Girls who were shopping
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The new year opened with a wave of store closure announcements, including all 400 Francesca’s stores, plus about 350 Walgreen’s, 100 Carter’s, 40 Kroger, 33 American Signature Furniture, 20 Yankee Candle and 14 Macy’s stores will be shuttered. Then came an even bigger shock: Saks Fifth Avenue, an American icon of luxury retail, along with its recently acquired and equally revered Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman nameplates, has filed for bankruptcy.
The headlines reinforced the notion that U.S. retail is hitting the skids, especially with American shoppers facing an affordability crisis after five years of continued high inflation, which ended the year at 2.7%.
Yet the numbers tell a different story. Through November, retail is up 4.2% year over year, excluding autos and gas—well above the inflation rate. While non-store retail continues to grow at the fastest rate, up 6.9%, its growth has slowed from 2024, when it rose 8.1%, suggesting more consumers are turning from their screens to the store.
So while the bad news about store closures and high-profile bankruptcies is capturing headlines, retailers are entering 2026 with renewed confidence, announcing 1,201 new store openings against 733 closures this month, according to Coresight Research.
“These openings and closings, they trend,” said John Mercer, head of Coresight global research. “You have peak years and then they have a dip, up or down. And this year looks like it’s going to be a down in terms of closings, maybe an up in terms of openings.”
Investment analyst Telsey Advisory Group sees a similar trend, with store openings excluding restaurants rising 1.4% this year, compared to 0.7% last year. And it notes there is high demand for vacant retail spaces.
“Bankruptcies and store closures continued to provide space needs in 2025 and beyond,” Telsey said, adding that strong retailers are looking to acquire additional retail space. “Demand has remained high given overall limited supply.”
Picking Up The Pace
At the top of the list of store openings are Dollar General, adding 450 stores, and Aldi, with about 180 new stores planned, according to Coresight. Both retailers are benefiting from consumers’ search for lower prices as inflation continues to strain budgets.
Other retailers riding the affordability wave include Dollar Tree (+33), Nordstrom Rack (+14), Five Below (+12), BJ’s Wholesale Club (+12), Uniqlo (+11), Burlington (+8), TJX Companies (+7), and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (+6).
On the flip side, full-price retailers are expanding their footprint as well, notably Tractor Supply (+100) and Barnes & Noble (+60). Others in expansion mode including beauty retailer Miss A (+19), J. Jill (+14), American Eagle’s Aerie (+11), PacSun (+9), L.L. Bean (+8), WH Smith (+8), JD Sports (+6), Abercrombie & Fitch (+5), Salomon (+5) and Ulta Beauty (+5).
Suggesting that the tide might be turning in the home furnishings sector after the pandemic bubble burst, luxury bedding brand Hästens will open three new stores, with digitally native Wayfair planning three and IKEA on tap for two openings. Home furnishings retail is up 3% through November, after falling 2% in 2024 and retreating 3.5% in 2023.
And dispelling the notion that luxury retail is underwater, Hèrmes will open one new store, adding to the roughly 50 stores already here.
Fluid Shopping Behavior
People still want to shop in person and ironically, nearly two-thirds of the up-and-coming Gen Z shoppers—the first truly digitally native generation—say they prefer the in-store experience to online, according to L.E.K. Consulting.
That preference is beginning to show up in the numbers. Placer.ai reports that indoor mall and open-air shopping center visits rose 1% each in the past year, noting that mall visits are frequently “embedded in multi-stop shopping routines rather than standing alone.”
In other words, shopping behavior is becoming increasingly fluid. One day, a shopper might drive to the mall for a leisurely browse, pop into Walmart or Target to see what’s on sale, then stop by the grocery store to pick up the order they placed online before heading out.
Another day, they might want everything delivered to their door. But if something in the order isn’t quite right, instead of boxing it up and sending it back, they’ll return it to the store during their next multi-pronged shopping trip.
Digital Disruption Easing
All of this suggests that brick-and-mortar retail may be reaching an inflection point after a quarter-century of digital disruption. “The disruption from e-commerce appears largely behind us,” said U.S. Colliers analyst Anjee Solanki to Retail Dive. “Although store closures are happening, they’re tied to operational challenges or oversaturation, rather than displacement by e-commerce.”
Amazon sees the writing on the wall as it makes its biggest push ever into brick-and-mortar retail with a new mega-store opening next year outside Chicago. And other digitally native brands continue to cross the digital divide with Warby Parker, Allbirds, Fabletics, Glossier, Artizia, Everlane, Vuori, On Running and Skims expected to keep opening new stores this year.
About 80% of retail still happens in the store and digital storefronts increasingly function not just for transactions, but to drive shoppers to the store. That’s the essence of omni-channel retail: every channel working together to serve customers in the way that best suits their needs in the moment. It’s not one or the other, but both.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2026/01/25/brick-and-mortar-makes-a-comeback-in-a-changing-retail-landscape/
