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.
Sorry, I was kinda caught off guard by the others' critical response, so I just said that, in awareness of that, but I agree that it's good to remember that malls won't necessarily stay that way, from a change of capitalist base and thus superstructure to socialist ones.