MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Sears store at the Millcreek Mall was one of the complex's original anchor stores when it opened in 1974.

But the mall's owner -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Company -- announced Monday this Sears location will close its doors for the final time, after this holiday season.

"It'll be very odd not to have Sears in the Erie area," said Judy Dietz, of Erie. "It'll be kind of sad."

"I've lived here my whole life and it's been here for a really long time," said Tara Seigworth, of Erie. "So it's surprising to see anything in the mall change."

The nearby Sears Auto Center is expected to remain open for another year.

The struggling retailer has announced several rounds of closings, and has seen sales drop in recent years.

The news backs up numbers from the United States Commerce Department, showing sales from big-box retailers are the decline. Online sales growth is up 8.1 percent during Jan.-Apr. 2016, compared to the same period last year; in-store sales growth is up 1.9 percent for the same period.

"Most of the things I want to buy are online and it's easier to find online than to go look through the store, peruse through the store, and not find what you're looking for sometimes," said T.J. McQueen, of Erie.

Mall operators are talking to several potential tenants to replace Sears once it closes.

Information on the new tenant could be released in the next couple of months, said Joe Bell, director of corporate communications for The Cafaro Company.

The mall complex hopes to have a new store in place by the 2017 holiday season, Bell added.

"Around Christmas time, it's a big place to go to get people gifts for dad and mom," said Seigworth about Sears.

The increase in online shopping has dragged in-store numbers down during previous holiday season.

Economic research firm eMarketer predicts holiday sales will have dropped nearly 6 percent since 2010 for brick and mortar stores, down from 7.3 sales growth to 1.8 percent this year.

But there will always be some shoppers, who like trying it before buying it.

"Different pants and shirts always fit a little differently, shoes as well," said Eddie Leggett, of Erie. "So I like to try them on first before I buy it."