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The retail landscape in 2025 is undergoing a seismic shift as major chains across the United States announce widespread store closures.

Driven by evolving consumer habits, the rise of e-commerce, and economic pressures, many well-known brands are scaling back their physical footprints. While some are shutting down entirely, others are strategically keeping a handful of locations open to maintain a presence.

Below is a list of stores planning closures in 2025, based on the latest available data as of March 8, 2025, along with details on which ones are keeping a few locations operational.Stores Planning Closures in 2025

1. Walgreens
   • Closure Details: Walgreens has announced plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years, with 500 slated for its 2025 fiscal year (ending August 2025). These closures target underperforming locations as part of a broader strategy to optimize its footprint and improve financial health.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, Walgreens will maintain a significant presence, as the closures represent only a portion of its roughly 8,500 U.S. stores. The focus is on shedding “underperformers” while keeping stronger locations operational.
2. CVS
   • Closure Details: CVS is continuing its multi-year plan to close 900 stores, initiated in 2021. While 300 closed in 2024, additional closures are expected in 2025, targeting stores with overlapping coverage or low foot traffic. Specific locations for 2025 remain undisclosed.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, CVS is not exiting the market entirely. The company operates over 9,000 stores nationwide and is prioritizing its healthcare expansion, keeping many locations active.
3. Macy’s
   • Closure Details: Macy’s plans to close 150 underproductive stores by 2026, with 65 already scheduled to shutter by the end of 2024. Additional closures are expected in 2025, though exact numbers for the year are still unfolding.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, Macy’s will retain approximately 350 stores nationwide after the closures, focusing on better-performing locations to sustain its brand.
4. Kohl’s
   • Closure Details: Kohl’s is set to close 27 underperforming stores across the U.S. by April 2025, representing less than 3% of its 1,150+ locations.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, the vast majority of Kohl’s stores will remain open, with the closures being a small fraction of its network.
5. Advance Auto Parts
   • Closure Details: Advance Auto Parts is closing 727 locations by mid-2025 as part of a three-year financial recovery plan. This follows struggles with declining sales and operational costs.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, with over 4,700 stores currently, the company will keep thousands of locations operational, though options will be more limited in some areas.
6. Joann
   • Closure Details: Joann, the arts and crafts retailer, is closing all of its approximately 850 stores nationwide in 2025 after filing for bankruptcy twice in less than a year. The company announced a full liquidation following an asset purchase by GA Group.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: No, Joann is shutting down entirely, ending its 80-year run with no plans to retain any physical locations.
7. Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
   • Closure Details: Dollar Tree plans to close 370 Family Dollar locations in 2025 as leases expire, following 600 closures in 2024. This reflects a shift away from the Family Dollar brand amid reduced margins and economic challenges.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, Dollar Tree will maintain its core Dollar Tree stores and some Family Dollar locations, though the exact number of remaining Family Dollar stores is unclear.
8. Starbucks
   • Closure Details: Starbucks will close several stores in 2025 to optimize operations, particularly in dense urban areas. The exact number remains unspecified, but the move aligns with a focus on efficiency.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, with nearly 700 locations in New York alone and thousands nationwide, Starbucks will keep the vast majority of its stores open.
9. GameStop
   • Closure Details: GameStop will close numerous locations in 2025, focusing on smaller towns and declining malls, as it struggles to adapt to digital gaming trends despite pivoting to retro consoles and merchandise.
   • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, GameStop will retain some stores, though the total number is shrinking from its peak, with a focus on more viable markets.
10. Sears
    • Closure Details: Sears faces a wave of closures in 2025, continuing its long decline. With fewer than a dozen stores left after years of downsizing, 2025 may mark the end of its physical presence.
    • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, for now, a few stores in high-cost areas remain, but their future is uncertain, and a complete shutdown looms as a possibility.
11. Denny’s
    • Closure Details: Denny’s expects to close between 70 and 90 restaurants in 2025, following 88 closures in 2024, targeting underperforming locations.
    • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, Denny’s will keep many of its 1,500+ locations open and plans to open 25–40 new restaurants, split between Denny’s and Keke’s Breakfast Café.
12. Liberated Brands (Volcom, Billabong, Quicksilver, etc.)
    • Closure Details: After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2025, Liberated Brands will close all 100+ retail locations of Volcom, Billabong, Quicksilver, Spyder, RVCA, Roxy, and Honolua.
    • Keeping a Few Open?: No, all physical stores are closing, though the brands will continue through other retailers under new licensing agreements with Authentic Brands Group.
13. JCPenney
    • Closure Details: JCPenney will close eight stores by mid-2025, with 120 additional locations up for sale, signaling a cautious downsizing amid financial pressures.
    • Keeping a Few Open?: Yes, JCPenney will retain most of its 600+ stores, focusing on stronger performers while exploring partnerships like its deal with Forever 21’s parent company.

A Mixed Outlook for Retail

The closures reflect a broader “structural shift” in retail, as companies grapple with inflation, high interest rates, and a consumer preference for online shopping and value-driven experiences.

While chains like Joann and Liberated Brands are exiting the physical retail space entirely, others like Walgreens, CVS, Macy’s, and Sears are pruning their portfolios to focus on profitability.

Notably, some retailers—like Denny’s—are balancing closures with new openings, signaling adaptability rather than defeat.

For consumers, this wave of closures may mean fewer local options, but it also opens the door to deep discounts during liquidation sales. Meanwhile, the survival of select locations suggests that brick-and-mortar retail isn’t dead—it’s just evolving.

As 2025 unfolds, the retail sector will continue to test which brands can innovate and endure in this challenging new reality.

Ref

https://www.fox9.com/news/retailers-closing-stores-2025