These Major Stores Are Closing Locations In 2026

In 2025 alone, more than 8,100 stores closed in the U.S., according to retail analytics firm Coresight Research (via CBS News). The list included about 500 of the 1,200 stores neighborhood retailer Walgreens plans to shut down, the closure of more than 250 stores by drugstore CVS, and the remaining 200 stores of popular bankrupt fashion retail chain Forever 21. 

Brick-and-mortar stores have been struggling as more and more people buy groceries, gifts, and other goods online. Indeed, many retail outlets have gone the Amazon route and shifted their operations to e-commerce. As a result of this drive for higher profits and lower overhead costs, many underproducing stores have closed down. And the trend appeared to be on the increase. Coresight Research reported that the number store closures rose by about 12% between 2024 and 2025.

Whether 2026 will be another brutal year for retail remains to be seen. That said, multiple chain retailers have announced their intent to close stores within the year. Among the companies that are shuttering anywhere from a dozen to hundreds of locations in 2026 are GameStop, Carter's, Macy's, Kroger, and Orvis.  

GameStop is a major video game retailer that shut down 590 stores in 2024. But the company isn't done scaling back yet, as it's now pushing ahead with the closure of roughly another 400 stores. These closures would reduce GameStop's retail footprint of about 2,000 stores in the U.S. by up to 30%. The move is taking place as the first meme stock of 2020 shifts more of its resources toward selling trading cards and promoting Bitcoin, according to gaming and entertainment news website Polygon. 

The store closure frenzy could be at least partly fueled by GameStop's recently unveiled 100% "at-risk" compensation package for CEO Ryan Cohen. Per a GameStop press release, under his new contract, Cohen will receive up to $35 billion worth of stock options if GameStop's value grows nearly 10-fold to $100 billion. With these stakes, stores and employees can be expensive, especially with the company already investing about $513 million in crypto as of May 2025 (via CNBC). 

Atlanta-based children's clothing retailer Carter's will shut down 150 of over 1,000 of its stores in North America over the next three years, according to a Carter's news release. Of those 150 stores, up to 100 will be shuttered by the end of 2026. This is on top of the approximately 300 office workers Carter's had planned to lay off at the end of 2025. 

The reason Carter's is laying off staff and shuttering stores is because it needs to cut costs after being hit with steep tariffs. "The tariff rates now in effect bring our effective duty rate into the high 30% range versus about 13% historically," CFO Richard Westenberger said during an October 2025 earnings call (via The Motley Fool). Those tariffs have cost Carter's close to $35 million in 2025 alone, he added. The cost-cutting actions will save Carter's up to $45 million in 2026. CEO Douglas Palladini also stated in a release that both he and the board of directors will reducing their own compensation in 2026.

In February 2024, Macy's, one of America's largest department stores, embarked on its Bold New Chapter plan that included shutting down 150 underperforming stores through 2026, according to a Macy's press release. In 2025, 66 Macy's stores had closed, while an internal memo reviewed by WWD confirmed that another 14 stores in 11 states would be shuttered in 2026. Macy's CEO Tony Spring stated in a memo that the decision to close those stores was "not made lightly," adding:  "We communicated directly with affected colleagues first and are providing support, including transfer opportunities where available, as well as severance and outplacement resources where applicable."

The store closures would reduce the number of Macy's branded stores to 350. The move will allow Macy's to invest its resources into fixing those locations while opening new high-end brand Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury stores in growth markets and building up its e-commerce infrastructure. In a public January 2026 message posted on Macy's corporate page, Spring lauded the sales performance of Macy's 125 revamped Reimagine stores and celebrated the opening of a new 2.5 million-square-foot customer fulfillment center in China Grove, North Carolina.

In June 2025, Kroger announced it would be closing 60 locations nationwide over the span of 18 months. Of those 60 stores, 39 were closed or slated to be shuttered in 2025, per Grocery Dive. That leaves another 21 stores facing potential closure in 2026. 

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery chain has moved to close dozens of stores as it's trying to focus its resources on running the core business and improve operational efficiency. But Kroger had other reasons to streamline its operations, after the implosion of a $25 billion merger deal with rival grocery store chain Albertsons in December 2024.

Still, the closure of 21 stores would be a drop in the bucket for Kroger, which operates more than 1,200 grocery stores in 16 states. And interim CEO Ron Sargent said in a June 2025 earnings call (via CoStar) that his company planned to accelerate the opening of new stores in high-growth areas. That likely included Kroger breaking ground on 14 new store locations in the fourth quarter of 2025. In a November 2025 press release, Kroger also announced it was moving to expand its e-commerce profitability in 2026 by expanding partnerships with Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats to deliver groceries to customers in less than a half hour. 

Founded in 1856 and owned by the Perkins family since 1965, Vermont-based outdoor goods chain Orvis is closing 31 stores and five outlets out of its 71 locations in early 2026. The decision to slash its U.S. presence to just 33 stores and two outlets was made at least partly due to tariffs. "Like many in retail, Orvis' business model faced a sizeable shift with the introduction of an unprecedented tariff landscape," Orvis President Simon Perkins told Retail Drive. 

But the other reason for reducing its store presence, Perkins said, was to focus more on selling its own clothing, equipment, and accessory products for fly-fishing and wingshooting (bird hunting). Besides selling its specialty fishing-rods, hunting vests, and other items at Orvis' remaining stores, the family-owned chain will also sell its clothing and gear through 550 retailers and on its website. 

This isn't the first major transformation Simon Perkins has overseen since becoming the company's CEO. In October 2024, Orvis laid off 8% (112) of its employees, ended its printed catalog, reduced its inventory, and shuttered a limited number of stores with the goal of the company continuing, as Perkins described to Retail Drive, "another 170 years as a family-owned, purpose-driven brand."