You possibly can’t blame falling foot visitors for pushing mall retailers to shut shops.
“After a relatively weak summer performance, malls rebounded sharply in October 2025, with foot traffic to indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls rising significantly both year over year (YoY) and month over month (MoM),” in accordance with information from Placer.ai.
That is seemingly a great signal for the vacation season.
“All mall formats saw clear YoY visit gains in October 2025, potentially signaling renewed consumer enthusiasm heading into the holiday season. And although indoor malls led the growth – continuing their strong performance throughout 2025 – open-air shopping centers and outlet malls also returned to positive territory after four consecutive months of declines, underscoring the breadth and strength of the October recovery,” it added.
Placer.ai, nonetheless, measures foot visitors and never purchases. Folks could also be going again to the mall to prepare for vacation procuring, however that doesn’t imply they’re shopping for.
Mall stalwarts Macy’s and JCPenney have each closed shops this yr, as produce other key mall gamers.
Mall retailers closing shops in 2025
- Without end 21: Entered chapter and is closing all 350 U.S. shops as of 2025.
Supply: The Wall Avenue Journal - Claire’s: Introduced the closure of 235 Claire’s shops and 56 Icing shops (291 complete) in North America by September 2025, as a part of restructuring.
Supply: TheStreet - Torrid: Planning to shut 40-50 shops, later elevated to 180 closures in 2025 because it shifts towards a extra digital-focused mannequin.
Supply: TheStreet - Macy’s: Set to shut 66 underperforming shops in 2025 as half of a bigger plan (~150 shops by 2026) to shrink its footprint.
Supply: The Avenue - JCPenney: Introduced the closure of eight shops by mid-2025 on account of expiring leases and market circumstances (not a full footprint discount).
- Joann (Joann Materials & Crafts): Closed all 850 shops after a second Chapter 11 chapter submitting.
Supply: PacerMonitor
One other mall staple has been closing shops, but it surely has completed so quietly with out making a public announcement concerning the shutdowns.
Mall anchor shops have been struggling.
Getty Photos
Dillard’s has been struggling
Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II shared cautiously optimistic feedback on his chain’s most up-to-date quarter in its second-quarter earnings launch.
“We were happy to achieve a sales increase for the first time in a while and encouraged by strengthening sales trends in July. In an operating environment that changes daily, we focused on controlling inventory, ending up 2% compared to 6% at the end of first quarter.”
Dillard’s Q2 highlights:
- Whole retail gross sales elevated 1%.
- Comparable retailer gross sales elevated 1%.
- Web earnings of $72.8 million in comparison with $74.5 million.
- Earnings per share of $4.66 in comparison with $4.59.
- Retail gross margin of 38.1% of gross sales in comparison with 39.1% of gross sales.
- Working bills had been $434.2 million (28.7% of gross sales) in comparison with $433.6 million (29.1% of gross sales).
- Ending stock elevated 2%.
These are encouraging numbers, however they haven’t stopped the chain from selectively closing sure places.
These Dillard’s shops are closing (or have closed):
- 1120 Outdated Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Stones River City Centre): The Murfreesboro Dillard’s closed completely in January.
The chain despatched a Nov. 13 letter to town’s mayor from Dean L. Worley, normal counsel for Dillard’s Inc.“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the Dillard’s store located in Stones River Mall (now called Stones River Town Centre), 1120 Old Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, will cease its operation and be closed in its entirety on a date no earlier than Jan. 17, 2025, and no later than January 31, 2025,” the letter states. “We anticipate that the closing will be permanent.”
Supply: investor.dillards.com
- Eastwood Mall Clearance Heart, Niles, Ohio: A 120,000-sq-ft clearance heart closed throughout fiscal 2024.
Supply: investor.dillards.com - Santa Rosa Mall, Mary Esther, Florida: A leased location of 115,000 sq. ft was closed in fiscal 2023.
Supply: investor.dillards.com - Conestoga Mall, Grand Island, Nebraska: An 80,000-sq-ft leased Dillard’s location closed in fiscal 2023.
Supply: investor.dillards.com - Metrocenter Mall, Phoenix, Arizona: A 90,000-sq-ft clearance-center location closed in fiscal 2023.
Supply: investor.dillards.com - 2501 Dallas Parkway, The Outlets at Willow Bend, Plano, Texas: Introduced closure deliberate for early 2026.
Supply: Group Impression - Three shops introduced for closure throughout present quarter
Santa Rosa Mall, Ft. Walton Seashore, Fla. (115,000 sq ft)Conestoga Mall, Grand Island, Neb. (80,000 sq ft)
Metrocenter Mall, Phoenix, Ariz. (90,000 sq ft)
Supply: Store! Affiliation
Dillard’s is in a robust place
Whereas Macy’s and JCPenney have had widespread closures, Dillard’s retailer shutdowns have been restricted.
“Our belief is that [Dillard’s] has found its operating sweet spot with fewer stores and employees in the right locations,” Zachary Warring, fairness analyst at CFRA Analysis shared again in 2023 when the chain began closing places. “We believe [it] will continue to operate more efficiently than pre-pandemic levels, has a fortress balance sheet, and will continue to return significant capital to shareholders.”
He additionally saluted the model’s efficiency in a 2025 remark to Retail Dive, however his general opinion was blended.
“We believe [Dillard’s] is operating the best of all Department stores, however, the sub industry continues to experience a slow decline,” Warring stated by electronic mail. “We see little to get us excited as the share buyback pace has declined in recent quarters.”
UBS analysts led by Mauricio Serna had been much less bullish on Dillard’s, commenting in the identical article.
“Our research indicates Dillard’s position is not strong enough to gain share within brick and mortar,” Serna shared. “We model higher online sales, but believe this growth will not offset declining store revenues.”
