Coronavirus has led to a record number of U.S. store closings in 2020 and to Manhattan’s retail rents plunging to historic lows, and the toll on the brick-and-mortar sector may not ease any time soon.
After a record 12,200-plus store closing announcements from major chains in 2020 that translate to a record 159 million square feet of emptied retail space, average retail vacancy rate will rise to 5.7% this year, the highest since 2015, from 5% last year, according to commercial real estate data firm CoStar. U.S. average retail rents dropped 0.7% last year, the first decline in nine years.