This Week in Retail

Bankruptcies +42% YoY. Burlington's May Calendar Hit 26.

April commercial Chapter 11 filings jumped 42% YoY. Burlington's May calendar landed 26 stores, with 45 of the 110-store FY26 plan in former Joann boxes.

Eddie Bauer's Last 150 Stores Went Dark April 30. Brent Hit $126. Operators Signed 53 New Leases Anyway.

April 30 was the largest single-day anchor exit of the cycle. Eddie Bauer's 150 boxes, Nordstrom's Christiana anchor, and Saks's first wave all went dark the same day. Brent crude crossed $126/bbl. Operators signed 53 new units anyway.

March Retail Sales Hit $752B. The Same Week, QVC Filed Chapter 11 and Journeys Started Pulling Out of Malls.

Journeys is cutting 150+ mall stores through lease nonrenewal. QVC Group filed Chapter 11 to restructure $6.6B in debt. March retail sales were $752.1 billion, up 4% year over year. Three separate stories.

7-Eleven Is Cutting 645 Stores. Dave's Hot Chicken Opened 8 in One Day. Sentiment Hit 47.6.

7-Eleven disclosed plans to cut 645 U.S. stores in fiscal 2026 against 205 opens. Dave's Hot Chicken opened 8 in one day. Michigan consumer sentiment hit 47.6, a record low. Same week.

65 Carl's Jr. Restaurants in Chapter 11. 15 Huey Magoo's Units on a Half-Size Prototype. Same Week.

Friendly Franchisees filed Chapter 11 on 65 California Carl's Jr. restaurants. Huey Magoo's signed a 15-unit Texas deal on a brand-new 1,500 sq ft prototype — half the traditional footprint. Diesel jumped 4.5% in one week. Two operators, same cost pressure, two different responses.

I Reverse-Engineered ALDI's Site Selection Formula From 67 Trade Zones

I profiled 67 ALDI trade zones across 8 states and found the 4 variables they hold constant. Then I scored their 5 new Phoenix sites against the baseline. Three are textbook. One is a genuine outlier.

Aldi Is Opening 180 Stores. Eddie Bauer Is Closing All 175. Same Quarter.

~3,000 locations going dark by mid-year. 1,500+ new stores committed in the same quarter. Here's who's closing what size box, who's expanding into those markets, and which formats backfill which.

Retail Earnings Didn't Get the Memo on Consumer Confidence

Consumer sentiment hits 2026 lows while Q4 retail earnings crush across formats. Oil above $110, Fed holds rates, tariffs baked in. The confidence gap between mood and money, and what it means for CRE.

The Economy Lost 92,000 Jobs in February. Card Spending Hit a Three-Year High.

February payrolls fell 92,000 while card spending hit a 3-year high. Off-price adds 360 stores. Apparel CPI spiked 1.3% in one month as tariff costs reach price tags. The spending base is strong but narrowing.

Ross Stores Posted +9% Comp. Wendy's Posted -11.3%. Same Week.

Ross Stores' +9% comp and Wendy's -11.3% define the widest Q4 earnings spread yet. 1,400+ store closures from six retailers, Target's $2B strategic pivot, and automation deployments at Walmart, Kroger, and NAPA reshape the tenant pipeline.

Q4 Earnings Looked Great. The 15% Tariff Landed the Same Week.

Four major retailers beat Q4 expectations the same week a 15% tariff surcharge took effect. JLL reports retail absorption doubled while construction starts fell 44%. The barbell between value and mid-market keeps widening.

This Week in Retail: February 2026 Edition

Dollar General's aggressive expansion continues, Chipotle tests a new format, and what the latest consumer spending data tells us about site selection in 2026.

Consumer Confidence Just Hit a Wall. Spending Didn't.

Consumer confidence hits recession thresholds while Walmart posts 4.6% comp growth and Redbook accelerates to 7.2%. The spending split, tariff front-loading, and private label records reveal where retail dollars are actually flowing.

730 Stores Got Their Notice This Week. One Chain Went Public.

Three retailers file bankruptcy (730+ stores closing) the same week Bob's Discount Furniture IPOs at $2.22B. Kroger gets a Walmart CEO. Target tests ChatGPT ads. The tenant roster is reshuffling.

The Speed Race: Walmart Bets $330M on Automation as Amazon Delivers 8 Billion Same-Day Items

Walmart bets $330M on Louisiana DC automation as Amazon delivers 8B same-day items in 2025. Tractor Supply expands final-mile to 1,200 stores. Eddie Bauer, Saks Off 5th join closure list.

The Automation Week: 33,000 Jobs Cut as Retailers Restructure for AI

33,000+ retail jobs cut in one week as Amazon, Home Depot, Nike, and Pinterest restructure for AI. Consumer confidence hits 12-year low. Amazon exits Fresh/Go (72 stores). Francesca's liquidates 450 locations.

The Sentiment-Spending Disconnect: Confidence Craters While Private Label Hits Records

Consumer confidence hits 8-month low, but spending adapts. Private label records ($282.8B), big-ticket pullback, tariff pass-through begins. GameStop closes 475 stores; Tractor Supply opens 100.

The Week AI Checkout Went Live: Google, Microsoft, and Saks Global's $3.4 Billion Unraveling

AI checkout goes live across Google, Microsoft, ChatGPT. Saks Global files bankruptcy with $3.4B debt. GameStop closes ~470 stores in two weeks. Aldi expands 180+ locations.

The Great Disconnect: $257.8 Billion in Holiday E-Commerce, Consumer Confidence at Multi-Year Lows

Record $257.8B holiday e-commerce amid five months of confidence declines. Bank of America documents widest income-spending gap in a decade. AI adopters saw 2x sales growth.

How Weather Data Creates Small Advantages in Retail Site Selection

Black Friday data shows weather can create 28-point performance gaps between regions. Here's how climate modeling adds incremental value to retail real estate decisions.

ChatGPT Wants To Be Your New Storefront

ChatGPT is rolling out "Instant Checkout" from approved merchants to its 800M weekly users. Target, Walmart, and others are jumping onboard. What will this mean for Brick-and-Mortar stores?

What Retailers Are Betting On: Following the Money Through Holiday Uncertainty

Retail's Record Halloween Spending Meets Historic Pessimism

Consumers feel worse about the economy than any time since 1997, yet they're still spending at near-record levels

Retail Confidence Indicators Turn Negative as Spending Growth Decelerates Through October

Real-time sales tracking, consumer sentiment, and hiring plans all shift downward in October despite positive year-over-year comparisons still holding.

The Retail Performance Gap: Why Digital Leaders Operate 31% Leaner Than Everyone Else

New data reveals top 5% of retailers achieving 31% lower fulfillment costs through integrated automation, while 83% struggle with basic omnichannel execution.

Why Half Your Customers Can't Afford Your Stuff Anymore

Bank of America just dropped data showing customers are literally living in two different economies—and retailers who don't pick a side are getting crushed.

Retail's Strategic Consumer in the Uncertainty Economy

Consumer anxiety has replaced seasonal patterns as retail's new calendar. Smart brands are building strategies around permanent uncertainty instead of waiting for stability.

Someone Rewrote The Retail Playbook While We Weren't Looking

The formulas that built retail empires for decades just stopped working. Here's what replaced them.

When Robots Learn to Speak Customer

The AI era isn't all about replacing workers with machines. Sometimes it's giving every employee a helping hand.

The Retail Reality Check

Reality is sending retailers a bill, and the payment methods reveal everything about who survives and who doesn't.

The Department Store at the End of the World

The retail apocalypse turned out to be just another Tuesday with better sales data.

ICSC Las Vegas Proved Retail Teams Are Done Rolling the Dice

At ICSC Las Vegas, retail teams tested our AI agent Waldo in real-time. The response was overwhelming— 2 new customers signed within a week.

The New Retail Paradox - When Physical Meets Digital

Remember when everyone thought physical retail was on its deathbed? Turns out, it's not just alive—it's thriving. But here's the kicker: it's happening in a way no one expected.

Chapter 22 and the Great Reshuffling

Bankruptcies surge, 15,000 stores to close, yet some thrive. This week's retail reshuffling reveals who's folding and who's expanding in the great retail reset of 2025.

Beyond Four Walls: How Smart Retailers Are Redefining Space in 2025

Retail paradox: Physical stores thrive by going digital. Bankruptcies become strategy, not failure. Success isn't about location—it's about purpose.