Of course the truth is that the U.S. economy is not in good shape at all.  The cost of living crisis is absolutely crushing working families all over the nation, and U.S. consumers simply don't have as much discretionary income as they once did.  Needless to say, our retailers are highly dependent on discretionary spending, and many of them have been reporting very disappointing sales numbers recently.  Sadly, the problems that our retailers are experiencing are only going to intensify as U.S. economic activity continues to slow down.

According to CBS News, U.S. retailers have announced the closing of more than 3,000 locations in 2024…

The retail industry is going through a tough time as it copes with inflation-weary consumers and a rash of bankruptcies, prompting chains to announce the closures of almost 3,200 brick-and-mortar stores so far in 2024, according to a new analysis.

That's a 24% increase from a year ago, according to a report from retail data provider CoreSight, which tracks store closures and openings across the U.S.

The closing of 3,200 stores sounds really bad, but it is important to note that the quote above is from a CBS News story that was published on May 13th.

Since that time, there have been a lot more store closing announcements.

For example, last week we learned that Big Lots plans to close nearly 300 stores…

Two months after announcing plans to close about 40 stores nationwide due to financial woes, Big Lots has indicated on its website it intends to close almost 300 stores.

The discount retailer announced in June it was facing several areas of financial strain that would result in 35-40 stores closing across the country. However, an audit of the Big Lots website on Aug. 2 reveals almost 300 stores are slated to close in the United States, including 18 in New England.