Transcript:
Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
It's an up day on Wall Street as a busy week of earnings wind down and there’s a tamer tone to the bond market. Colgate-Palmolive is boosting both sales and profit forecasts for the year. The consumer products giant topped third-quarter estimates even though it continues to raise prices.
Related: Formerly bankrupt retail chain closing all remaining stores
Sticking with the consumer space, if you’ve noticed many more shuttered retail locations in your city - you’re not wrong. Store closures are on pace to be their worst since the pandemic rocked the retail sector.
Nearly 6,200 store closures have been announced so far in 2024, according to data compiled by Foresight Research. That number is already eclipsing the more than 5,500 closures last year, and it's the highest since 2020. Family Dollar, Walgreens, Big Lots, even 7-11 is on the list of store reductions.
Chain stores are downsizing after stimulus checks fueled a consumer spending boom that has since dissipated. Higher interest rates and elevated prices have also combined to force consumers to shift how and where they spend. In addition, smaller chains are facing even more competition from bigger retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco, and Amazon.
Retail experts say the way the pandemic changed how much shopping happens on the internet shouldn’t be overlooked in this wave of store closures. Online shopping was only 6 percent of total retail sales in 2014, doubled to 12 percent at the start of 2020, and is expected to hit 23 percent this year.
There is, however, one retail sector that seems immune: deep discounters. Bargain hunters can rejoice. While other retailers are slimming down - retailers like TJX - the parent of TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and Marshalls continue to expand.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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