1 of every 7 chain stores closed in New York City in 2020

The Real Deal has reported that 1 out of every 7 chain stores in New York City closed in 2020. With the lockdowns needed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, many New Yorkers fleeing the city at the height of the pandemic, and a decline in tourist traffic, chain stores took a big hit and shuttered rapidly across New York City.

Over 1000 chain stores across the city closed their doors in 2020 according to a report by the Center for an Urban future. This is the largest closure of chain stores since the center began compiling the report 13 years ago. In contrast, between 2019 and 2019, only 3.7 percent of chain stores closed across the five boroughs.

In 2019, there were 7948 chain stores across the five boroughs. At the end of this year, there is now 6891. Manhattan saw the most losses with 520 closures, making up almost half of the total between all five boroughs. 160 stores have temporarily closed due to COVID restrictions, so there is hope they will return in 2021.

Chain stores around office heavy areas have seen a major decline in traffic, leading many of them to close, particularly in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. As the majority of office workers have shifted to work from home, with the trend expected to continue through 2021, there won’t be any rebound for chain stores in these areas expected anytime soon.

No one is immune to economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, work from home, and the loss of tourism either. Dunkin’ Donuts closed 18 stores this year, and when even coffee is struggling to sell big, that’s never a good sign.

Fast-casual dining and fitness chains have been hit the hardest due to coronavirus lockdowns. The latter has only been able to operate at limited capacity beginning in September.