What do malls offer that regular shops do not (besides lots of stores being located closely together, but thanks to Yelp and local transportation, that doesn't seem like too big of a benefit).
UPDATE:
So I am from NYC, and I have lived in urban areas my entire life. Finding the right stores so that I could make immediate purchases has never been an issue for me, but based on early comments, I clearly have a myopic view.
I can see how a mall could potentially offer an "urban" experience (meaning that food, stores, people are all conveniently located in a nearby area) in a non-urban area.
Aside from the facts that not all malls are dying and that there are still new malls being built, they offer exactly the benefit you stated: "lots of stores being located closely together."
I don't believe the existence of services like Yelp offsets this much if at all. People who don't mind spending the extra time to use it and then to travel around to the places they find (or even wait for shipment) are not necessarily the shoppers a mall caters to, as they're obviously not so concerned with getting what they need quickly with minimal travel.
There's also the social and entertainment aspect to consider. Many malls have food courts and restaurants and/or include movie theaters (or even theme parks, which I find hilarious, but it's there).
Malls do often exist for and serves purposes other than just providing goods in a centralized location... but that purpose itself hasn't lost its utility.
I'd say a mall is a place to go when your intention is to shop as an activity not just as a means to an end. It allows you to constantly browse, with nothing requiring you to stop -- the next store is meters away, food is right there...
Yelp and local transport doesn't meet this niche. Or, it only meets it in a handful of big dense cities that have decent shopping districts. Malls replicate that sort of experience for a spread out suburban area.
I think the direction to take would be to focus on the things that online stores can't provide. Clothes fitting, product repair, demo products to look at and play with, etc. Apple stores seem to do this quite well: they don't have hundreds of products on the shelves (online stores will always have you beat there), everything is nicely spaced out and you are free to walk around and play with the products. If you need advice or want to buy, you can talk to a sales rep. If you need something repaired, they do that too.
I was going to say something snarky about the 80s being the last time people did that, but there are occasional times I've had to go to a mall in the past few years, and I notice teenagers hanging out (usually in the summer).
UPDATE:
So I am from NYC, and I have lived in urban areas my entire life. Finding the right stores so that I could make immediate purchases has never been an issue for me, but based on early comments, I clearly have a myopic view.
I can see how a mall could potentially offer an "urban" experience (meaning that food, stores, people are all conveniently located in a nearby area) in a non-urban area.