Honestly, in my childhood opinion, it was fine, just trying out food and drinks (whether from shopping or restaurants), testing electronics and arcade games, maybe even buying some toys or going to indoor play areas.
Though the novelty of it soon worn out gradually, taking a walk and peek at around these areas for anything interesting is good once in a while, even if you're not buying anything.
Edit: on sec thoughts, should I place this in the urbanism community? And just so you know, I'm not an American, so I wouldn't know what butcherism might occur in the implementation of malls.
i saw them a lot on american tv growing up and they seemed really cool/fancy/culturally important but having experienced them in real life now i don't understand why. they're pretty fucking mid.
I had no idea until I saw Mallrats that people would go to the mall and not buy anything. A completely alien idea.
Honestly, I'm not an American, and I'm not used to the usual American malls I see in the news, but from my experience, malls are fine, without any much expectations, I would say.