In One Brutal Chart, the Federal Reserve Shows What Has Happened to U.S. Department Stores Since 2001

If you needed more proof that the retail industry is in the middle of monumental shift, here it is.

The St. Louis Federal Reserve posted a simple chart on Friday showing just how drastically U.S. department store sales have decreased since the early 2000s. For anyone invested in the industry, it’s not pretty.

See how department stores’ sales have been trending downward since 2001 https://t.co/gD6NG8GdfA pic.twitter.com/Rv7CIinYlH

— St. Louis Fed (@stlouisfed) November 27, 2015

Brick-and-mortar stores are currently facing tough competition from online retailers as more shoppers are looking to the Internet for good deals.

As Business Insider notes, the beginning of the retail decline in the early 2000s coincides with the rise of online retail.

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