Millennials might be causing “a permanent shift” away from department stores, according to economist, Diane Swonk—and this Black Friday and Cyber Monday were a sign of the change.

Millennials might be causing “a permanent shift” away from department stores, according to economist, Diane Swonk—and this Black Friday and Cyber Monday were a sign of the change. According to the Retail Federation, 64 million consumers shopped both in-store and online over the Thanksgiving holiday, and older Millennials (25-34-year-olds) were the biggest spenders. But this year, 58 million only shopped online and 51 million only shopped in stores. One exec from AlixPartners observed, “there is no question that physical shopping is losing to online shopping.” (CNBC, NYTimes)