Centralized shopping districts are nothing new; they have their roots in ancient market squares, bazaars, and seaport commercial districts. But until the mid-twentieth century, shopping was largely accomplished on foot. The modern shopping center is a product of an automobile-oriented world. When affordable cars became available in the 1920s, retailers began moving out of congested downtowns and into clusters of shops, usually a grocery store, pharmacy, and hardware store, concentrated on trolley lines or along streets with convenient parking.

As more Americans moved to the suburbs, so did large companies such as Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. In the 1930s and 1940s, the retailers built big, freestanding stores with onsite parking and evening shopping hours. The success of these suburban branch stores convinced developers that the future of shopping lay in the suburbs where a prosperous and growing middle-class was embracing consumer culture.