve Retros and other GR Nike releases through the app leave no room for mall vlogs and physical sneaker hunting.
Where does this leave sneakerheads in 2020? Buy/Sell/Trade shows, a emerging underground world set to offset dry malls and bots over taking online sneaker apps.
More to come on the world of Buy/Sell/Trade shows!