These Beloved Retailers Permanently Closed As Holiday Shoppers Start Hunt For Deals Early

Budget-conscious U.S. consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier than ever, but some of their favorite brick-and-mortar stores may have disappeared since they last went about checking off gifts on Santa’s list.

Fast fashion retailer Forever 21 is gone. So is Joann, the fabric and crafts retailer. And forget picking up stocking stuffers at Rite Aid, which shuttered its entire fleet of stores this year.

Some 2,700 stores nationwide have already locked their doors or are planning to close in 2025, according to a Business Insider analysis.

There are multiple reasons, but a big one is e-commerce competition. In a report last year, UBS analysts said another 45,000 stores may close by 2029 as retail’s physical footprint increasingly shifts to fulfillment and distribution centers.

Amid the store closures and constrictions, larger corporations such as Walmart, Costco, Target and Home Depot plan to expand, according to the analysis.

Large businesses benefit from their size, which allows them to absorb higher costs and secure more favorable agreements compared to smaller businesses — especially the independent shops that anchor main streets across the country.

It only takes a small shift in the economy to sour what was once a profitable business. For many, “the tariffs are that kind of tipping point,” Scott Lincicome, vice president of economics and trade at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told Minnesota Public Radio’s “Marketplace.”

Consumers Fret About Prices

Everyday Americans are on the same precipice. Tariffs are adding to inflation, high credit card interest rates and other pressures already pushing many families to the edges of their financial comfort.

To get the best deals, many consumers began their holiday shopping last summer, before President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs on some of the top importers of U.S. consumer goods took effect.

Nearly half (49 percent) of the 2,600 consumers surveyed by Bankrate said they planned to start buying gifts before Halloween, and 41 percent are worried about higher prices.

“Tariff concerns are likely a prominent reason why more than 2 in 5 holiday shoppers fear higher prices this year,” said Ted Rossman, a senior analyst at Bankrate.

About 70 percent of those surveyed said they expect to spend the same (43 percent) or more (27 percent), according to the survey.

That could be good news for retail businesses that are dependent on the fourth-quarter holiday sales to finish the year in the black.

Retail Closings So Far In 2025

Here’s a look at stores that have disappeared, closed underperforming stores or have gotten a reprieve so far in 2025:

Advance Auto Parts planned to close 523 corporate stores and four distribution centers, as well as exit 204 independent locations.

At Home entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June and said at the time that it planned to close up to 26 stores before the end of September. Stores were located in 15 states.

Best Buy planned to shutter an additional 10 to 15 stores in 2025 after closing 24 last year, according to Money Digest.

Big Lots held on after its bankruptcy after getting a lifeline from Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, which saved between 200 and 400 stores from full liquidation. However, the new owners are selling the leases to 480 stores, according to Business Insider.

Claire’s entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this summer. The retailer planned to close 700 stores, and was considering liquidation of its entire 1,500-store footprint in North America. However, when a private equity firm acquired Claire’s assets, the liquidation plan was paused for about half of the stores.

Dick’s Sporting Goods planned to close 35 stores this year, Patch previously reported.

Dollar General planned to close nearly 100 stores and 45 Popshelf stores nationwide by year’s end. The stores represent less than 1 percent of the company’s overall store base, and some Popshelf stores will be converted to Dollar General locations.

Dollar Tree sold Family Dollar to private equity firms in a $1 billion deal that closed in July. Business Insider reported that Dollar Tree initially closed 600 Family Dollar locations in 2024 and planned to close another 370 Family Dollar stores in 2025 when their leases expire.

Foot Locker planned to shut down another 275 Foot Locker and 125 Champs Sports locations, reducing its global store count by 10 percent. At the same time, the chain planned to refresh 300 stores.

Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 closed 356 U.S. stores, citing overseas competition, rising costs and other economic challenges in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. International stores were not affected.

GameStop isn’t going out of business and still has a large U.S. presence, but the video game retailer planned to close a “significant number” of stores in 2025 as it continues a restructuring plan. GameStop shuttered about 960 stores in 2024.

JCPenney closed eight stores in May, calling them “isolated” closures that did not signal a reduction in the venerable department chain’s store count. The stores were located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina and West Virginia. In 2020, JCPenney planned to shutter more than 240 stores as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.

The last Joann fabric stores closed in May; however, one of the retailer’s biggest rivals, Michaels, bought some of Joann’s private label brands and intellectual property.

Kohl’s planned to close 27 of its 1,500 stores nationwide due to performance issues, as well as an e-commerce fulfillment center in San Bernardino, California, ChainStoreAge reported. Stores were shuttered in 15 states, including 10 in California. Other states with closures included Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Liberated Brands planned to shutter its entire fleet of 122 retail stores, including all Volcom, Billabong, Quiksilver, Spyder, RVCA, and Roxy stores, Fashion Dive reported.

Macy’s planned to close another 66 stores this year as part of its “A Bold New Chapter” strategy that will shutter 150 underperforming stores by the end of 2026. Notable closures included stores in Bronx, Brooklyn and Long Island, New York; Chula Vista, Citrus Heights and Los Angeles in California; and Boynton Beach, Florida, Kiplinger reported. Closures include both department stores and some furniture and Backstage locations.

Party City closed for good this year, Patch previously reported.

Citing a revenue slump, Petco announced in September that it will close 25 underperforming stores at undisclosed lcoations. The pet supply retailer closed the same number of stores in 2024, and currently has a store count of about 1,400 nationwide.

Rite Aid has closed roughly 1,250 stores, selling most to rival pharmacy chains.

Torrid, specializing in clothing and intimates for women’s sizes 10 to 30, originally said it would close 40 to 50 stores by the end of 2025 as part of an “optimization” plan but upped the total to 180 as it shifts to a digital model, according to Torrid’s first-quarter earnings report.

Walgreens is expected to close 450 locations by the end of the year as part of a multi-year plan to shutter about 1,200 underperforming stores, USA Today reported. More closures are expected in 2026 and 2027 as part of the cost-cutting strategy.

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