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Retail apocalypse grips the country with more than 8,000 great American stores to close and experts say the bloodbath will only get worse.

Just over two weeks into 2026 and big named retailers have already announced store closures and things are only going to get worse, experts told Daily Mail.

The ongoing retail bloodbath saw Macy’s announce last week that it was to close 14 ‘underproductive’ stores across 12 states and on Tuesday luxury department store Saks Global group filed for bankruptcy, marking one of the largest retail failures since the pandemic.

This comes after more than 8,000 chain retail store locations across multiple companies shut down in 2025.

Ward Kampf, president of Northwood Retail, told Daily Mail: ‘America has been over-retailed. ‘We built and built, focusing on growth, expansion, and development, and now the focus is on profitability, performance, and margins.’

Neil Saunders, another retail expert, told Daily Mail he doesn’t see this trend slowing down in 2026.’Against the backdrop of rising costs, a lot of retailers are looking to become more efficient,’ Saunders told Daily Mail. ‘Part of this involves closing underperforming stores that are not producing sales growth or contributing to profits.’

But he doesn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, saying it’s a ‘healthy exercise to keep store portfolios lean.’

Kampf agreed, saying the US retail market is at an ‘inflection point.’ ‘We are in a K-shape economy, and brands are trading on a narrow pool of shoppers for discretionary spending,’ he said.

Another reason companies may be closing so many stores is because of the overwhelming amount of choice consumers have while shopping. Each sector, from food to clothing to tech, is ‘highly competitive,’ Saunders said. ‘At the same time, every sector is seeing a slowdown in growth. Some of this imbalance is being addressed via store closures,’ he told Daily Mail.

Data shared with Daily Mail last month shows 8,234 US stores permanently closed last year – a staggering figure that marks a fresh blow to brick-and-mortar retail. That’s 12 percent more than last year’s total of 7,325 closures, according to Coresight Research, and the highest number ever recorded.

Starbucks closed more than 400 stores in the 2025 fiscal year as part of its restructuring program after Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said many cafes failed to create the environment customers expect. However other stores, such as Walmart, are continuing to grow.

Saunders said this is due to the companies selling essential items, leading to the consumer engaging with its products frequently. Walmart also has a step up due to keeping prices low, which attracts a larger consumer base.

‘Walmart has always understood the importance of value and affordability, which is top-of-mind for shoppers now,’ Kampf told Daily Mail. ‘Walmart appeals high-to-low, has two-hour delivery nailed down, from timing to logistics and supply chain, through their concentration of neighborhood stores. Walmart is within 15 minutes and 10 miles of 90 percent of the US population.’

Walmart also saw its online revenue bump up 27 percent, helping it grow its base. The affordable grocer’s stock grew 25 percent year-to-date, while Kroger declined 0.1 percent, according to Yahoo Finance.

Although Target also sells essential items, it saw its stock shrink 30 percent, according to the outlet.

‘Target has a long way to go to recapture customers and repair the cultural damage,’ Kampf said. ‘Recent attempts at innovation, like bringing ULTA shop-in-shops, did not work. As with everything, demographics are at play, with older customers seeking the value and convenience of Walmart, and younger shoppers turning away from Target on cultural alignment. Target needs to do some soul searching, but can continue to grow market share.’

The upscale market saw massive fallout with shoppers after debuting tuck-friendly swimwear as part of its pride collection. The retail giant sparked backlash after releasing a new line of clothing to celebrate Pride month in June 2023, which included a label advertising ‘tuck-friendly construction’ and ‘extra crotch’ coverage. The design was made to help conceal a person’s private parts.

Kampf also had similar harsh judgements for Starbucks, saying: ‘Starbucks created the coffee craze, but people’s loyalties change, and Starbucks has too many stores. They need to figure out who they are.’

Shoppers are also shifting to online stores and shops with the ability to pick up orders, rather than shopping exclusively in stores.

E-commerce generated $310.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of nearly two percent from the quarter before and a 5.1 percent difference compared to the same period in 2024, according to the US Census. E-commerce sales equated to more than 15 percent of total sales in the third quarter, the Census found.

The government agency said consumers have been shifting away from brick-and-mortar stores in favor of online retailers since the pandemic. However, around 45 percent of shoppers still prefer to shop in-person, a report by Adyen, a payment platform, found. It also found that 37 percent of shoppers like to have the option to shop both in-store and online, while 19 percent exclusively prefer digital shopping. Baby Boomers have the highest preference for in-store shopping with 53 percent enjoying it, followed by Gen-Z at 41 percent.

Saunders believes in-store shopping will still be a thing in the future, as ‘the vast majority of sales are still made in-store.’ ‘And many of the closures are not related to online – they are related to business issues like excess debt or poor operations,’ he told Daily Mail.

Kampf agreed, he said: ‘Physical stores remain critical for profitability, and an omnichannel approach is vital.’

Last year several companies shut down their entire US footprints after sliding into bankruptcy.

Rite Aid, Joann’s, and Party City – once-dominant chains that all filed for bankruptcy – led this year’s closure list after rapidly winding down operations nationwide. In total, 30 companies filed for bankruptcy in 2025, down from 51 in 2024. Analysts say this indicates that stronger operators are surviving, while weaker chains are simply being cleared out of the market. Other struggling chains, including CVS, Claire’s, and Torrid, also ranked among the top 20 for store closures – though each has kept several locations open as they scale back their footprints. Some closures had long been planned.

GameStop, which has refocused on cryptocurrency trading rather than video game sales, and Foot Locker, which was acquired by Dick’s Sporting Goods in November, both moved ahead with previously announced store reductions.

Even as closures mounted, retailers opened 5,252 new stores nationwide this year. Dollar General led all chains in ribbon-cuttings, opening 611 new locations across the US.

Dollar Tree followed with 442 openings, while Circle K (342), Aldi (225), and 7-Eleven (198) rounded out the top five.