Retail Sector: 2023 Year in Review

Economy
1

I posted some of this on another thread, but I think maybe it deserves a wider audience.

2023 in retail was not a stellar year.

  • Overall retail store sales were flat in 2023.
  • So were sales at grocery stores.
  • E-commerce and Food and Drinking establishments each had good years.
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2

If sales in two categories went up, but the overall trend was flat,
which retail categories went down?
It turns out those categories are

  • Home Furnishing Stores
  • Gasoline Stations
  • Retail Building Material & Garden Supplies (teensy drop in 2023)
  • Department Stores (have been dropping for 10+ years)

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2023 was also the year

  • Bed Bath and Beyond,
  • Rite Aid,
  • Party City,
  • Qurate,
  • David’s Bridal, and
  • 8 other major retail chains went bankrupt.

Judging from social media, I’d have to guess the survivors are having serious problems with theft, but it is not easy to get any good solid numbers to prove that