Toys R us admitting that sales are down 15%, even from 2016's horrifying year. If it's starting even before Christmas, watch as this gets worse and worse.
Folks, this ain't about Sears, Macy's, or any other individual retailer. This is about the entire sector and economy as a whole.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/dec/18/toys-r-us-faces-collapse-with-loss-of-3500-uk-jobs
First of all, so you understand, there is a difference between same store sales and online sales. Total company sales are the key numbers needed to determine the factor of declining sales overall. Retail sales are still happening, but on a global base. Consumers have a broader base to choose from. For example, Amazon. They are doing well and most retail stores with .com are doing well too. This change in brick and mortar stores will eventually level out. It will result in fewer actual "stores" , but they will remain.