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Retail Store Closures in 2020 Seen Doubling Over Last Year

WWD
By: Jean E. Palmieri


Holiday sales are also supposed to be 20 percent lower than last year, according to Coresight Research.

Between 20,000 and 25,000 retail stores may close this year, twice the number as last year, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to have an impact on consumer behavior.

That was the message delivered by John Harmon, senior analyst of Coresight Research. Harmon was a presenter on a webinar hosted by Planalytics on Wednesday afternoon. . . .

. . . While businesses don’t have much control over the pandemic, the one thing they can understand and work with is the weather.

Evan Gold, executive vice president of global partnerships for Planalytics, predicted shoppers “will be more attuned to weather than ever before” and will want to shop for seasonal merchandise in season, rather than before. So retailers need to make sure they have the right product in their stores at the right time, Gold said.

He said Memorial Day weekend will see a “warmer trend” for most of the country and June will be cooler on the coasts, warmer in the middle of the country and wetter in the West.

“As consumers venture out, it’s imperative that you have product on your racks to meet their demand,” he said.

Read the original article here.