Social Impact of Superstore Economy

Just started reading this interesting book named 'No Logo' by Naomi Klein wherein she has written about how branding has become almost everything in today's corporate world and how these super brands are intruding into every aspects of our lives in order to sell more, at any cost.

While one may not agree with all what she has against branding, there are some compelling arguments which makes it a good read.
Out of I have read so far, one thing which has strike most to me is her argument about how the invent of superstores has changed the social fabric in every country. Now as the UK, where I am currently living, already had an established superstore culture when I came here, I cannot see what impact it has brought socially. However, being from India, where superstore culture has just caught up (in fact right now there all only malls which are not superstores in real sense, as their merchandise range is smaller to superstores and generally excludes grocery) I can see this happening, and there is a perceptible change in buying habits of people already.
People are buying more and impulsively, the buying decision making has shifted from only men to whole family including kids, and branding has become more important.

However, these are also a sign of rising income levels (though mall culture has a lot to take credit for all the changes in buying habits of people). But what can only be attributed to superstores (or malls in case of India, so far) is the changing patterns of social interactions.

Parks have been replaced by malls for whatever purpose there were used earlier - dating or for family outing on Sundays. The whole idea of weekend entertainment, which earlier meant visiting friends and relatives or fairs or watching a movie with whole family has been overturned and weekend has now come with in confines of malls.

There used to be a lot more time which could be spent on the shop on street corner, gossiping about and analysing every news broadcast on the radio. Now people prefer to spend their time on branded stores in these malls and finding out what's Britney Spears latest problem.
Time is always short on these malls.

This might be the phenomenon in metros as of now, but once these markets are saturated with enough malls and superstores, will it not be turn of smaller town and take this social shift to the next level?