For all intents and purposes, the American mall is dead. Customer traffic at malls is on the decline, due to the emergence of online shopping, which is far more convenient and often provides lower prices. Even among brick-and-mortar stores, companies are favoring smaller-store formats with less square footage rather than the giant, garish malls that popped up all over the country. In many ways, malls look like a relic of suburban America’s past. But when an industry begins to decline, consolidation inevitably follows. On March 9, mall operator Simon Property Group (SPG) announced it will buy rival mall operator Macerich (MAC) in a massive $14.39 billion deal. This deal joins the number 1 and number 3 shopping mall owners in the United States.