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US retail bloodbath continues as store closures hit 2,600 so far this year - here's the full list
US retailers have announced the closure of almost 2,600 stores in 2024 - just four months into the year.
Big names including Macy's, Walmart, Walgreens, Foot Locker and 7-Eleven have all said they are closing shops.
But discount stores like Family Dollar and bankrupt 99 Cents Only have been worst hit, as have drugstores like CVS and Rite Aid.
If the closures were to continue at the same rate for the rest of the year they would total 7,800 in 2024 - almost 40 percent more than the total in 2023.
Bricks-and-mortar locations are struggling in the face of competition from online.
Scroll down for the full list of closures so far in 2024.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, will close 600 stores in 2024. Pictured is a closing Family Dollar location in Paris, Maine
99 Cents Only Store will close all 371 stores around the country this year
Between January 1 and May 3, retailers closed or announced plans to close a total of 2,599 locations, according to Coresight Research.
An additional 12 store closures in the last week were led by Skechers and Save A Lot with eight and two respectively. QuikTrip and Walmart each planned one.
Meanwhile, store openings were up to 3,560, less than the 3,824 that had been planned by this time last year.
Year to date, major US retailers have therefore announced 2.5 percent more closures and 9.5 percent fewer openings compared to the same time last year.
Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same company, revealed in March that more than 600 stores would close in 2024. Those represent around 15 percent of all locations.
The retailer with the second-highest number of closures was 99 Cents Only Store.
In April, it announced it would close all 371 of its locations, blaming high inflation and rising theft.
The West Coast brand - which has stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada - announced the news without giving a timeline for the closures.
In a statement, interim CEO Mike Simoncic said the decision was due to 'lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwind.'
Major drugstores were also behind a significant proportion of the closures this year. CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens were responsible for 315, 165 and 77, respectively.
While the CVS and Walgreens targeted underperforming stores, the Rite Aid closures come after it declared bankruptcy in October. Since then it has shut 431 locations.
99 Cents Only Stores is shutting ALL 372 of its locations - here is one in Los Angeles on La Tijera Boulevard that opeend in 1982
CVS is shutting more than 300 stores. This from a closure in 2029
Rite Aid entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. Since then it has shut more than 400 locations around the country
Major pharmacies are struggling in the face of competition from Amazon, and big-box chains like Walmart and Target.
In addition, Rite Aid has also been unable to settle hundreds of lawsuits accusing the company of overprescribing opioids.
And last month, fashion retailer Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it intended to close more than 100 stores.
The retailer, whose portfolio of brands also includes Bonobos and UpWest, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to a filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware.
As part of the bankruptcy process, the company said it would close approximately 95 Express retail stores and all of its 12 UpWest stores.