WASHINGTON (TNND) — Long gone are the days of hanging out at the mall. The closure of physical stores, known as the "retail apocalypse," has spread beyond large shopping centers to spots many would assume would always be there, like corner pharmacy corner stores.

Early last year, Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said, “I think the story for 2024 is pretty straightforward. It’s reenergize the retail part of our business, both front and back of the store in the context of a pretty tough consumer situation.”

By October, the company announced it would close 1,200 stores by 2027, including about 500 closures in 2025.

Competitors CVS closed nearly 600 locations last year, according to Coresight Research, and Rite Aid closed about 800 stores as part of a bankruptcy filing.

Other suburban staples are shutting down, too. After four decades, Party City is going out of business.

"Like many retailers, we’ve been operating in an immensely challenging environment with inflationary pressures on both costs and consumer spending, and while we did everything we could to navigate these headwinds, our very best efforts were ultimately not enough to overcome these challenges," the company said in a statement.

Discount chain Big Lots is expected to close all but a few hundred stores after the bankrupt company reached a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer some of its locations. It previously planned to close all of its stores.

Big Lots' president and CEO Bruce Thorn said the agreement "provides a framework to preserve thousands of jobs, maximize value, and maintain the Big Lots brand."

All of this adds into what Coresight found to be a 69% increase in brick-and-mortar retail store closures at the end of November last year from the same period in 2023.

Some reasons for closures may seem obvious: consumers prefer online shopping for its convenience and competitive pricing, customer behavior can be unpredictable during periods of high inflation and after the pandemic, many shifted their spending away from goods and toward services and experiences.

Perhaps a less apparent market force dragging down certain retailers is what's for many an unattainable housing market. High home prices and mortgage rates mean fewer people are buying and renovating property. Last year, both Lowe's and Home Depot said it weighed on their sales.

Big picture, Americans haven't stopped spending. Consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of GDP, which has consistently grown in recent years despite high inflation. Americans' spending has been so strong, it's often credited for staving off a dreaded post-pandemic recession.

It may just be a matter of how and where this spending occurs that shapes an uncomfortable time for retailers and their customers who prefer to make transactions in person.