Those Forecasts About How Many Stores Would Close in 2020 Were Way Off
You have most likely read articles over the last nine or so months citing Coresight Research’s forecast that 20,000 to 25,000 retail stores could close in 2020. Well, that didn’t happen. Not even close. Coresight now reports that just 8,721 store locations were shuttered last year, which was less even than the 9,832 that did so in 2019. Of course, some qualifications are in order. For example, a slew of additional vacancies was avoided with the acquisition of several struggling retailers by their mall landlords. Also note that Coresight’s count focuses on larger chains that primarily sell goods, not independently-owned shops or restaurants. Still, it does offer an intriguing counterpoint to the argument that COVID-19 is the final nail-in-the-coffin for physical retail, especially considering that most of the shrinking chains were already teetering before the pandemic.