Retailers went through anoth er tough year in 2017, during which store closings included 1,430 Radio Shacks, 808 Payless ShoeSource outlets, 667 Ascentas, and 600 Wal-greens. That brick-and-mortar attrition continued in the first month of 2018, when Sears announced it would close another 103 Sears and Kmart outlets, and Toys 'R' Us said it would close up to 182 units. Physical stores continue to get hammered by online shopping, which accounted for more than 9% of total U.S. retail sales last year. However, not every physical vestige of retailing is collapsing under the pressure from ecom-merce. 7-Eleven in January made the biggest acquisition in its history when it paid $3.2 billion to buy 1,030 convenience stores in 17 states owned by Sunoco LP.
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