By Brittney Sherman
A total of 6,481 stores across the United States have closed, surpassing the 5,553 closures in 2023 and posting the highest annual number since 2020. A series of bankruptcy filings and downsizing from larger companies account for a significant portion of the closures. As it relates to closures by smaller retailers, a combination of interest rate spikes, increasing labor costs, and decreasing consumer purchases are to blame.
Although the number of closures sounds daunting, experts predict that growing markets such as food, fitness, healthcare, and entertainment will snatch-up vacant spaces as soon as they become available.
Read the full article from CoStar HERE.