Macy's Inc. and Kohl's Corp. reported disappointing same-store sales in Q1 that sent department store stocks plummeting during early morning trading Thursday.

Investor confidence in the sector is waning as shoppers continue to turn from large department stores in favor of online shopping and independent or discount retailers. Macy's stock experienced its worst intraday decline in roughly four months following its earnings report, with shares falling about 13% to $25.40, and competitors Kohl's, Nordstrom, Dillard's and J.C. Penney all suffered more than a 6% drop.

Macy's, the nation's largest department store company, reported a 4.6% dive in same-store sales in Q1, exceeding analyst estimates of a 3.5% decline for the same period, Bloomberg reports. Net income did not fare much better. Profits fell 39% to $71M last quarter, missing analyst estimates of 35 cents/share. As for Kohl's, the department store's earnings were slightly better than analysts projected, reporting profits of 39 cents a share, 10 cents more than analysts expected.

Macy's announced a cost-cutting initiative earlier this year that involves closing 68 stores this year and eliminating 4,000 jobs.