Ecommerce companies are choking out the brick-and-mortar shopping hubs that have dominated retail for decades.
According to CNN Money, up to 25 percent of America’s malls will close within five years, as per a new report from Credit Suisse. Around 8,600 stores are expected to close this year, up from 6,200 in 2008.
The report states that online sales, meanwhile, will grow from 17 percent of retail sales today to 35 percent in 2030.
Many department store chains that serve as major anchors of malls are closing wide swaths of stores, including Sears Holdings, which is closing 150 of its Sears and Kmart brand stores, JCPenney, which is shutting 138 stores, and Macy's, which is closing 68 stores. … And it's not just department stores. Just this week, clothing and accessories retailer Michael Kors announced plans to shutter 100 to 125 stores.