Macy's is undergoing a massive overhaul of its brick-and-mortar locations and Tracy is one of the locations that's affected.

The Tracy Macy's is a "staple" of their community, according to Mariyah Pulley who grew up in Tracy. She's really sad about it going away as she loves the home decor section, seeing homes' "transformed" by the items in that section of Macy's, and grew up enjoying the Toys R' Us section. 

"It really hurts because it's like a staple of our community, essentially," Pulley said. "It's one of the major stores, in my opinion, in Tracy." 

On Monday evening, Pulley went to the mall to spend some time with her father. They've made lots of quality memories at this mall.

 "It was just fun, but with everything shutting down, it's like, what do we have?" Pulley said. "I feel like we're losing a part of Tracy, essentially, and that really hurts."

Macy's is one of multiple businesses at the West Valley Mall that have closed up shop.

"I really enjoy the mall and it's really sad to see like every single store starting to shut down," Pulley said. "In my personal opinion, I think they should just shut the entire mall down at this point because they're shutting down like every major store here."

Francisco Valdez also brought his family to the mall, including Macy's, on Monday evening.

"When I was young, I used to come here and all the stores were open and the mall was [thriving], Macy's was affordable," Valdez said. "Now, I guess some people can afford it because there are people here still shopping but I just, I look at certain sections."

This Macy's Tracy location is one of 150 of what Macy's calls "underproductive locations" that are set to be shut down through the end of the year.  

"Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy's stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go–forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service," Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc., said in a press release.

In 2024, Macy's announced its "Bold New Chapter" strategy with the goal of returning the company to "sustainable, profitable sales growth".

"After careful consideration, we've made the decision to close our Macy's store at West Valley Mall, in Tracy, CA," Orlando Veras, Macy's External Communications senior director, said. 

"The decision allows us to focus on improving nearby Macy's locations and invest in the stores and digital experiences where customers are choosing to shop today," Orlando Veras, Macy's External Communications senior director, said. 

Veras told CBS Sacramento they don't have an exact closing date. But, there will be a clearance sale beginning in mid-January that is expected to last around 10 weeks.

"We first communicated directly with our Macy's colleagues at West Valley and are supporting them through the transition, including transfer opportunities where available and severance and support where applicable," Veras said.

Tracy Mayor Dan Arriola said this announcement is a matter between the property owner and a private business.

"While the City is not a party to those decisions, we always take a strong interest in economic development and in maintaining a diverse, healthy retail environment for our community," Mayor Arriola said. "Across California and the nation, retail is evolving as shopping habits change. Transitions like this create opportunities for communities like Tracy to attract new businesses, amenities, and investment that better reflect how residents live, shop, and spend today."

That's what Dong Shen, Sacramento State Department of Family Consumer Sciences faculty member and professor in the Fashion Merchandising and Management program, addressed – that Macy's isn't the only big retail corporation closing their brick-and-mortar doors and it's mainly because of consumer behavior, people shopping more online.

"Online shopping is not an alternative anymore, it's the way we shop now," Shen said. 

Shen told CBS Sacramento that there is still a social experience in shopping at brick-and-mortars while hanging out with friends and family members, but that it's now geared towards going to one of your favorite, smaller stores with an experience-driven shopping experience rather than a big department store. 

"Renting this kind of brick-and-mortar stores is expensive, especially for Macy's, or…Nordstrom, or JCPenney, those kind of…big retail corporations, because their brick-and-mortar stores are quite often at the, more like we call anchor tenant in a big shopping mall," Shen said. "So,

"The rent, the space, the operation, the overhead, it's so expensive," Shen said. "So, because of that, they can't drop their price, or offer a discount to customers so often…and then that actually drives customers away."

Mayor Arriola also told CBS Sacramento about different businesses still doing well in and around the vicinity of the mall.

"It is also important to note that several key tenants in and around the mall continue to perform well. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse remains a strong regional draw, Trader Joe's continues to drive consistent customer traffic, and Cinemark Tracy is among the top-performing theaters in Cinemark's national portfolio," Mayor Arriola said. "We are optimistic about what comes next and hope the property owner moves quickly to secure a new retail tenant."