Sears, once the monolith of American retail, says that there is "substantial doubt" that it will be able to keep its doors open. Company shares tumbled more than 12 percent Wednesday. Above, the department store's location in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood today. Bebeto Matthews/AP hide caption
As of Monday, Costco customers have to ditch their old Costco credit cards and switch to new ones to pay for those jumbo-sized items in their shopping carts. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption
An employee drags a palette of recently returned goods through the Optoro warehouse so they can be processed. Dianna Douglas/NPR hide caption
Shoppers walk out of Uniqlo on Fifth Avenue in New York City on Black Friday, Nov. 27. Yana Paskova/Getty Images hide caption
Customers can get a tactile experience trying on glasses at Warby Parker's shop in New York City. Elise Hu/NPR hide caption
Goodwill is experimenting with boutique-style stores, like this one in southern California, to entice younger shoppers to the brand. Gloria Hillard for NPR hide caption
Plus-size women have struggled in the past to find fashionable clothing options. But, with celebrities bringing plus size to the forefront, the fashion industry might wake up. Mary McLain/NPR hide caption
Gap is among 13 big retailers that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating for possible violations of "reporting time" laws. Gap says it is establishing "sustainable scheduling practices." Andrew Burton/Getty Images hide caption
Neiman Marcus is testing a digital "Memory Mirror" that lets shoppers see how an outfit looks in back as well as displaying items they've tried on side by side. Courtesy of Neiman Marcus hide caption
Jessey Drewsen, 25, lives near the H Street Wal-Mart in Washington, D.C. She says she doesn't like the store, but that she goes there for cheap supplies like pens. Emily Jan/NPR hide caption
The H Street Wal-Mart in Washington, D.C. Ten years ago, none of the city's 600,000 residents lived within 1 mile of a Wal-Mart. Today, almost 13 percent do. Emily Jan/NPR hide caption
The weight training center at Anytime Fitness in Michigan in December. The company started using scent marketing four years ago. Danielle Duval/MLive.com/Landov hide caption
Workers pack items Sunday at an Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, Calif. Cyber Monday online sales jumped 8.5 percent over 2013. Noah Berger/Reuters/Landov hide caption
Candice Nelson fits her daughter Arya Kubesh with a Halloween hat at a store at Galleria Mall in Edina, Minn. Retailers are hoping Halloween will give them a good bounce into the peak spending time of the year. Elizabeth Flores/MCT/Landov hide caption
A puppy waits at an adoption event in Miami last year. The city is now considering a ban on the sale of puppies in retail pet stores. Cities and towns in several states have passed similar bans, aimed at cracking down on substandard, large-scale puppy breeders. Wilfredo Lee/AP hide caption