Dive Brief:

• Experts say Sears' closure of its flagship store in Chicago's Loop and recent closure announcements by J.C. Penney and Macy's are just the tip of the iceberg, and precede a coming era of smaller brick-and-mortar locations.
• According to Excess Space Retail Services principal Michael Burden, increases in consumer spending online will necessitate fewer visits to malls and less of a need to have items fully stocked in stores. Overall retail square footage could even decrease by as much as half over the next five to 10 years.
• Retailers saw disappointing spending over the recent holiday season, due largely to a shorter shopping calendar and frigid weather, while comScore reports that online spending rose by 10% on desktop and as much as another 2% on mobile.

Dive Insight:

Physical retailers just can't seem to catch a break. ShopperTrak reports that the aforementioned shorter shopping calendar and poor weather led to holiday foot traffic in stores falling close to 15%. Belus Capital Advisors analyst Brian Sozzi says the sector is poised for "a tsunami of store closures," not unlike those from the 2008 holiday season. Time will tell, though, if more household names completely fold this time around, a la Circuit City, or just expand their online presence at the expense of physical locations.