Stores Face the Retail Plague, Close Doors in 2014

This year stirred up the pot of new store closings, not because the retail industry as a whole is in crisis, but because some retailers have found it difficult (or nearly impossible) to keep up in the fast-moving, competitive retailing environment. Following the growth of e-commerce and mobile shopping, retailers have been forced to downsize brick-and-mortar locations in an attempt to "be where the customers are." Driving traffic to the web and mobile, consumers have cast their vote for which store experiences have value and which ones can be easily replaced.