More than 1,000 new stores are set to open across the United States in 2026 — and at the same time, analysts estimate nearly 7,900 stores could close, with over 1,200 closures already publicly announced by name. That’s not a contradiction; it’s the actual shape of American retail right now: aggressive expansion concentrated in discount, warehouse, and value-focused chains, alongside a genuine contraction in traditional department stores, drugstores, and specialty retail. Here’s the real, sourced breakdown of who’s opening, who’s closing, and what the numbers actually reveal.
Store Openings: Who’s Actually Expanding in 2026
| Retailer | New Stores | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar General | 450 | Scaled back from 575 planned in 2025 |
| Aldi | 180+ | Across 31 states, targeting ~2,800 total locations by year-end |
| Starbucks | 150-175 | Net new company-operated U.S. coffeehouses |
| Ollie’s Bargain Outlet | 75 | Fiscal year 2026 target |
| Barnes & Noble | 60 | Credited to the chain’s decentralized store-management strategy |
| Aerie / Offline (American Eagle) | 35 | Plus 60 additional location remodels |
| Target | 30 | Part of a $5 billion investment plan; targeting 300 new locations by 2035 |
| Costco | 26 | Net new warehouse openings |
| Walmart | 20 | Through early 2027, alongside 650 store remodels |
| BJ’s Wholesale Club | 16 | CEO has targeted 25-30 for the full year including 2025 openings |
| Kroger | 14 | A roughly 30% increase in store openings versus recent years |
| Nordstrom Rack | 13 | Spring and fall 2026, across Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and California |
| Uniqlo | 11 | Includes new flagship stores in Chicago and San Francisco |
| L.L.Bean | 8 | Brings the brand’s total store count to 76 nationwide |
| Benihana | 2 | Part of a 10-location development deal |
The pattern in the openings list is consistent: discount grocery (Aldi), dollar-store format (Dollar General), warehouse clubs (Costco, BJ’s, and Walmart’s own club-adjacent growth), and off-price apparel (Nordstrom Rack, Ollie’s) dominate the expansion list, while full-price department and specialty retail is almost entirely absent from it. Even Target’s growth, while real, is deliberately paced — 30 stores against a 300-location, decade-long roadmap through 2035 — a notably more conservative expansion cadence than the discount chains above it on this list.
Store Closures: The Much Larger Number
Closures dwarf openings by a wide margin. Industry analysts project close to 7,900 total U.S. store closures across 2026, though that figure includes chains that haven’t yet named specific locations. Here’s what’s been announced by name so far:
| Retailer | Stores Closing | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Walgreens | ~500 | Leads all retailers; targeting underperforming stores with expiring or company-owned leases |
| GameStop | 470+ | Across 43 states; the company closed 727 stores total in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2026 |
| Big Lots | ~300 | Part of the chain’s broader liquidation-adjacent restructuring |
| CVS | 270 | Follows roughly 900 CVS closures already completed between 2022 and 2024 |
| Eddie Bauer | 175 | All U.S. and Canada locations, closing by April 30, 2026 unless a buyer is found |
| Macy’s | Up to 150 | By the end of 2026, as part of a multiyear downsizing plan |
| Carter’s | ~100 | Part of a broader operational streamlining effort |
| Saks Global | 86 total doors | 20 Saks Fifth Avenue, 4 Neiman Marcus, 57 Off 5th, and all 5 Last Call clearance centers |
| Francesca’s | ~400 | All remaining U.S. locations, closing out a bankruptcy process that began in 2020 |
| Party City | ~670 | Near-total shutdown — only 29 stores are expected to remain open nationally |
| Kohl’s | 27 | Underperforming locations, following declining sales |
Geographically, closures aren’t evenly distributed — California, Florida, Ohio, New York, and Michigan have absorbed the heaviest concentrations of announced closures so far, a mix of the country’s largest retail footprints (California, Florida, New York) and states with a disproportionate share of the specific struggling chains’ existing store counts (Ohio, Michigan).
Why the Gap Is So Large
The imbalance between roughly 1,000 openings and thousands of closures isn’t simply “retail is dying” — it’s a genuine restructuring of where physical retail actually makes sense. The closures list is dominated by three categories: pharmacy chains rationalizing store density after years of oversaturation (Walgreens, CVS), department and specialty retailers losing ground to both e-commerce and value-focused competitors (Macy’s, Kohl’s, Saks, Eddie Bauer, Francesca’s), and companies in active bankruptcy or post-bankruptcy liquidation (Party City, Francesca’s). The openings list, by contrast, is dominated almost entirely by formats built around either rock-bottom price positioning (Dollar General, Aldi, Ollie’s) or a subscription/membership model with built-in customer retention (Costco, BJ’s, Walmart+). Very little net-new growth is happening in the middle of the market — full-price, non-discount general retail — which is exactly the segment supplying most of this year’s closures.
The GameStop Case: A Closer Look
GameStop’s 2026 closures are worth singling out because of both the scale and the pace: more than 470 locations across 43 states were marked for closure, on top of 727 total store closures in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2026, and 590 already shuttered by December 2025. States with confirmed closures in early 2026 included Ohio, Illinois, New York, Kansas, Kentucky, Connecticut, and Minnesota. That trajectory reflects a business that’s been contracting its physical footprint for several consecutive years now, as digital game downloads and online marketplaces continue eroding the specific value proposition — impulse browsing and in-person trade-ins — that used to justify a dense national store network for a games retailer specifically.
The Eddie Bauer and Party City Situations: Real Uncertainty Attached
Two of the closures on this list carry a genuine “unless” attached to them rather than being fully settled. Eddie Bauer’s announced closure of all 175 U.S. and Canada stores by April 30, 2026, is explicitly conditional — the company has said the closures will proceed unless a buyer steps in to acquire the business first, meaning the announced date is a deadline for a sale process as much as it is a confirmed shutdown date. Party City’s situation is more advanced but tells a similar story: from a chain that once operated roughly 700 stores nationally, only about 29 are expected to remain — a near-total collapse of a category-specific retailer (party and costume goods) that had already gone through one bankruptcy restructuring before this final wind-down phase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are more stores opening or closing in the U.S. in 2026?
Closures significantly outnumber openings. While more than 1,000 new stores are expected to open, analysts project nearly 7,900 total closures across the year, with 1,200-plus already announced by name.
Which retailer is closing the most stores in 2026?
Walgreens leads with approximately 500 announced closures, followed by GameStop with more than 470 locations across 43 states.
Which retailer is opening the most stores in 2026?
Dollar General leads openings with 450 new stores planned, followed by Aldi with more than 180 across 31 states.
Which states are seeing the most store closures?
California, Florida, Ohio, New York, and Michigan have absorbed the heaviest concentrations of announced 2026 closures.
Is Eddie Bauer definitely closing all its stores?
Not necessarily — the company has said its planned closure of all 175 U.S. and Canada stores by April 30, 2026, will proceed only if no buyer is found for the business before then.
The Bottom Line
2026’s retail numbers tell a consistent story once you look past the raw store counts: this isn’t a uniform retail collapse, it’s a sharp bifurcation. Value-focused, membership-driven, and discount-format retailers are expanding with real confidence — Dollar General’s 450 new stores and Aldi’s 180-plus alone account for more new locations than the rest of the openings list combined — while full-price department stores, drugstores carrying excess real estate from a previous decade’s expansion, and specialty categories losing ground to e-commerce are shedding stores by the hundreds. The next twelve months of store-count data will likely sharpen that divide further rather than close it.
