Started a discussion on this quite a few posts ago. And I see Frances Bula is looking forward to the end of the traditional mall as well. (Her story on the remake of the Arbutus Shppping Centre is here.)
Over at the Urban Land Institute, they’re forecasting a makeover for entire strips of urban corridors.
A strip mall is just a low density form of retail development.
Think of a country store with a vacant gravel lot around it (like the ice cream place on the way to Squamish).
As property values and densities increase, the natural evolution of the built form will progress to higher densities that will use up more of the parcel.