These Five Wisconsin Stores Could Be Closing Very Soon

More brick-and-mortar retail locations are struggling and closing daily.  Some are local or regional businesses, others are national chains that may be thriving in one area, but dying in another.

There are many reasons behind these stores closing.  People can now easily shop online.  The convenience of a few clicks and your purchase showing up at your doorstep within days is appealing.

People aren't spending as much money.  Or they are, but the money doesn't go as far with record inflation.

And finally, locations are closing due to high crime.  The same company can sell these items online with little to no risk of theft. The below 5 stores are ones folks in Wisconsin could be seeing less of soon.

What Types Of Retail Stores Are Going Strong?

Some stores are still doing quite well. Grocery stores are booming with places like Aldi rapidly expanding.  While they still have to deal with economics and crime, online shopping is more difficult for groceries.

The others are the big box home improvement stores.  Not all are doing great, but most Home Depot/Lowes stores are showing profit.  These are items people either need immediately or want to touch and feel.

Wisconsin Stores That Could Be Closed Soon

Meanwhile, these stores are closing locations and will shut more doors in 2024.

#5 - Walgreens

We are personally seeing this happen as our neighborhood Walgreens right down the street from the radio station closes its doors.  And that one is not alone.  Walgreens is set to close 150 locations by August of 2024.

#4 - Walmart

At first, this one doesn't make sense.  They sell groceries and they are one of, if not the, cheapest places for pretty much everything.  So why are they closing stores?

Location, location, location.  See point 3 above.  The company is expanding in some areas, but some stores are crumbling with theft and are giving up on trying to serve the community from those locations.

#3 - Macy's

Maybe Macy's needs to stop spending so much money on a parade.

Macy's is hurting as the mall anchor store is watching malls across the country dissolve.  The company is planning to close about 150 stores nationwide.

#2 - Dollar Tree/Family Dollar

Again, you'd think these types of stores would be thriving.  Everyone is looking for a deal these days.  So why are they closing 600-1000 stores nationwide? According to CBS News:

The retailer's family of brands has struggled as inflation impacts its low-income shoppers' wallets.

More incidences of shoplifting are also hurting its bottom line, the retailer has said.

Get our free mobile app

#1 - Best Buy

Remember going to Best Buy and searching through the CDs?  I found so many random CDs at Best Buy in Eau Claire and Madison.  They would get these random European versions of singles.  So random...and so awesome.

Now, there are no CDs.  No DVDs/Blu-Rays.  They have TVs, computers, and phones and are trying to compete with the home improvement stores to sell appliances.

While seeing and touching a TV or computer before buying it is nice, think about how big a Best Buy is.  They don't need that much room.  So the cost of the store vs. what they are selling is not balancing.

If Best Buy wants to survive on what they do best they'd abandon the large stores and move into buildings about half the size. At this point, they are only "planning" to close 15 stores.  That is about 2% of the stores nationwide.  But to me, that is just the start of what we will see more of shortly for the once electronics go to store.