CityLab Daily: Retail Stores Are Ditching City Centers for the Suburbs
Also today: Lightfoot is Chicago’s first mayor to lose reelection in 40 years, and Atlanta’s richest district inches closer to secession.
Abercrombie & Fitch closed its large store at Water Tower Place in Chicago’s city center after pandemic lockdowns.
Photographer: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
In 2022, apparel retailers saw the second-highest number of brick-and-mortar store openings in the US — a total of 1,395. Many of them were in the suburbs. Meanwhile, retail stores’ footprints are shrinking in major cities like San Francisco and New York as companies abandon malls and large-format stores in downtown areas in favor of residential neighborhood locations that serve the new generation of remote workers.
In response to changing consumer behavior, giants like Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Macy’s Inc. and Kohl’s Corp are opening smaller storefronts closer to where shoppers live. But while the shift could help brands generate more customers, it only adds to the financial strain of office vacancies in metropolitan downtowns — and further complicates cities’ efforts to lure people back, writes Olivia Rockeman. Today on CityLab: Another Blow to City Centers: Retail Stores Move Outward