Needless to say, our retailers are highly dependent on discretionary spending, and many of them have been reporting very disappointing sales numbers recently.  Sadly, the problems that our retailers are experiencing are only going to intensify as U.S. economic activity continues to slow down.

According to CBS News, U.S. retailers have announced the closing of more than 3,000 locations in 2024…

The retail industry is going through a tough time as it copes with inflation-weary consumers and a rash of bankruptcies, prompting chains to announce the closures of almost 3,200 brick-and-mortar stores so far in 2024, according to a new analysis.

That’s a 24% increase from a year ago, according to a report from retail data provider CoreSight, which tracks store closures and openings across the U.S.

The closing of 3,200 stores sounds really bad, but it is important to note that the quote above is from a CBS News story that was published on May 13th.

Since that time, there have been a lot more store closing announcements. For example, last week we learned that Big Lots plans to close nearly 300 stores…

Two months after announcing plans to close about 40 stores nationwide due to financial woes, Big Lots has indicated on its website it intends to close almost 300 stores.

The discount retailer announced in June it was facing several areas of financial strain that would result in 35-40 stores closing across the country. However, an audit of the Big Lots website on Aug. 2 reveals almost 300 stores are slated to close in the United States, including 18 in New England.

Meanwhile, a home goods retailer that has been in business since 1890 is preparing to permanently shut down over 170 stores…

A home goods retailer is closing all of its more than 170 stores after filing for bankruptcy.

Conn’s HomePlus, based in The Woodlands, Texas, operates stores in 15 states, including 11 in Louisiana. The company began in 1890 in Beaumont, TX. The Conn’s HomePlus store on Derek Drive in Lake Charles is included in the closures.

Burdorf Interiors has been in business for even longer, but now they have also reached the end of the road…

Burdorf Interiors, a 157-year-old local business, is shutting down, according to Louisville Business First.

The company announced the closure in a news release Wednesday.

“It’s with a heavy heart that we are announcing the closing of Burdorf Interiors,” the release said. “The business has been open in several locations throughout Louisville since 1867.

Just think about that.

They opened their doors just after the end of the Civil War, and now it is all over.

Drug store chains have been hit particularly hard by our ongoing retail apocalypse.

Rite Aid was once a retail powerhouse that was expanding like crazy, but now they plan to close 780 stores…

Rite Aid, which was based in East Pennsboro Township near Camp Hill for decades and is now based in Philadelphia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October to begin restructuring to significantly reduce its debt.

Since October, the company has announced in bankruptcy filings the closing of 780 stores.

Of course Dollar Tree has Rite Aid beat.

During the course of the next few years, Dollar Tree plans to close almost 1,000 stores…

Dollar Tree on Wednesday said it plans to close nearly 1,000 stores over the next several years, after disclosing significant losses in its latest earnings report.

The discount store chain lost $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter, down sharply from earnings of $452.2 million a year ago.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.

Analysts at UBS are projecting that approximately 45,000 stores will be permanently shut down in the U.S. during the years in front of us…

About 45,000 retail stores may close in the coming years as retail’s physical footprint increasingly shifts to serve as fulfillment and distribution centers, UBS analysts led by Michael Lasser said in an April 22 report.

Can you imagine what this is going to look like?

Our landscape is going to be peppered with thousands upon thousands of derelict buildings that have been boarded up to keep criminals out.

Of course some of our core urban areas already have lots and lots of empty commercial spaces that used to be thriving retail locations.

One of the primary reasons why retailers are shutting down so many locations in core urban areas is because shoplifting in this country has risen to unprecedented levels.

According to a recent survey that was conducted by LendingTree, close to a fourth of the entire population admits that they have shoplifted…

Nearly one-quarter of American adults have shoplifted, according to a new survey from LendingTree, the personal finance site. Roughly 1 in 20 consumers have shoplifted within the past year.

Shoplifting is a complicated crime. The motive can range from adolescent rebellion to adult thrill-seeking to hand-to-mouth poverty. Many of us steal things we don’t need and won’t use.

“I’ve learned that a lot of people have given shoplifting a try for lots and lots of reasons,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.

At this point, shoplifting has become one of our primary national pastimes.

And it is increasingly becoming a “team sport” in many parts of the nation.

On Friday night, a team of approximately 50 teens stormed a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles and completely ransacked it…

A large group of juveniles used “bodily force” to ransack a 7-Eleven store in Los Angeles Friday night, authorities said.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA that about 50 teens descended upon the 7-Eleven at the corner of Olympic and La Cienega boulevards in Pico-Robertson at 7:50 p.m.

The teens, many of whom were wearing masks, forcibly stole property from the store, the spokesperson said.

This particular incident barely made a blip in the news cycle.

Why?

These days, giant mobs loot stores so frequently that this sort of thing isn’t even considered to be very newsworthy anymore.

The thin veneer of civilization that we are all depend upon is disintegrating right in front of our eyes, and our once great country is descending into complete and utter chaos.

If things are this bad now, what will our cities look like once economic conditions become far more painful than they are currently?

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.