Executive Summary

• The US retail industry is experiencing a period of revolution rather than evolution. Three things characterize the current transformation: traditional retailers such as department stores and specialty retailers are undergoing huge disruption, emerging players in different segments are intensifying competition and higher e-commerce penetration is challenging brick-and-mortar retailers.
• The rate of change seems to be accelerating. Retailers have already announced a total of 5,321 store closures so far this year, up 218% year over year, and 11 retailers have filed for bankruptcy year to date.
• Amid this accelerated disruption, we have identified a number of potential solutions US retailers can implement to address the fundamental challenges they face.
• These include further store closures to optimize store bases, transforming the store experience beyond the transactional and implementing innovative, all-channel initiatives to compete with the convenience offered by e-commerce.