US Retailers Close Stores as Online Competition Grows – Over 2,500 Stores Closed in Four Months in 2024.
Retailers in the United States have announced plans to shut down nearly 2,600 stores within just four months of 2024.
Notable businesses such as Macy’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Foot Locker, and 7-Eleven are among those closing shops.
Discount stores like Family Dollar, which has been worst hit, as well as bankrupt 99 Cents Only, have also seen numerous store closures.
Additionally, drugstores including CVS and Rite Aid have faced significant challenges in recent months.
If these closures continue at the same rate for the remainder of the year, they would total around 7,800 by the end of 2024 – almost 40% more than the total number of closures recorded in 2023.
Brick-and-mortar locations are struggling to compete with online retailers.
Between January 1 and May 3 of this year, retailers have closed or announced plans to close a total of 2,599 stores, according to Coresight Research.
In the last week, an additional 12 store closures were led by Skechers and Save A Lot with eight and two respectively, while QuikTrip and Walmart each planned one.
However, store openings have increased to 3,560, which is still less than the 3,824 that had been planned by this time last year.
As a result, major US retailers have announced 2.5% more closures and 9.5% fewer openings compared to the same period last year.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, revealed in March that over 600 stores would close this year, representing around 15% of all locations.
The retailer with the second-highest number of closures was 99 Cents Only Store, which announced in April it would close all its 371 locations due to high inflation and rising theft.
CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens were responsible for 315, 165, and 77 store closures respectively, with the latter two struggling amid competition from Amazon and big-box chains like Walmart and Target.
Last month, fashion retailer Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it intended to close more than 100 stores.
The company’s portfolio of brands includes Bonobos and UpWest, with assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion as per a filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware.
As part of the bankruptcy process, Express will close approximately 95 retail stores and all its 12 UpWest stores.
