The hypothetical Retail Apocalypse should be supported by a decline in the total retail establishments, but that's not the case. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 1,044,509 establishments for 2018, for a net gain of 2,413 establishments over 2017 (1,042,096). The 2018 figure also represents a net gain of more than 20,800 establishments since a retail trough in 2011, a low point resulting from the Great Recession. — Congress for the New Urbanism
Sharon Woods, CEO of real estate consultant group LandUseUSA, writes in Public Square, a journal produced by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) presents an opposing, data-driven view of the future of America's retail landscape.
Woods writes, "The future for brick-and-mortar retail is far less bleak than the scene painted by mainstream media. Although e-commerce is taking a larger share of the pie, brick-n-mortar and physical store sales are also continuing to grow. Most of the chain store closures are limited to certain segments of retail—particularly department stores anchors and apparel tenants of sprawling regional malls and strip centers."
As the chart above notes, much of the retail growth is taking place in chain restaurants, CVS HealthHUB stores, and dollar stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General.
2 Comments
In 2019, 5,994 stores closed in the first three months. That compares to 5,864 for all of 2018.
Between 20% and 25% of American malls will close within five years, according to a new report out this week from Credit Suisse.
https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/02/news/economy/doomed-malls/index.html
Department store sales rose by 1.2%. Department store sales were down 5.5% since last year. That's due to strong competition from online retailers. Their sales were up 14.2% over last year.
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-retail-sales-statistics-and-trends-3305717
For every 80s-90s style mall that closes, I see two new outdoor, exurban outlet style mega malls open. Or a huge retail complex. Seems like the suburban lifestyle and the city lifestyle are just becoming more diverged -- with inner city people relying more on small shops, discount stores and Amazon--or traveling out to the outlet malls.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.