Store openings and closings 2026: Dollar General, Aldi, GameStop

U.S. store openings are expected to rise and store closings to decline this year compared to 2025, with value retailers driving growth as they continue to attract more consumer dollars, according to an analysis by Coresight Research.

Overall, Coresight expects U.S. retailers to close about 7,900 stores in 2026, a 4.5% decline year over year. This represents the lowest number of total store closures in the past three years.

The consulting group also expects retailers to open about 5,500 new stores, an increase of 4.4% year-over-year.

yet, Dollar GeneralAldi and Supply of tractors It tops the list of retailers with the biggest store openings planned this year, according to Coresight. On the other hand, GameStopFrancesca W Walgreens Leading the way with more closures planned for 2026.

John Mercer, head of global research at Coresight, said he expects some closely watched economic factors, such as rising inflation and a sluggish housing market, to gradually ease next year. Retailers’ real estate plans also reflect “an incremental improvement from 2025 but not a major inflection point,” he said.

Some themes related to the retail industry persist and appear in the data. Department stores and legacy retailers are reducing their store numbers. Value players, including discounters, warehouse clubs and off-price chains, are increasing the size of their national footprint. Successful and reinvented mall retailers, e.g Abercrombie & Fitch and gapputs pressure on small retailers of specialty clothing.

In the first few weeks of the year, there have already been some announcements of supermarket closures. Video game retailer GameStop plans to close hundreds of locations, following a large wave of previous closures. Women’s fashion chain Francesca’s, which sells clothing and accessories, has closed nearly 460 stores as the company liquidates its business after declaring bankruptcy. and Amazon It said it would close all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations and convert some to Whole Foods Market stores, marking the end of the e-commerce giant’s latest real-world experiment in the grocery industry.

Last year, store closures were expected to reach the highest level since the Covid pandemic. However, the final tally reached 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 to the upside,” Mercer said.

Among them, higher tariffs did not impact consumer spending as much as feared, because retailers imported early shipments and absorbed some of these higher costs. Wealthy Americans, who benefited from strong stock market gains and rising real estate values, continued to spend and supported the retail industry. They were the thriving part of the so-called K-shaped economy.

Last year, retail bankruptcies led to a downturn in business, with 32 merchants declaring bankruptcy last year. Rite Aid, Joann’s, Party City and Big Lots topped the list of most closed stores last year.

Other pharmacies contributed significantly to closures last year as well, with Walgreens and CVS Health Each of them reduced their store footprints.

So far this year, two retailers have filed for bankruptcy: Saks Global, the parent company of luxury department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, and LKM Convenience, the Louisiana-based operator of the Brothers Food Mart and Magnolia Express department store brands.

An expected slowdown in bankruptcies could tighten demand for real estate, said Naveen Jaggi, head of retail advisory services at JLL, a commercial real estate firm that operates primarily in the largest and fastest-growing U.S. retail markets such as Chicago, New York City and Dallas.

Many retailers that opened stores in 2026 closed their real estate deals in 2024, a year in which a significant amount of space opened up because companies including Bed Bath & Beyond, Joann and Forever 21 closed stores after bankruptcy filings.

“We are looking at a world where supply is diminishing,” he said. “This will become a challenge in 2029 and 2030.”

Similar to the housing market, construction of new shopping centers has been slow due to high labor costs and high interest rates. That tide could turn, Jaggi said, and developers could advance further if labor and borrowing costs stabilize and retailers show they are willing to pay enough to finance that construction.

Not only are retailers competing for space with their closest peers, they are also competing for square footage in the same malls as food and beverage concepts and chains like Raising Cane’s expand, along with pilates and fitness studios.

“Malls that are trying to grow and mature want to bring in those national name brands like Soulcycle,” Jaggi said. “You can take out your GameStop and start Soulcycle.”

As retailers open new stores, customers’ adoption of AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and the like to discover merchandise or get shopping tips is challenging retailers to think about what they can offer customers in person, Coresight’s Mercer said.

For brick-and-mortar locations to complement retailers’ e-commerce offerings, a store needs to offer convenience and immediacy, offer ease of pickup or returns, and give compelling enough discounts to offset the downsides of in-person retail or become an experiential destination, he said.

“Departments are great brand builders,” he said. “If you’re thinking about dealerships, this is great for comparison shopping. Stores are a great way to build value in that brand and separate yourself from the race to the bottom in terms of price.”