The stock market has continued to churn out record high after record high, putting together the best record-breaking streak since the early 1990s. 

While the broader indices have been climbing, retail has been stagnant, with a number of these stocks acting just "dreadful," TheStreet's Jim Cramer, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, said on CNBC's "Stop Trading" segment Thursday. 

Cramer highlighted a recent research report from JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss. Boss "slashed numbers very big" for Macy's (M), Nordstrom (JWN) and J.C. Penney (JCP), Cramer pointed out. 

Macy's has been talked about as a takeover target, but with its fundamentals in decline, that may warrant a lower takeover price, Cramer reasoned. Boss's research report lays out a "chilling" situation of the mall, he added. 

But it's not just the big department stores, either. Stocks like Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Gap (GPS) and L Brands (LB) have been impacted, too. These stocks are not the place to invest, Cramer said, explaining that the truth is simple: consumers are staying home, playing video games, ordering deliveries and playing on their iPhone. 

That's where the money has been flowing, Cramer said, to at-home entertainment, not the mall. 

David Fuller's view

Yes, fewer people are visiting the malls.  The real reason, which Cramer certainly knows but may have felt he should not mention, is that people are buying from Amazon, the most brilliant and efficient retail system ever invented.