These haunting photos of the retail apocalypse reveal a new normal in America

• More than 3,800 stores are set to close across the United States in 2018.
• Retailers including Walgreens, Toys R Us, and Gap are closing hundreds of stores each.
• A retail apocalypse is ripping through the industry, leaving clearance sales and empty malls in its wake.

The retail apocalypse has descended on America.

More than 3,800 stores are expected to close across the country this year. Department stores like Macy’s, Sears, and JCPenney, and retailers including Toys R Us, BCBG, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bebe have decided to close dozens of stores.

A new survey by commercial real estate company Reis found that malls are emptier than they have been since 2012, CNBC reported. The vacancy rate in regional and super-regional malls hit 8.6% in the second quarter, up from 8.4% in the prior quarter.

With vacancy rates continuing to rise, walking through a mall in 2018 is like walking through a graveyard.

Here’s photographic evidence that a retail apocalypse is hitting the United States hard:

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Perhaps most emblematic of the retail apocalypse are photos of dead malls.

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As customers increasingly shop online, malls are suffering the consequences.

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Visits to malls declined by 50% from 2010 to 2013, according to the real-estate research firm Cushman & Wakefield.

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In the nearly two years since it closed, Chicago’s Lincoln Mall has transformed from a vibrant shopping center into an eerie, deserted wasteland.

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The mall closed after many retailers — including Sears — shuttered their locations inside the shopping center.

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Photographer Seph Lawless documents abandoned and forgotten malls across the United States.

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While abandoned malls are spooky, shopping centers in their death throes are scary in a different way.

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Regency Square Mall in Richmond, Virginia, is still open, but numerous storefronts have gone dark as retailers have closed their stores.

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The mall’s operators have attempted to cover up the closings by installing vending machines in boarded-up walls.

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The mall seems almost as empty as the closed malls.

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Roughly a third of shopping malls are at risk of dying off as a result of store closings, according to data from Green Street Advisors. When a mall loses an anchor store, like Sears, it can be nearly impossible to survive.

Source: Business Insider

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Retailers are struggling to maintain some semblance of normality as sales slump.

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Sears has been hit with both plummeting sales and dwindling inventory, as seen in this empty area of a store in Richmond, Virginia.

Source: Business Insider

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Kmart, which merged with Sears in 2005, has been criticized for its disorganized stores.

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Some shoppers say Kmart’s rough setup is “depressing.”

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At one store in Hillsboro, Ohio, Kmart hung white sheets to hide the area where the grocery section once was.

Source: Business Insider

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Sears said that it would be closing 63 stores this year, in addition to the more than 160 locations the company has already closed this year. The new closings include 15 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores.

Source: Business Insider

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The fate of Sears Canada could offer a dark glimpse into what might happen next. The retailer began liquidating its assets in October, resulting in apocalyptic scenes in stores.

See more photos of Sears clearance stores in Canada »

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The financial struggles of Macy’s are similarly apparent in its disheveled appearance.

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A July 2016 visit to the flagship Macy’s store in Manhattan revealed messy shelves and lots of sales.

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It’s difficult to convince shoppers that this apparel is high-quality when it’s presented so haphazardly.

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Still, the Manhattan Macy’s is better than the scene at Minneapolis’ Nicollet Mall location days before it closed.

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Macy’s is currently set to close 11 locations in 2018.

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A visit to a Manhattan JCPenney in 2017 revealed similar disorganization.

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In addition to clothes thrown on the floor, packaging was damaged and opened.

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JCPenney closed 138 stores last year and has announced plans to close eight more this year.

Source: Business Insider

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A visit to a Manhattan JCPenney store this May revealed a similar scene.

See more photos of JCPenney »

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The sheer volume of clothing was shocking.

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Nearly everything at RadioShack was on sale as the chain prepared to close 1,430 stores in 2017.

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A store in Manhattan was covered with signs highlighting sales.

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The displays, however, seemed to be hastily set up.

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Wet Seal announced plans to close all 171 locations in early 2017.

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Crocs is closing 49 locations this year after a wave of closures in 2017.

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The retailer closing the most stores in 2018 is Toys R Us.

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The toy retailer has just completed the process of liquidating all of its 735 US locations following an unsuccessful attempt to restructure the business through bankruptcy.

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Stores across the country put everything on clearance in an attempt to clear out inventory.

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“The stores were in a depressing state — lights were flickering, there were stacks of boxes everywhere, and empty shelves lined the walls,” Business Insider’s Jessica Tyler reported after visiting three Toys R Us locations in May.

Source: Business Insider

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Shelves and fixtures were for sale in addition to the toys.

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It is a depressing downfall for the once-beloved toy retailer.

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RIP, retail as we know it.