Wow. What a name. The Mall of America. I'd heard about it. I'd heard that it was enormous, that it had an amusement park and a water park and a Ritz-Carlton, and a subway system, and a 10-story roller coaster, and that you could get lost for days in there. The truth is, I was expecting to be awed. I expected a jaw-dropping display of American conspicuous construction. In reality, MOA doesn't look like much from the outside, but once inside, I found a large and extremely well design shopping mall. Its genius is both in not being too big, and in not feeling as big as it is.

MOA is basically 4 normal malls arranged with an amusement park in the center. Keys to Success:

1. You never, ever feel overwhelmed.
   Your vision is always limited. There are always walls in your peripheral vision. The entire experience is paced, logical. You don't need to think about where to go, you just keep going. You never realize how far you are walking, and because you don't really care how much is ahead, you don't feel the need to "save" your spending.
2. Natural light penetrates almost everywhere.
   Sunlight makes people happy. It also makes them comfortable and don't feel like they "need to go outside" for some air.
3. Stores are billboards for other stores.
   Because MOA is so large, brands can sub-divide their across multiple stores, or have multiple locations, creating brand impressions, and awareness of other lines. Fossil has three stores in MOA. I never knew they made clothes, but there was a whole store of only women's clothing and accessories. Likewise, I counted three Auntie Anne's Pretzels (although the directory only lists two...)

I have to say, MOA knows what it is doing.
MOA made me want to spend money.