Yeah it is not a good analogy because when it came to malls something more convenient and easier for everyone to use became a better option with the rise in internet shopping. It's not like malls made people angry and people left it for something that wasn't as convenient to use.

People who moved to the fediverse aren't representative of the average user who just wants a community in a niche area of interest to use, and never cared that strongly enough to abandon it. Most do not want to go through the growing pains of trying to grow a new community on a new platform and less content.