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).
Cannabis company Curaleaf has rolled out a series of ads on Twitter, following a high-profile decision by the social media company to permit the federally illegal industry to advertise.
Pinterest launched a new travel hub called "Find Your Routes" to inspire safe travel and highlight black travelers. Cheddar News dives deep into the social media giant's new platform for Black History Month.
More earnings and economic data. Cheddar News takes a peek at next week's Wall Street schedule, including reports from Home Depot, Walmart and Nvidia as well as home sales numbers.
Transit technology company Via raised $110 million in a new round of financing. Clara Fain, chief financial officer of Via, joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's mission to digitize public transit globally.
Over 100,000 job cuts were announced across major industries in January, according to a report. Jon Bell, an employment attorney with Bell Law Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss unemployment benefits and severance packages.
Karen Robbins, senior vice president with UBS Wealth Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss Friday's mixed session as officials hinted at more interest rate hikes.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
