Shopping in the South Bay these days is like trying to go shopping the day after a liquidation sale; there just isn’t anything worth buying anymore.

With the emergence of super shopping centers, obsolete malls such as Del Amo and the South Bay Galleria are struggling just to keep stores open.

If you have roamed the malls in the South Bay recently, you would notice how empty it has grown in the past few years.

The Del Amo mall has closed half of its mall to the public due to lack of interest on that side.

Many stores in those two malls have opened and closed in a short period, while popular areas such as Ontario Mills or South Coast Plaza have been booming.

The quality of stores in the South Bay has also dropped dramatically.

There are fewer brand name stores like Guess and Bebe and more discount shops like Fashion Bug and Forever 21, which feature copycat clothing made with fabrics that are inexpensive.

Since so many stores have been closed down, it has become necessary to go to two or three malls just to get everything you want.

It is so inconvenient that many people choose to drive a little farther to go to a mall that has all the stores they want.

Others have switched to the convenience of shopping online to avoid pushy salespeople and driving the extra distance.

Online websites such as overstock.com provide high end clothing and accessories for lower prices, at the click of a mouse.

Vintage stores aren’t packed with shoppers, but they have an old-fashioned quality that gets customers to come back.

Stores such as Second Hand Rose and the Salvation Army boutique provide name brand clothing, normally very pricey, at very low prices.

The malls of California have now become amusement parks, not only in entertainment, but in prices too.

Parking alone can cost $20 and or more depending on where you go.

Popular shopping areas need to compete by resembling three-ring circuses, complete with food, entertainment and rides.

It simply is not enough for us to just go shopping for clothes anymore; apparently, we need to be able to ride on a go-kart or watch fireworks too.

Now it seems that even Del Amo and the Galleria are both going to become super malls.

The Mills Corporation bought Del Amo and will create an open-air promenade, including a day spa, a bowling alley and an upscale grocery store.

The Galleria is spending $7 million to renovate itself with a redesigned entry, two elevators, new light fixtures and a family restroom on the third-level food court area.

It is amazing to think that we are perceived as being so shallow that we would allow sparkly lights and celebrity endorsements to cloud our better judgment.

Even more incredible is that they think we will pay $25 for parking, simply because there is a Wolfgang Puck’s instead of a McDonald’s at their mall.

Is it necessary to have a mall with a day spa and other hoopla, when all you want to buy is a pair of socks?

In America: we love having everything super-sized; our food, our cars and our houses and now even our malls.

It’s ridiculous that we should have to pay so much for our car to sit in an empty lot, while we eat food that costs three times more than it’s worth and watch a show we never asked for.