The retail apocalypse has descended on America.

Department stores like Macy's, Sears, and JCPenney, and retailers including Toys R Us, BCBG, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bebe have closed dozens of stores in recent years.

In 2013, Sears had nearly 2,000 stores. This week, the company narrowly dodged liquidation when chairman Eddie Lampert won a bankruptcy auction with a plan to keep the retailer alive. Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, said last week that its $5 billion bid would save up to 50,000 jobs and keep about 400 stores open. The plan still must be approved by the bankruptcy court.

Sears isn't the only company that is struggling to adjust to the rise of e-commerce and the fall of foot traffic. With vacancy rates continuing to rise, walking through a mall is like walking through a graveyard.

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