When it comes to shopping, Edmonton goes big. In 1981, it opened the then largest shopping mall in the world. In 2012, it built South Edmonton Common, the largest open air retail/entertainment complex in North America. SEM has all brand name factory outlets, big box stores, restaurants and movie theatres. It covers 129 hectares (1.3 km2). The parking lots are too big, the outlet stores are larger than standard and spread too far too wide, the complex makes it too tired to walk and too inconvenient to hop on hop off the car.