When's the last time you shopped at the mall?

"I haven't been to the mall much," Lansing resident Maria Lockhart said.

Well that's the problem.

"It's been a real struggle for retailers," Tom Scott of the Michigan Retailers Association said. " The last time we had more than half of our retailers reporting improved sales was last October.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, 144,000 stores will close by the end of the year. That's a seven percent increase from last year and the biggest jump in 14 years.

Which means you'll see a whole lot more vacant storefronts than ever before.

"I don't think we've seen these kind of vacancies in quite a few years," Scott said.

Scott blames this tough economy.

"We've got some difficult times with gas prices high and staying high and the meltdown in the housing market," he said. "Those are the big contributors."

Large chains or small mom and pop stores, it doesn't matter.

"I'm a waitress so I don't get as many people going out to eat and that affects my shopping," Lockhart said. "I can't get what I want, only what I need."

"I really don't have a shopping habit, all my money goes to my kids," Single mom Jamela McDonald said.

Everyone's feeling the economic effects.