12 mall favorites that are quietly closing stories in 2025
Shopping malls are beginning to shrink, with some of the biggest staples closing stores across the United States.
In 2025 alone, behemoths including Macy’s and JCPenney have closed stores.
And while it’s easy to blame a rise in online shopping for the closures, data has shown that foot traffic in malls rebounded in a big way in October, after a relatively weak performance over the summer. According to data from Placer.ai, “foot traffic to indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls [rose] significantly both year over year (YoY) and month over month (MoM).”
But while people are visiting malls ahead of the holiday season, it’s not clear whether consumers are buying anything—and the shrinking of physical stores is clear to see.
According to a report from The Street, major retailers are either closing their doors completely, or shutting down individual stores in certain areas.
JCPenney
JCPenney is closing eight stores in 2025, due to what it says is expiring leases and market conditions.
Forever 21
Clothing staple Forever 21 declared bankruptcy, and is in the midst of closing all 350 of its United States stores in 2025.
Claire’s
Tween jewelry and accessories store Claire’s also announced the closure of 235 stores in North America, as part of restructuring, which also affected Claire’s Accessories stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Macy’s
Macy’s announced a plan to close 66 underperforming stores in 2025, which will rise to around 150 stores in 2026, in order, it says, to shrink its footprint.
Torrid
Plus-size fashion retailer Torrid has announced plans to close a total of 180 stores in 2025, as it changes to a digital-focused model; clothing is still available to buy on Torrid’s website.
Joann Fabrics & Crafts
Joann Fabrics & Crafts has closed up to 850 stores, The Street estimates, after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time.
Dillard’s
Department store chain Dillard’s, which has closed several stores in recent years, has closed or announced the closure of five stores across the United States, including in Florida, Nebraska and Arizona. The retailer has also announced the closure of its Plano, Texas, store for early 2026. Despite the closures, the retailer announced a sales increase of one percent.
Party City
Business Insider also reports that Party City is also closing all its stores—an estimated 700 nationwide—after filing for Chapter 11 protection in December 2024.
Starbucks
In October, Starbucks announced it had closed 627 stores as part of a restructuring plan.
Walgreens
Walgreens is on track to close 450 locations, as part of a plan to reduce the amount of physical locations.
Family Dollar
Family Dollar is to close 370 locations, but Dollar Tree is due to expand locations.
Rite Aid
Rite Aid announced in October that all of its stores had been closed, after it entered bankruptcy in May.
According to Business Insider, more than a dozen retail brands have announced closures of U.S. stores in 2025, with a total of more than 3,700 locations closing down. It’s a major rise from 2024, when 13 retail brands closed up to 2,055 locations, and in 2023, when 2,800 locations were closed.
At the same time as these closures, however, major firms including Walmart and Target continue to expand.
