Dollar General and Aldi logos.ReutersStore openings in the U.S. are expected to rise and store closures fall this year compared to 2025, with value retailers leading the growth as they continue to attract more of consumers’ dollars, according to an analysis by Coresight Research. Overall, Coresight projects that U.S. retailers will close about 7,900 stores in 2026, a 4.5% drop year over year. That would represent the lowest number of store closures in the past three years.The advisory group also expects retailers will open about 5,500 new stores, a 4.4% increase year over year. So far, Dollar General, Aldi and Tractor Supply top the list for retailers with the most planned store openings this year, according to Coresight. On the other hand, GameStop, Francesca’s and Walgreens lead the way with the most planned closures in 2026.[embedded content]John Mercer, head of global research of Coresight, said he expects some closely watched economic factors, such as high inflation and the slow housing market, to gradually ease in the coming year. He said retailers’ real estate plans also reflect “an incremental improvement over 2025 but not a major inflection point.”Some themes for the retail industry persist and show in the data. Department stores and legacy retailers are slimming down their store counts. Value players including discounters, warehouse clubs and off-price chains are bulking up their national footprint. Successful and reinvented mall retailers, such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap, are squeezing out smaller specialty apparel retailers. In the first few weeks of the year, there have already been some major store closure announcements. Video game retailer GameStop plans to shutter hundreds of locations, following a significant wave of previous closures. Women’s fashion chain Francesca’s, which sells clothing and accessories, is closing its nearly 460 stores as the company liquidates its business after a bankruptcy filing. And Amazon said it will shutter all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations and turn some of those into Whole Foods Market stores, marking the end of the e-commerce giant’s latest brick-and-mortar experiment in the grocery industry.[embedded content]Last year, store closures were expected to hit the highest level since the Covid pandemic. Yet the final tally came in at 8,270 closures — down from 8,825 in 2024 and 9,700 in 2020.”We saw a lot of things we didn’t expect and a lot of things we didn’t expect were on the upside,” Mercer said.Among them, higher tariffs didn’t ding consumer spending as much as feared because retailers imported early shipments and absorbed some of those higher costs. Affluent Americans, who have benefitted from strong stock market gains and rising property values, have kept spending and propped up the retail industry. They have been the thriving part of the so-called K-shaped economy.Last year, retail bankruptcies drove much of the downsizing, with 32 retailers filing for bankruptcy last year. Rite Aid, Joann, Party City and Big Lots topped the list of the most shuttered stores last year. [embedded content]Other drugstores contributed significantly to closures last year, too, with Walgreens and CVS Health each shrinking their store footprints. Store closed permanently sign on a vacant Walgreens in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2025.Smith Collection/gado | Archive Photos | Getty ImagesSo far this year, two retailers have filed for bankruptcy: Saks Global, the parent company of luxury departm …
