Kroger, Macy’s and more closing hundreds of stores in 2026.

January 18th 2026

Some records are better left unbroken.

Nobody wants the record for most times left at the altar, or to put it into 2025 terms, no worker wants to wear the crown of “person laid off the most in the past year.”

In retail, however, a bleak 2024 set the table for an even darker 2025.

Following a spike in stores closures in 2024, closures are expected to escalate further this year to approximately 15,000, Coresight Research, the leading research and advisory firm specializing in retail and technology, shared in a January press release.

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Coresight shared a number of other data points as well:

  • U.S. store closures totaled 7,325 in 2024, the highest number of store closures seen since 2020, when Coresight Research tracked almost 10,000 closures.
  • Store openings totaled 5,970 in 2024, the highest number of store openings since 2012, when Coresight Research began tracking this data.
  • Store openings will remain steady with about 5,800 stores opening nationwide this year.
  • Overall, store closures outpaced openings in 2024 with a net loss of 1,355 stores (as of January 10, 2025).