The perception: There’s a growing sense that physical retail is in trouble. A total of 8,892 stores closed last year, per Coresight Research cited by CNBC, and 2026 has started with another wave of high-profile closures. That includes Amazon pulling the plug on its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go concepts, GameStop planning to shutter 467 stores, Francesca’s closing 402 locations, Walgreens shutting 350 stores, and Allbirds exiting physical retail altogether.

The reality: The picture looks less dire with more context.

• Coresight expects 7,900 store closures this year, which would be the lowest total since 2023. At the same time, retailers are projected to open about 5,500 new stores, up 4.4% YoY. That puts the net store loss at roughly 2,400 locations, roughly in line with 2024’s net loss of 2,423 stores and well below the 3,613 net closures recorded last year.
• Occupancy data tells a similar story. Simon-owned US malls and premium outlets were 96.4% occupied as of December 31, 2025, which was essentially flat with the 96.5% rate a year earlier, suggesting demand for quality physical space remains resilient.