Your favorite stores are disappearing. Right now, 12 major retailers are planning to close nearly 300 locations in 2026, adding to the 7,325 that were shuttered in 2024 alone.
For small towns and rural families, these aren’t distant corporate decisions. They’re losing their pharmacy, their children’s clothing store, their neighborhood grocery. This is a structural collapse of brick-and-mortar America, reshaping the entire shopping map in real time.
The Numbers Tell The Story
In 2024, U.S. retailers closed 7,325 stores while opening just 5,970 new ones, resulting in a net loss of 1,355 locations. Analysts project 2025 could see up to 15,000 closures as chains chase profitability and accelerate digital pivots.
By 2026, retail consolidation will feel less like a cyclical decline and more like a permanent structural reset. That’s where these 12 major chains come in, each shuttering dozens or hundreds of locations as the great consolidation accelerates.
1. A 150-Year Icon Shrinks
Macy’s plans to close approximately 150 stores by the end of 2026, cutting its footprint from roughly 500 to 350 locations. CEO Tony Spring frames it as focusing on “go-forward” stores where customers respond to better assortments and elevated service.
For many communities, losing Macy’s means losing the traditional department store anchor that has defined local shopping for generations.
2. Tariffs Force Retreat
Children’s retailer Carter’s will close approximately 150 stores over the next three years, with roughly 100 stores expected to shutter by the end of 2026. President and CEO Ben Shade cited tariff-driven product costs and profitability pressures forcing a pullback from smaller markets.
For rural parents, this means driving further for back-to-school shopping or relying on online shipping.
3. 60 Grocery Stores Vanish
Kroger announced 60 supermarket closures over 18 months starting September 2025. CEO Ronald Sargent pledged to move “with speed” and concentrate on profitable core locations.
Despite opening 30 new stores elsewhere in 2026, communities that have lost their neighborhood grocer face gaps in convenient food access and local employment opportunities throughout the year.
4. Mall Retail Crumbles
Newell Brands is closing 20 U.S. and Canadian Yankee Candle stores starting in January 2026, resulting in the elimination of over 900 jobs. CEO Chris Peterson framed it as a “productivity plan” designed to enhance efficiency and focus.
Even beloved comfort brands cannot escape the realities of mall-based retail economics: soaring rents and declining shopper traffic patterns make traditional locations increasingly unsustainable.
5. Three Flagships Exit
Outdoor cooperative REI is closing three high-profile stores in premium markets: Paramus, New Jersey; New York’s SoHo; and Boston throughout 2026. After reporting a $156.4 million loss in 2024 due to declining sales, REI told its members that it must adapt for long-term survival.
Even loyal co-op members cannot offset the economics of flagship stores in the nation’s priciest real estate markets.
6. DISCOUNTED LUXURY FADES
Saks Off 5th is closing nine outlet locations in early 2026 to “better position” the business for long-term success. Luxury discount formats, once recession-proof, now face relentless online competition and weaker traditional mall traffic.
If even designer merchandise at 50-70% off cannot justify physical retail, it signals how dire economics have become for specialty chains.
7. Sneaker Specialty Struggles
Foot Locker is closing mall stores by 2026 as it pivots to community-based concepts and digital channels. Dick’s Sporting Goods, which acquired Foot Locker in September 2025, continues to restructure its operations.
For sneaker enthusiasts in many towns, specialty athletic footwear shops are simply disappearing—leaving only big-box chains or online ordering as alternatives.
8. 1,200 Closures Hit Rural America
Walgreens, now owned by Sycamore Partners, plans to close 1,200 stores by the end of 2027, with hundreds of stores expected to close in 2026 alone. Rural and small-town America faces the most severe impact, where a single pharmacy often serves as the only accessible healthcare touchpoint.
Seniors and families without cars suddenly face hour-long trips for prescriptions and basic health consultations.
9. 70 More Stores Close
CVS plans to close 270 stores in 2025-2026, bringing the total to 900 that have already been shuttered since November 2021. The pharmacy giant is pivoting toward HealthHUB formats and primary-care partnerships while abandoning underperforming traditional drugstore locations.
The healthcare shift helps some neighborhoods but leaves others without nearby pharmacies to meet their routine medication needs.
10. Tariffs Force 36-Store Retreat
Outdoor retailer Orvis will close 31 stores and five outlets by early 2026, reducing its physical footprint by roughly half. The 169-year-old Vermont company is exiting lifestyle apparel to refocus on fly fishing and wingshooting gear.
President Simon Perkins cited “unprecedented tariff landscape” forcing strategic rescaling that eliminates nearly 50% of Orvis’s retail locations.
11. Fast-Food Culls Underperformer
Fast-food chain Wendy’s plans to shutter approximately 300 U.S. locations through 2026, adding to 140 closures in 2024.
Interim CEO Ken Cook told investors these restaurants are “consistently underperforming” and “drag” on system health, with closures freeing capital for technology upgrades and stronger locations. An estimated 8,000 workers are expected to face displacement due to these closures.
12. Casual Dining Trims Portfolio
Burger chain Red Robin will close 10-15 company-owned restaurants in 2025, part of a plan to shutter approximately 70 underperforming units by 2027. Closures target restaurants with collective store-level losses of $6 million annually.
The “North Star” turnaround strategy enables Red Robin to reinvest in its more than 300 profitable restaurants and strengthen its surviving footprint.
The Retail Reckoning
With 7,325 closures in 2024 and thousands more in 2025-2026, America is undergoing its largest retail consolidation in over a decade. These 12 major chains are reshaping the shopping map—concentrating stores in affluent urban markets while abandoning rural and small-town corridors.
Some communities are organizing to attract pop-up retailers and cooperatives to fill the void. Others face prolonged vacancy and decline. Your town’s future depends on decisions being made right now.
Sources
“Macy’s, Inc. Confirms Planned Macy’s Store Closures” – Macy’s Inc. Newsroom, January 8, 2025
“Carter’s to Close 150 Locations Nationwide” – Boston 25 News, October 26, 2025
“Kroger, Macy’s and More Closing Hundreds of Stores in 2026” – Yahoo Finance, December 30, 2025
“Rising US Store Closings on Pace for Record Year” – CoStar, July 7, 2025
“Store Closures Rise, Led by Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens” – CNBC, January 23, 2025
“U.S. Retailers See 8,200 Closures in 2025 Amid Economic Watch” – Xinhua News, January 1, 2026