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).
Markets shuddered Wednesday on worries about a spreading banking crisis and how badly it will hit the economy, and stocks and bond yields fell on both sides of the Atlantic.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should be very cautious when deciding to raise interest rates or he risks another bank crisis, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif. 8th District) told Cheddar News.
Eric Menees, CEO and co-founder of fintech lender Fynn, joined Cheddar News to discuss how his startup offers private student loans for the nation's skilled workforce.
Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager with Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co., joined Cheddar News to discuss Tuesday's trading session as the market digests SVB's collapse and as well as a key inflation report.
Matthew Goldberg, banking analyst at Bankrate.com, joined Cheddar News to explain what steps you should take to ensure your cash is safe with your financial institution.
