While mall owners once relied on four or five department stores to serve as so-called anchor tenants, offering them cheap rent in exchange for reliable foot traffic, they may now simply need one or two department stores and otherwise seek anchors in off-price chains like T. J. Maxx, restaurants and movie theaters, Green Street Advisors said.

“Ten or 15 years ago, if a department store left a mall, it was really a problem for the developer,” Les Wexner, the longtime chief executive of L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret, told analysts and investors in November. “Now, many of the developers are trying to buy back the space from the department stores because they’re an economic detriment and they can recycle that space.”

The business of department stores has been attacked from all sides in recent years. Online, consumers can purchase directly from brands or on Amazon, which has invested heavily in fashion.

Offline, the chains have had to contend with discount retailers like TJX, the owner of T. J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods, which compete hard on price and brand names, as well as fast-fashion sellers like H&M and outlet centers. Department stores also face competition from beauty chains like Sephora and Ulta.

The new rivalries are particularly painful for those physical stores that fall in between selling heavily discounted goods and luxury products. The competition has really struck at the heart of some of the biggest department stores: Macy’s made 61 percent of its sales from women’s apparel, shoes, cosmetics and accessories in 2015.

“Everyone is carving away at different parts of the business,” said Liz Dunn, the chief executive of Talmage Advisors, a retail consulting firm. “It’s sad that these retailers that have this rent advantage can’t seem to make it worth it.”

Nowhere is this shift more evident than in apparel. Two years ago, annual sales at TJX eclipsed those of Macy’s for the first time, as the company drew consumers to its relatively smaller stores with a treasure-hunt-like experience and brand-name discounts. TJX posted $29 billion in sales for the year that ended Jan. 31, 2015, while Macy’s revenue was $28 billion, a gap that has widened since then.