Retail Closures Outpace Openings As High-Profile Bankruptcies Bloat Inventory
Retailers have announced 67% more store closures so far this year compared to 2024, with 119 shops across the U.S. closing in the first week of July alone, according to data from CoreSight Research.
There have been 5,941 announced store closures and 4,176 new locations this year through July 4. The imbalance of openings and closings amounts to roughly 50M SF of space that has been vacated this year without a new tenant in place, CoStar estimates.
Brick-and-mortar shops remain consumers' preferred method of shopping, but the data could reflect unease among retailers as consumer sentiment sours and President Donald Trump’s trade war drags on.
The nearly 6,000 store closings recorded this year through early July is compared to 3,496 closures during the same period a year earlier. Store openings have kept pace with 2024 levels, but the acceleration of closures is resulting in more vacancies.
This year’s retail closures amount to 123.7M SF of space compared to 74.5M SF of store openings, CoStar estimates. Retailers closed 119.3M SF of space in 2024 and opened 96.5M SF in new locations, according to CoreSight’s 2024 Review and 2025 Outlook.
While higher than last year, the pace of closures lags CoreSight’s forecast for the year, which predicted that 15,000 locations would shutter. Retailers are also announcing new locations at a faster rate than the 5,800 new locations CoreSight forecast for the year in January.
Craft retailer Joann has closed the most stores this year —815 locations — after declaring bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year. Party City, which went out of business last year, is exiting 738 stores. Big Lots, which has been mulling a comeback after its 2024 bankruptcy, has announced 682 locations will close.
Eleven retailers plan to close more than 100 locations this year, including the leading pharmacy chains, 7-Eleven and bankrupt fast-fashion retailer Forever 21.
The top four brands opening stores are all discount retailers, led by Dollar General at 611 planned openings, Dollar Tree at 378 stores, Aldi and Five Below.
Commercial real estate investors have warmed back up to retail investments after the sector weathered the rise of e-commerce and a global pandemic. Nuveen, one of the world’s largest real estate asset managers, raised $320M in institutional capital in May to target grocery-anchored retail centers.
But consumer sentiment has plummeted since Trump launched his effort to rebalance global trade, and the latest consumer spending data showed an unexpected dip after shoppers finished a round of buying ahead of tariffs.
Still, retail sales grew 3.1% year-over-year in May, and foot traffic was up 1.8%. Activity by volume, however, grew by just 1.5%, reflecting tariff uncertainty clouding consumers’ outlook, according to Colliers.
