These haunting photos reveal a new normal in America as the country plunges into a retail apocalypse
Perhaps most emblematic of the retail apocalypse are photos of dead malls.
As customers increasingly shop online, malls are suffering the consequences.
Visits to malls declined by 50% between 2010 and 2013, according to the real-estate research firm Cushman & Wakefield.
In the nearly two years since it closed, Chicago's Lincoln Mall has transformed from a vibrant shopping center into an eerie, deserted wasteland.
The mall was forced to close after many retailers — including Sears — shuttered their locations inside the shopping center.
Photographer Seph Lawless documents abandoned and forgotten malls across the US.
While abandoned malls are spooky, shopping centers in their death throes are scary in a different way.
Regency Square Mall in Richmond, Virginia is still open — but a number of shops have gone dark as retailers have closed their stores.
The mall's operators have attempted to cover up the closures by installing vending machines in boarded up walls.
The mall seems almost as empty as the already abandoned malls.
Roughly a third of shopping malls are at risk of dying off as a result of store closures, according to data from Green Street Advisors. When a mall loses an anchor store, like Sears, it can be nearly impossible to survive.
Retailers are struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy as sales slump.
Sears has been hit with both plummeting sales and dwindling inventory, as seen in this empty area of a store in Richmond, Virginia.
Kmart, which merged with Sears in 2005, has been criticized for its disorganized stores.
Some shoppers say Kmart's rough set up is "depressing."
At one store in Hillsboro, Ohio, Kmart hung white sheets to hide the area where the grocery section once was.
Sears plans to shutter 108 Kmart stores and 42 Sears stores by April.
Macy's financial struggles are similarly apparent in its disheveled appearance.
A July 2016 visit to Macy's Manhattan flagship store revealed messy shelves and lots of sales.
It's difficult to convince shoppers that this apparel is high-quality when it's presented so haphazardly.
Still, the Manhattan Macy's is better than the scene at Minneapolis's Nicollet Mall location, days before its closure.
Ummm...help! #macys #fourthfloor #fromstorage pic.twitter.com/iXti9G3pPB
— Kavita Kumar (@kavitakumar) March 16, 2017
Macy's is closing 68 locations in early 2017.
A recent visit to a Manhattan JCPenney revealed similar disorganization.
In addition to clothes thrown on the floor, packaging was damaged and opened.
JCPenney is closing 138 stores early this year.
Nearly everything at RadioShack is on sale as the chain prepares to close 552 stores.
A store in Manhattan is covered with signs highlighting sales.
However, the displays seem to be hastily set up.
Wet Seal is closing all 171 locations.
And, Crocs is closing 160 locations.
RIP, retail as we know it.
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