US Retailers Face Up To Longer Shutdown Periods

When retailers first announced temporary closures in mid-March, most were set to last for approximately two weeks. These closure timelines were then typically updated to “until further notice” (see our timeline graphic below). From the start, we have expressed skepticism that closures would be implemented for just a couple of weeks, and we see closures of around three months as more likely.

The impacts of long-term, coronavirus-driven store closures will be severe, and we will continue to cover this topic in our research reports, on our Coronavirus Tracker and here on our blog. Over the weekend, we published our tentative estimates for the impact on US retail sales of closures and depressed demand, and what the shape of a retail recovery could look like.