Figures released on Monday showed that spending on food and gasoline is crowding out other purchases, leaving people with less to spend on furniture, clothing and electronics.
The cash-short chains are leaving behind tens of millions of dollars in unpaid bills to shipping companies, furniture manufacturers, mall owners and advertising agencies.
What happens when the stores that have forced many local mom-and-pop retailers to close are themselves going out of business because they can't adjust to rising costs and lower consumer spending?