More than 90 million square feet of retail space has been shuttered this year, and with the retailer Bon-Ton announcing this week it would close 200 of its stores, 2018 is on track to break last year's record for lost stores.
"This is just another example of one of those big box retailers who weren't nimble enough and really listening to the changing times," said Melissa Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Lionesque Group.
In the first four months of 2018, retail giants like Toys "R" Us, Sears, and Sam's Club have closed all or some of their locations. Moody's distressed-level watch list predicted that others, such as Guitar Center, J. Crew, and David's Bridal could be next.
There have already been more store closures in 2018 than there were in all of 2016. And as each brick-and-mortar shop shutters, it creates potential customers for online retailers like Amazon.
"They have data at their fingertips, they're really at the pulse of understanding what consumers want," said Gonzalez in an interview Friday on Cheddar. "They can serve up the items that you know we want, and present things online before we even know we want them, and they can target us in ways department stores aren't able to do."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/2018-the-year-of-retail-closures).
Cheddar News checks in on The Day Ahead as more earnings are on tap from companies Thursday including Apple, Lyft, Kellogg and Expedia while Vice President is expected to meet with some top tech CEOs to discuss the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Meta is warning that cybercriminals are tricking people into downloading programs that can steal valuable information on fake ChatGPT offers. Cheddar News explains how Meta has observed hundreds of malicious links on its platform.
The 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike this week after negotiations with Hollywood studios that began in March failed to result in an agreement.
Will McDonough, founder and CEO of EMG Advisors, joined Cheddar News to discuss Wednesday's trading session after the Federal Reserve raised rates by 0.25% as tighter credit conditions continue to affect small- and medium-sized businesses.
The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years.
