Retail closures poised to fare better this year after rocky 2025

Last year was tough for U.S. major retailers, which announced more store closures than they had the year before — but 2026 seems to be off to a bit of a better start, even amid a major retail bankruptcy filing.

In 2025, there were 8,270 announced closures, up almost 13 percent year over year, according to data from Coresight Research. There also were 5,270 announced openings last year, down 11 percent year over year.

Rite Aid, the pharmacy chain that filed for bankruptcy for a second time last year, ranked No. 1 for having the most announced closures last year, with 1,292 locations. Second place went to crafts and fabric supply store Joann, with 815 closures.

On the flip side, discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree had the most store openings last year, with 599 and 442, respectively.

So far in 2026, 25 top-name retailers said they plan to shutter a combined 733 stores over the course of the year — though they plan to open 1,201 stores. That’s 22.5 percent more openings and nearly 64 percent fewer closures versus than the same time last year.

Walgreens plans to close the most stores, 350, or more than 4 percent of the drugstore’s 7,960 locations.

And once again, Dollar General is an early frontrunner for announcing the greatest number of stores a retailer intends to open this year. With its 483 planned openings, Dollar General’s total store count will reach 20,901. Overall, discount retailers make up the greatest share of new store openings that have been announced for 2026.

The retail landscape has been undergoing a seismic shift. Many retailers have struggled to overcome the hurdles posed by the pandemic, and prior to that, the rise of e-commerce dealt blows to many of the major department stores and the large locations they left behind.

Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, a move that threatens its 173 stores that occupy big footprints across the country. While the luxury retailer has not said it plans to close any locations yet because of the filing, it did say it was analyzing its “operational footprint to invest resources where it has the greatest long-term potential.”