Two big-name retailers have already announced store closures just two weeks into 2026 — and experts warn that the retail-shuttering roundup is only going to get more bleak.
Household name department store Macy’s announced last week that it was shutting down 14 “underproductive” stores, while Saks Global group filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
The hard-hitting blows to the two megastores come after more than 8,000 chain retail stores across different companies occurred in 2025 — including Rite Aid, Joann and Party City, according to data shared by Coresight Research to the Daily Mail.
“America has been over-retailed,” Ward Kampf, president of Northwood Retail, told the Daily Mail. “We built and built, focusing on growth, expansion, and development, and now the focus is on profitability, performance and margins.”
Retail expert Neil Saunders added to the Daily Mail that he doesn’t see the retail blowout slowing down in 2026.
“Against the backdrop of rising costs, a lot of retailers are looking to become more efficient,” said Saunders to the media outlet.
Saunders added that the wipe-out would, by necessity, include shutting down underperforming stores that are not contributing to sales growth or profits.
The retail expert was quick to point out that he doesn’t see this trend as necessarily bad, saying that it’s a “healthy exercise to keep store portfolios lean.”
Kampf agreed with Saunders’ assessment, adding that the United States is currently in a K-shaped economy — meaning that different income groups are experiencing differing levels of economic fortune under the same set of circumstances. He also pointed out that “brands are trading on a narrow pool of shoppers for discretionary spending.”
To that end, store closures could also be occurring due to an increased number of competitors — though Saunders said that “each sector is experiencing a slowdown in growth” at the same time.
That said, some stores seem to be skirting the fallout — such as Walmart, which is continuing to expand.
Saunders noted that the megachain’s success is likely due to a variety of factors, including their selling of essential items, keeping prices low and their focus on value and affordability.
“(That’s) top of mind for shoppers now,” Kampf told the Daily Mail.
Walmart’s online revenue also bumped up 27 percent in the last year, illustrating the trend of online shopping taking precedence over brick and mortar.
However, a report by payment platform Ayden found that around 45 percent of shoppers still prefer to purchase their goods in-person. 19 percent exclusively like to online shop, while 37 percent of consumers enjoy having both options.
In-person shoppers shouldn’t fret, however — according to expert Saunders, this way of shopping is not nearing extinction.
“The vast majority of sales are still made in-store,” said Saunders. “And many of the closures are not related to online — they are related to business issues like excess debt or poor operations,” he told the Daily Mail.
