American retailers have announced the closure of nearly 2,600 stores in 2024, just four months into the year.
Big names like Macy’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Foot Locker and 7-Eleven have said they are closing stores.
But discount stores like Family Dollar and the bankrupt 99 Cents Only have been hit hardest, as have pharmacies like CVS and Rite Aid.
If closures continued at the same pace for the rest of the year, they would total 7,800 in 2024, almost 40 percent more than the total in 2023.
Brick-and-mortar locations are struggling in the face of online competition.
Scroll down to see the full list of closures so far in 2024.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, will close 600 stores in 2024. Pictured is a Family Dollar closing location in Paris, Maine.
99 Cents Only Store will close its 371 stores nationwide this year
Between January 1 and May 3, retailers closed or announced plans to close a total of 2,599 locations, according to Coresight Research.
Skechers and Save A Lot led the way with 12 other store closings in the past week with eight and two respectively. QuikTrip and Walmart each planned one.
For its part, store openings amounted to 3,560, less than the 3,824 that had been expected at this time last year.
Thus, so far this year, major US retailers have announced 2.5 percent more closings and 9.5 percent fewer openings compared to the same period last year.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, owned by the same company, revealed in March that more than 600 stores would close in 2024. These represent about 15 percent of all locations.
The retailer with the second-highest number of closures was 99 Cents Only Store.
In April, it announced it would close its 371 locations, blaming high inflation and increased theft.
The West Coast brand, which has stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada, announced the news without giving a timeline for the closures.
In a statement, interim CEO Mike Simoncic said the decision was due to “enduring challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising shrink levels , persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds. ‘
Big pharmacies were also behind a significant proportion of this year’s closures. CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens were responsible for 315, 165 and 77, respectively.
While CVS and Walgreens targeted underperforming stores, Rite Aid’s closures came after it filed for bankruptcy in October. Since then it has closed 431 stores.
99 Cents Only Stores is closing ALL of its 372 locations; here is one in Los Angeles on La Tijera Boulevard that opened in 1982
CVS will close more than 300 stores. This about a closure in 2029.
Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. Since then it has closed more than 400 locations across the country.
Major pharmacies are struggling in the face of competition from Amazon and big chains like Walmart and Target.
Additionally, Rite Aid has also been unable to resolve hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of overprescribing opioids.
And last month, fashion retailer Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it intended to close more than 100 stores.
The retailer, whose portfolio of brands also includes Bonobos and UpWest, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to a Delaware bankruptcy court filing.
As part of the bankruptcy process, the company said it would close approximately 95 Express retail stores and its 12 UpWest stores.