Universal is hoping the excitement around “Wicked” can hang around — for good.

The movie studio faces a unique challenge: promote and release two build-on films just one year apart. Part one of the “Wicked” cinematic project dazzled at the box office, collecting more than $700 million in global ticket sales through Sunday. Not only did it have the highest opening of any theatrical Broadway adaptation, but it is also now the highest-grossing film based on a Broadway musical, according to data from Comscore.

The question for Universal ahead of the release of part two — “Wicked: For Good,” due out in November — is how to keep its biggest fans engaged without alienating its more casual audiences.

Marketing experts told CNBC that pent-up demand for the movie, combined with the first film’s success, makes promoting its follow-up much easier.

″[Generating] close to $500 million is an amazing feat for that film,” said Mike Polydoros, CEO at cinematic marketing agency PaperAirplane Media. “They have all these fans who have seen the movie over and over again and came to the sing-alongs. They’ve marked their calendars for the second part of the movie.

“So, the marketing of it is more about keeping that group engaged and keeping them [informed] … and giving them just enough nuggets without oversaturating,” Polydoros said.

Universal already has one thing working in its favor: When it launches the marketing campaign for “Wicked: For Good,” it will be able to add best picture Academy Award nominee to its franchise promotions.

On Thursday, the studio snared 10 nominations for “Wicked,” including for lead actress, supporting actress, film editing, sound, score, production design, costume, visual effects and makeup and hairstyling.

The overall marketing plan for “Wicked: For Good” is expected to be similar to the playbook used for “Wicked” with a few alterations to keep it fresh and avoid oversaturating audiences.

Universal jumpstarted the first film’s advertising strategy with a teaser trailer that ran during the Super Bowl in February. The nearly 90-second spot gave fans their first glimpse of Oz, as well as Cynthia Erivo’s triumphant battle cry from “Defying Gravity,” the closing number of the first act of the Broadway musical.

“There wasn’t a debate,” Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, told Variety back in November. “When you’re working on materials, you always have those kinds of conversations. But if there’s a single sound associated with ‘Wicked,’ it’s certainly that end to ‘Defying Gravity.’ … Ending that spot with it felt assured and inescapably the right call.”

The Super Bowl ad spot was followed up by another teaser trailer at the annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April and a quick appearance from Elphaba (Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). The co-stars attended the Met Gala in New York City a month later, walking the red carpet together and closing out the evening with a surprise performance. Then, in July, the pair were spotted at the Paris Olympics, which was televised by NBC.

“Our filmmakers and our talent were very accessible throughout this process,” said Dave O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal. “Many of them participated in various parts of our campaign, from the straight marketing that we did for the film, but also with our partnerships and some of the unique opportunities that our company brought to the table. So I think that was also something that felt organic and authentic to the process.”

Universal peppered audiences with different iterations of the film’s trailer and teaser videos throughout the summer, leading into its big marketing push — more than 400 corporate brand partnerships. Retail stores were flooded with pink and green merchandise, from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars. The collections ranged in price, allowing consumers to choose from affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”

“I get asked a lot, ‘What is the state of exhibition?‘” said Brandon Jones, president and chief marketing officer of FilmFrog. “And I think that ‘Wicked’ is the perfect example of this. The state of exhibition is, and has always been, to influence culture.”

With nine months before the release of “Wicked: For Good,” Universal will look to repeat the success of the first film’s marketing campaign, but with some variation.

“I think our intent would not be to replicate, but certainly to evolve and to continue to do incredible work and find the right balance of partnerships that can innovate and really match the heart of the next film,” O’Connor said.

Like “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good” arrives the weekend before Thanksgiving. This gives the film breathing room for a solid opening weekend before Disney drops its traditional animated release the day before the holiday. This year, it will be “Zootopia 2.”

“Wicked: For Good” will then be able to capitalize on school vacations and family gatherings to fuel a strong second week of ticket sales — the same strategy employed for “Wicked” amid the surprise release of Disney’s “Moana 2” on the Thanksgiving holiday last year.

Cinemas will also look to capitalize on the prior success of “Wicked” when promoting “Wicked: For Good.” While Universal will provide creative assets such as trailers, standees and other digital and physical materials, theaters big and small will look for ways to lure audiences to their locations with special collectible popcorn buckets and unique food and drink options.

“Until, really, the last [decade], exhibitors just relied on studios to do most of the marketing and that really started to change around 2016 or 2017,” said Jones. “Because the relationship between the film and the moviegoer is actually managed by exhibitors. Because you don’t buy your ticket for ‘Wicked’ from Universal. You buy it from your local movie theater.”

Jones noted that the quick release of “Wicked: For Good,” almost exactly one year after “Wicked,” allows movie theaters to engage with guests more acutely.

Using ticket sales data, cinemas can market on a one-to-one basis during the 12-month period between releases to not only promote the second film, but also entice moviegoers to return for other in-theater programming that is similar to “Wicked.”

“It’s one thing to market the movie, it’s another thing to market the experience of going to the movies,” Jones added.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked” and owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Universal is hoping the excitement around “Wicked” can hang around — for good.

The movie studio faces a unique challenge: promote and release two build-on films just one year apart. Part one of the “Wicked” cinematic project dazzled at the box office, collecting more than $700 million in global ticket sales through Sunday. Not only did it have the highest opening of any theatrical Broadway adaptation, but it is also now the highest-grossing film based on a Broadway musical, according to data from Comscore.

The question for Universal ahead of the release of part two — “Wicked: For Good,” due out in November — is how to keep its biggest fans engaged without alienating its more casual audiences.

Marketing experts told CNBC that pent-up demand for the movie, combined with the first film’s success, makes promoting its follow-up much easier.

″[Generating] close to $500 million is an amazing feat for that film,” said Mike Polydoros, CEO at cinematic marketing agency PaperAirplane Media. “They have all these fans who have seen the movie over and over again and came to the sing-alongs. They’ve marked their calendars for the second part of the movie.

“So, the marketing of it is more about keeping that group engaged and keeping them [informed] … and giving them just enough nuggets without oversaturating,” Polydoros said.

Universal already has one thing working in its favor: When it launches the marketing campaign for “Wicked: For Good,” it will be able to add best picture Academy Award nominee to its franchise promotions.

On Thursday, the studio snared 10 nominations for “Wicked,” including for lead actress, supporting actress, film editing, sound, score, production design, costume, visual effects and makeup and hairstyling.

The overall marketing plan for “Wicked: For Good” is expected to be similar to the playbook used for “Wicked” with a few alterations to keep it fresh and avoid oversaturating audiences.

Universal jumpstarted the first film’s advertising strategy with a teaser trailer that ran during the Super Bowl in February. The nearly 90-second spot gave fans their first glimpse of Oz, as well as Cynthia Erivo’s triumphant battle cry from “Defying Gravity,” the closing number of the first act of the Broadway musical.

“There wasn’t a debate,” Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, told Variety back in November. “When you’re working on materials, you always have those kinds of conversations. But if there’s a single sound associated with ‘Wicked,’ it’s certainly that end to ‘Defying Gravity.’ … Ending that spot with it felt assured and inescapably the right call.”

The Super Bowl ad spot was followed up by another teaser trailer at the annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April and a quick appearance from Elphaba (Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). The co-stars attended the Met Gala in New York City a month later, walking the red carpet together and closing out the evening with a surprise performance. Then, in July, the pair were spotted at the Paris Olympics, which was televised by NBC.

“Our filmmakers and our talent were very accessible throughout this process,” said Dave O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal. “Many of them participated in various parts of our campaign, from the straight marketing that we did for the film, but also with our partnerships and some of the unique opportunities that our company brought to the table. So I think that was also something that felt organic and authentic to the process.”

Universal peppered audiences with different iterations of the film’s trailer and teaser videos throughout the summer, leading into its big marketing push — more than 400 corporate brand partnerships. Retail stores were flooded with pink and green merchandise, from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars. The collections ranged in price, allowing consumers to choose from affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”

“I get asked a lot, ‘What is the state of exhibition?‘” said Brandon Jones, president and chief marketing officer of FilmFrog. “And I think that ‘Wicked’ is the perfect example of this. The state of exhibition is, and has always been, to influence culture.”

With nine months before the release of “Wicked: For Good,” Universal will look to repeat the success of the first film’s marketing campaign, but with some variation.

“I think our intent would not be to replicate, but certainly to evolve and to continue to do incredible work and find the right balance of partnerships that can innovate and really match the heart of the next film,” O’Connor said.

Like “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good” arrives the weekend before Thanksgiving. This gives the film breathing room for a solid opening weekend before Disney drops its traditional animated release the day before the holiday. This year, it will be “Zootopia 2.”

“Wicked: For Good” will then be able to capitalize on school vacations and family gatherings to fuel a strong second week of ticket sales — the same strategy employed for “Wicked” amid the surprise release of Disney’s “Moana 2” on the Thanksgiving holiday last year.

Cinemas will also look to capitalize on the prior success of “Wicked” when promoting “Wicked: For Good.” While Universal will provide creative assets such as trailers, standees and other digital and physical materials, theaters big and small will look for ways to lure audiences to their locations with special collectible popcorn buckets and unique food and drink options.

“Until, really, the last [decade], exhibitors just relied on studios to do most of the marketing and that really started to change around 2016 or 2017,” said Jones. “Because the relationship between the film and the moviegoer is actually managed by exhibitors. Because you don’t buy your ticket for ‘Wicked’ from Universal. You buy it from your local movie theater.”

Jones noted that the quick release of “Wicked: For Good,” almost exactly one year after “Wicked,” allows movie theaters to engage with guests more acutely.

Using ticket sales data, cinemas can market on a one-to-one basis during the 12-month period between releases to not only promote the second film, but also entice moviegoers to return for other in-theater programming that is similar to “Wicked.”

“It’s one thing to market the movie, it’s another thing to market the experience of going to the movies,” Jones added.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked” and owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

American Express’ affluent cardholders got comfortable spending more freely again late last year, Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC.

Spending on AmEx cards jumped 8% year over year in the fourth quarter after slowing from a 7% growth rate early in the year to 6% during the second and third quarters, according to the firm’s earnings presentation.

While the year-end pickup was seen across all customer segments and geographies, it was especially fueled by millennials and Gen Z users, where transaction volumes jumped 16%, up from 12% in the third quarter.

Older groups were more restrained with their cards. Gen X customers spent 7% more in the fourth quarter, while baby boomers saw billings rise just 4%.

“We had very strong growth from Gen Z and millennials, and that 2 percentage point acceleration gives us a lot of optimism for 2025,” Le Caillec said.

Elevated transaction levels have continued into the first three weeks of this year, he added.

Younger Americans are said to spend more on experiences rather than goods, and that is reflected in the results from AmEx, which along with rival card issuer JPMorgan Chase, dominate the market for high-end credit cards.

Travel and entertainment billings rose 11% in the quarter, compared with 8% for good and services. The boost in travel came from airline spending, which rose 13%, with spending for business class and first class airfares up 19%, according to Le Caillec.

AmEx shares fell more than 2% in midday trading Friday after the company reported earnings and revenue that were roughly in line with analysts’ expectations. Shares of the New York-based company have been on a tear over the past year, hitting a 52-week high on Thursday.

“We are encouraged by accelerating billings growth as we believe it will be a key factor for Amex to meet its aspirational target of at least 10% revenue growth,” William Blair analysts led by Cristopher Kennedy wrote Friday in a research note. “We remain buyers on any pullback.”

Target on Friday said it’s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers.

In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more products from Black- or minority-owned businesses.

The memo was sent to staff Friday and viewed by CNBC. It was written by Kiera Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at Target.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” she said in the memo. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future — all in service of driving Target’s growth and winning together.”

A Target spokesperson said there are no job cuts as part of Friday’s DEI announcement.

With the move, the discounter joins a growing list of companies including Tractor Supply, Facebook’s parent Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals. Some of those companies faced pressure from conservative activists or cited the Supreme Court’s ruling blocking affirmative action at colleges — which may not compel corporations to take any action on the issue.

The company’s decision also follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders, made almost immediately after his Inauguration, to end the government’s DEI programs and put federal officials overseeing those initiatives on leave.

Not all companies have joined the trend. On Thursday, Costco said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review risks of its DEI programs. Costco’s board of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.

Many corporations’ diversity commitments, including Target’s go back for years and were strengthened in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” protests and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Four years ago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the murder — which happened just a short distance from Target’s headquarters in its hometown — felt personal. He said it motivated him to step up Target’s diversity and equity efforts.

“That could have been one of my Target team members,” he said at the time, recounting his thoughts as he watched the video of Floyd taking his final breaths.

Target expanded its diversity goals at the time, saying it would increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20% over the next year. The company started a new program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test and scale products to sell at mass retailers like Target. And it promised to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, from construction companies that build or remodel stores to advertising firms that market its brand.

The company and its foundation also gave $10 million to support social justice groups, including the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum.

On its website in recent years, Target has touted Cornell’s and the company’s “steadfast commitment to stand with Black families and fight against racism.” In other posts on its website, the company provided updates on its efforts to add more officers of color, reduce turnover of people of color, and increase promotions of women and minorities.

One post was titled “We Are Never Done,” and started off with a quote from Black poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

Target dissolved the goals at a time when conservative politicians and activists have increasingly turned their focus on company efforts to be more inclusive.

Target had already felt the heat from conservative groups over some of its other longstanding initiatives. About two years ago, the retailer pulled items from its Pride Month collection after backlash and threats to employees about some merchandise it sold, such as “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for trans people.

Cornell said in 2023 that the backlash contributed to weaker quarterly sales for the company. He said, however, that it would continue to mark heritage months with merchandise collections, such as Black History Month and Pride Month.

Target’s employee base had grown more diverse in recent years.

About 43% of Target’s workforce was white, 31% was Hispanic/Latino, 15% was Black and 5% was Asian in the fiscal year that ended in early February 2024, according to the company’s most recent diversity report.

The company’s leadership team is less diverse than its overall workforce. Seventy-two percent of the leadership was white, followed by 11% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian and 6% Black.

A war of words between Elon Musk and Sam Altman escalated on social media Thursday, as two of the most powerful men in tech sparred over their rival artificial intelligence initiatives. 

The latest exchange began after OpenAI, where Altman is CEO, was revealed as a key player in Stargate, the AI infrastructure project President Donald Trump announced this week that is coming with a massive investment push.

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote in a long post on his social platform, X, about the new venture. It was not immediately clear whom Musk was initially referring to, but he soon followed up, naming SoftBank, Stargate’s main financial backer.

“SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” he said, without elaborating. Neither Musk nor his electronic car company Tesla have publicized any formal links.   

Altman responded praising Musk — “I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time,” he wrote on X — but he called his SoftBank claim wrong. 

“I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [America] first,” he added, using an American flag emoji.

In remarks to reporters Thursday, Trump weighed in on the dispute but gave no indication that Altman’s or OpenAI’s status on the project were threatened.

Without mentioning Altman by name, Trump mentioned Musk while referring to ‘one of the people he happens to hate.’

‘But I have certain hatreds of people, too,’ he said.

The spat has its roots in a pending lawsuit filed by Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, over control of the company; it was rekindled after Trump’s announcement this week that OpenAI would be part of the $500 billion Stargate initiative designed to make the United States a world leader in AI.

Late Wednesday and into Thursday, Musk continued to hammer Altman, repeatedly citing posts during Trump’s 2016 presidential run in which Altman appeared to denounce Trump. 

By 8:30 p.m., Altman posted that he’d recently had a change of heart about the president: “watching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him (i wish i had done more of my own thinking” he said in part. “i’m not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!”

On Thursday morning, Altman posted, responding to Musk: “just one more mean tweet and then maybe you’ll love yourself…”

The tit-for-tat between Musk and Altman is a sign of both the struggle within the tech community to curry favor with Trump and how the AI race is driving the push for tech dominance. If putting out new, consumer-friendly devices was once the way for a tech company to gain power, the struggle to create the most advanced form of AI has almost completely taken over.   

The situation also points to the tension of Musk’s role as both a top Trump adviser and one of the world’s most powerful — and combative — business moguls. Musk has his own interest in AI through the X, which debuted Grok, its rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, in November.

The simmering Altman-Musk feud goes back years, well before Musk’s emergence in the U.S. political scene and even before the recent explosion of artificial intelligence technology. Companies have rushed to invest in AI infrastructure and development, so much so that it has accounted for a significant part of recent U.S. economic growth. A Goldman Sachs paper published in June, well before the announcement of the Stargate project, projected that AI capital expenditure could top $1 trillion.

OpenAI had generally been considered the leader in AI development, though it faces major competition from other startups, as well as most major tech giants that are believed to have closed the gap. That competition has made securing investments and partnerships all the more important in large part because of the sizable hardware and energy needs required to hone the models at the core of advanced AI.

UnitedHealthcare on Thursday tapped company veteran Tim Noel as its new CEO following the targeted killing of its former top executive, Brian Thompson, in Manhattan in December. 

Noel was the head of Medicare and retirement at UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S. It is the insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s biggest health-care conglomerate based on revenue and its more than $480 billion market cap. 

Noel, who first joined the company in 2007, “brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners,” UnitedHealth Group said in a statement.

The company is still reeling from the murder of Thompson, which unleashed a torrent of pent-up anger and resentment toward the insurance industry, renewed calls for reform and reignited a debate over health care in the U.S.

Amid concerns about physical safety, companies across the industry have beefed up security for their executives and removed their photos and much of their personal information from their websites. That includes UnitedHealth Group, which appears to no longer have an executive leadership page.

Luigi Mangione, who was charged in the deadly shooting, is currently being held without bond in Brooklyn, New York. Mangione, 26, faces charges including murder and terrorism, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Noel oversaw a part of UnitedHealthcare’s business that includes Medicare Advantage plans, which have been the source of skyrocketing costs for insurers. 

Medicare Advantage, a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a key source of growth and profits for the insurance industry. But medical costs from Medicare Advantage patients have jumped over the last year as more seniors return to hospitals to undergo procedures they had delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare and retirement unit serves one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries, or nearly 13.7 million patients, according to a fact sheet from the company. 

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said on an earnings call last week that the profit-driven U.S. healthcare system “needs to function better” and be “less confusing, less complex and less costly.”

Witty said members of the system benefit from high prices, noting that lower prices and improved services can be good for customers and patients but can “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more for care.” However, Witty did not address to what extent UnitedHealth Group benefits from that model. 

In its first quarterly results since the killing, UnitedHealth Group reported fourth-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street’s expectations due to weakness in its insurance business.

The company’s 2024 revenue rose 8% to $400.3 billion, and it expects revenue to climb again this year to a range of $450 billion to $455 billion.

— CNBC’s Bertha Coombs contributed to this report

Store closures in the U.S. last year hit the highest level since the pandemic — and even more locations are expected to shutter this year, as shoppers’ dollars increasingly go to a few industry winners, according to an analysis by Coresight Research.

Major retailers, including Party City and Macy’s, closed 7,325 stores in 2024, according to the retail advisory group’s data. That’s the sharpest jump since retailers in the U.S. shuttered almost 10,000 stores in 2020, the year when the Covid pandemic began.

So far this year, closures continue to climb. Retailers have already announced 1,925 store closures so far in 2025 — and that was only as of Jan. 10. The five retailers that have announced the most closures this year are Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens Boots Alliance, 7-Eleven and Macy’s, respectively.

The retail advisory firm projects that retailers will close about 15,000 stores this year as some legacy brands shrink and file for bankruptcy protection, or liquidating companies shutter locations.

The striking numbers reflect the stark divide between retailers that are gaining market share and those that have lost ground. Amazon, Costco and Walmart have gotten bigger as shoppers seek value and convenience. On the other hand, some smaller chains and specialty retailers have struggled to keep doors open or been forced to downsize.

A spike in bankruptcies contributed to the high number of closures in 2024. According to Coresight’s data, there were 51 retail bankruptcies in 2024, up from 25 in 2023. Some of those, such as Party City, have most of their closures taking place in 2025.

Consumer spending has stayed strong — but a larger share of the dollars has gone to fewer retailers. Holiday sales increased 4% year over year to $994.1 billion for Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, according to the National Retail Federation, the industry’s major trade group. That total excludes auto dealers, gas stations and restaurants.

That’s about in line with pre-pandemic holiday spending, which rose an average of 3.6% from 2010 to 2019.

The number of jobs in the industry also did not appear to fall despite the closures. Employment in the retail trade “changed little” last year, after the industry added about 10,000 jobs per month in 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said earlier this month.

Specialty retailers in particular have struggled: In December, The Container Store filed for bankruptcy protection. Big Lots’ new owner is in the middle of an effort to keep some stores open, after the discount retailer said in December that it would start going-out-of-business sales across all stores. Fabrics and craft retailer Joann filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month for the second time in a year.

But it wasn’t just specialty stores. Last year, the highest number of closures came from Dollar Tree-owned Family Dollar, CVS Health, Conn’s, rue21 and Big Lots, respectively. Conn’s, a home goods and furniture retailer, and rue21, a teen apparel retailer, closed all stores after the parent company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024.

John Mercer, Coresight’s head of global research, said competitive threats, not a decline in demand, is to blame.

“Demand may be strong among consumers, but where is some of that increased demand going? Where is it being channeled to?” he said.

Mercer said the retailers that are shuttering stores tend to fall in three categories: They are closing all locations as part of a liquidation, such as Party City; shutting down many of their stores after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, such as The Container Store; or trimming back their footprint as they adapt to fast-changing consumer preferences, such as drugstores Walgreens and CVS and legacy department store Macy’s.

Macy’s, for example, is in the middle of closing about 150 of its namesake stores across the country by early 2027. The department store operator has been shuttering roughly 50 of those per year, since it made the announcement in early 2024. It is opening a limited number of shops that are smaller, off-mall versions of its namesake stores and new locations of its better-performing brands, Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury.

Some newcomers are chipping away at legacy retailers’ sales, Mercer said. Coresight estimates that Chinese e-commerce companies Shein and Temu pulled in a combined roughly $100 billion in sales last year, with the majority of that coming from outside of the U.S.

For example, more Americans are turning to sites like Temu for party balloons and storage tubs, which may have contributed to the bankruptcy filings of Party City and The Container Store last year, he said.

Even a small percentage drop in sales can be a blow to retailers’ stores, which come with high fixed costs like leases and labor, Mercer said.

Some unique factors have widened the gap between store openings and closures, according to David Silverman, a retail analyst at Fitch Ratings. When a major mall anchor like Macy’s closes, he said that can lead smaller retailers to exit, as well. As some stores in mall or strip shopping centers shutter, they’re also getting replaced by fitness studios, urgent care clinics or apartments instead of another retail store.

He added that population shifts during the Covid pandemic changed retailers’ store traffic patterns and shook up where they may want to be located.

“Most companies are not adding a significant number of square footage and even the ones that until recently were adding a lot, like the dollar stores, are rethinking their footprints,” he said.

Silverman said he expects more stores will continue to close than open in the U.S., as retailers’ growth comes from online sales and as larger companies take a bigger share of the market. Some of those, such as Walmart, add a lot more volume with one store than specialty retailers get from the dozens of locations they close, he added.

Investors will soon get an update on which retailers are outperforming and underperforming. Most major retailers will deliver their holiday-quarter results starting in mid-February.

Some retailers, including Kohl’s and Macy’s, announced their own plans for store closures before they shared full quarterly results. Kohl’s said earlier this month that it will close 27 underperforming stores by April, along with shuttering an e-commerce fulfillment center in San Bernardino, California, in May.

There’s some hopeful news for the retail industry, however: Store openings also accelerated last year in the U.S. to 5,970 — the highest number since Coresight began tracking store openings and closures in 2012. The firm anticipates that will stay about flat in 2025, with an estimated 5,800 stores opening.

Last year, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, 7-Eleven, Mexican convenience store Oxxo and Five Below tallied the most store openings.

So far this year, the top five retailers in terms of announced store openings in the U.S. are Aldi, JD Sports, Burlington Stores, Pandora and Barnes & Noble, respectively.