The first shopping center in history was Trajan's Market, built during the rule of Emperor Trajan in the 19th century.

In the Modern Age, the first structure similar to what is considered a "commercial center" today is located in the city of Damascus, capital of Syria. It is called Al-Hamidiyah in the old souk of Damascus and dates back to the 16th century. The largely covered Grand Bazaar of Isfahan dates back to the 19th century. The ten-kilometer-long covered Grand Bazaar of Tehran also has a long history. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, built in the 20th century and remains one of the largest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops.

Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg, which opened in 1785, can be considered as one of the first commercial complexes of purpose-built type of shopping malls, as it consisted of more than 100 stores with an area of ​​more than 53,000 m² (570,000 sq ft).

Shopping centers are not a recent innovation. One of the first examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, in the forum where commercial markets were located. One of the first public shopping centers is Rome's Trajan's Market, located in Trajan's Forum. Trajan's Market was probably built around 100-110 AD. C. by Apollodorus of Damascus, and is believed to be the oldest shopping center in the world.[11] The Grand Bazaar "Grand Bazaar (Istanbul)") of Istanbul was built in the century and remains one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 stores. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 16th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souk in Damascus, Syria, could also be considered precursors to today's large shopping malls.[12] The Isfahan Bazaar in Isfahan, which is mostly covered, dates from the 16th century. The 10-kilometre-long covered Grand Bazaar of Tehran also has a long history. The oldest continuously occupied shopping center in the world is probably The Rows. These covered walkways, dating back to at least the 16th century, housed shops, with warehouses and accommodation for merchants on various levels. Different rows specialized in different products, such as "Bakers Row" or "Fleshmongers Row".[13]

The Gostiny Dvor") in Saint Petersburg, opened in 1785, can be considered one of the first purpose-built mall-type shopping complexes, as it consisted of more than 100 stores covering an area of ​​more than 53,000 m² (63,387.5 sq. m).

The Red Children's Market in Paris opened in 1628 and continues to operate today. The Oxford Covered Market") in Oxford, England, opened in 1774 and continues to operate today.

The Passage des Panoramas opened in Paris in 1798.[14] The Burlington Arcade in London opened in 1819.

The Arcade") in Providence, Rhode Island introduced the concept of a shopping arcade to the United States in 1828 and is possibly the oldest "mall" in the country.[15] The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, followed in the 1870s and is closer to large modern shopping centers in size. Other large cities created galleries and shopping centers in the late 1870s and early 1900s, such as the Cleveland Arcade and the GUM in Moscow, which opened in 1890. The Cleveland Arcade, opened in 1890, was one of the first covered shopping centers in the United States and, like its European counterparts, was an architectural triumph. Two sides had 1,600 iron-framed windows, and it is an excellent example of Victorian architecture. The Queen Victoria Markets Building in Sydney, opened in 1898, was also an ambitious architectural project.

According to the agreements reached by the International Council of Shopping Centers and the shopping center associations of European countries, the classification by size of shopping centers is:.

Buildings with less than 5,000 m² of GLA are not considered shopping centers, but rather shopping arcades.

Shopping centers have a certain order to arrange the stores; For example, one plant or sector is intended for the sale of clothing, another for the sale of food and restaurants, another for cinemas and entertainment and leisure centers. It is almost essential that the shopping center have a supermarket or hypermarket.

Shopping centers are more common in large cities, in order to avoid the congestion that a public market would produce, although shopping centers sometimes do not avoid this situation. The implementation of shopping centers is more deeply rooted in Western countries (America and Europe) and in Southeast Asia.

The shopping center, in addition to having a commercial or economic entity, also has a great sociological or anthropological connotation, since it is a space for social and human exchange. It fulfills the same functions that the old town square fulfilled: meeting place, expression of people's interests towards other neighbors, who at the end of the day on a weekend have passed by there, which is like the main street that goes to the main square in the towns or its equivalent in the neighborhoods. It has a schedule for different groups of people: families, teenagers, young people, seniors, etc. Furthermore, the center managers and merchants know this and organize their offers, promotions, exhibitions, for all these groups. There are even people who already claim that family life is better done in shopping centers.[19]​.

The evolution of the shopping center market is directly related to the consumption capacity of households, with activity suffering in times of crisis such as the current one. The ratio of analysis of the maturity of this market has been the gross leasable area per inhabitant, although other lines of analysis prefer the GLA/M€ consumed, which better relates the real estate market and the real economy.[20]​.

The first shopping center in history was Trajan's Market, built during the rule of Emperor Trajan in the 19th century.

In the Modern Age, the first structure similar to what is considered a "commercial center" today is located in the city of Damascus, capital of Syria. It is called Al-Hamidiyah in the old souk of Damascus and dates back to the 16th century. The largely covered Grand Bazaar of Isfahan dates back to the 19th century. The ten-kilometer-long covered Grand Bazaar of Tehran also has a long history. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, built in the 20th century and remains one of the largest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops.

Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg, which opened in 1785, can be considered as one of the first commercial complexes of purpose-built type of shopping malls, as it consisted of more than 100 stores with an area of ​​more than 53,000 m² (570,000 sq ft).

Shopping centers are not a recent innovation. One of the first examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, in the forum where commercial markets were located. One of the first public shopping centers is Rome's Trajan's Market, located in Trajan's Forum. Trajan's Market was probably built around 100-110 AD. C. by Apollodorus of Damascus, and is believed to be the oldest shopping center in the world.[11] The Grand Bazaar "Grand Bazaar (Istanbul)") of Istanbul was built in the century and remains one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 stores. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 16th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souk in Damascus, Syria, could also be considered precursors to today's large shopping malls.[12] The Isfahan Bazaar in Isfahan, which is mostly covered, dates from the 16th century. The 10-kilometre-long covered Grand Bazaar of Tehran also has a long history. The oldest continuously occupied shopping center in the world is probably The Rows. These covered walkways, dating back to at least the 16th century, housed shops, with warehouses and accommodation for merchants on various levels. Different rows specialized in different products, such as "Bakers Row" or "Fleshmongers Row".[13]

The Gostiny Dvor") in Saint Petersburg, opened in 1785, can be considered one of the first purpose-built mall-type shopping complexes, as it consisted of more than 100 stores covering an area of ​​more than 53,000 m² (63,387.5 sq. m).

The Red Children's Market in Paris opened in 1628 and continues to operate today. The Oxford Covered Market") in Oxford, England, opened in 1774 and continues to operate today.

The Passage des Panoramas opened in Paris in 1798.[14] The Burlington Arcade in London opened in 1819.

The Arcade") in Providence, Rhode Island introduced the concept of a shopping arcade to the United States in 1828 and is possibly the oldest "mall" in the country.[15] The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, followed in the 1870s and is closer to large modern shopping centers in size. Other large cities created galleries and shopping centers in the late 1870s and early 1900s, such as the Cleveland Arcade and the GUM in Moscow, which opened in 1890. The Cleveland Arcade, opened in 1890, was one of the first covered shopping centers in the United States and, like its European counterparts, was an architectural triumph. Two sides had 1,600 iron-framed windows, and it is an excellent example of Victorian architecture. The Queen Victoria Markets Building in Sydney, opened in 1898, was also an ambitious architectural project.

According to the agreements reached by the International Council of Shopping Centers and the shopping center associations of European countries, the classification by size of shopping centers is:.

Buildings with less than 5,000 m² of GLA are not considered shopping centers, but rather shopping arcades.

Shopping centers have a certain order to arrange the stores; For example, one plant or sector is intended for the sale of clothing, another for the sale of food and restaurants, another for cinemas and entertainment and leisure centers. It is almost essential that the shopping center have a supermarket or hypermarket.

Shopping centers are more common in large cities, in order to avoid the congestion that a public market would produce, although shopping centers sometimes do not avoid this situation. The implementation of shopping centers is more deeply rooted in Western countries (America and Europe) and in Southeast Asia.

The shopping center, in addition to having a commercial or economic entity, also has a great sociological or anthropological connotation, since it is a space for social and human exchange. It fulfills the same functions that the old town square fulfilled: meeting place, expression of people's interests towards other neighbors, who at the end of the day on a weekend have passed by there, which is like the main street that goes to the main square in the towns or its equivalent in the neighborhoods. It has a schedule for different groups of people: families, teenagers, young people, seniors, etc. Furthermore, the center managers and merchants know this and organize their offers, promotions, exhibitions, for all these groups. There are even people who already claim that family life is better done in shopping centers.[19]​.

The evolution of the shopping center market is directly related to the consumption capacity of households, with activity suffering in times of crisis such as the current one. The ratio of analysis of the maturity of this market has been the gross leasable area per inhabitant, although other lines of analysis prefer the GLA/M€ consumed, which better relates the real estate market and the real economy.[20]​.