NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Shoppers and restaurant patrons in the United States were choosy about where and how to spend their money as they wrestled with high housing and food prices, reported The Associated Press (AP) on Monday, noting that these shifts changed the buying and eating landscape in 2024.
As of Dec. 20, Coresight Research tracked 48 retail bankruptcies in the United States, compared with 25 during the same period a year ago. And at least 22 restaurant chains filed for bankruptcy this year, the highest number since 2020, according to Bankruptcy Data, a company that tracks filings.
There were winners in 2024. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer typically shines during tough times as shoppers turn to the discounter for groceries, which account for 60 percent of Walmart's total business. McDonald's sales slumped as inflation-weary customers chose to eat at home instead of grabbing fast food, but a 5-U.S.-dollar meal deal introduced in June helped draw lower-income customers back into stores.
There were losers, too. Starbucks's Orders are getting increasingly complex, with thousands of ways to customize drinks, leading to long lines and incorrect pickup times on the mobile app. Several decades-old chains threw in the towel, succumbing to rising competition, changing dining patterns and big portfolios of outdated restaurants -- Red Lobster, TGI Fridays and Buca di Beppo all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shuttered dozens of locations.
In particular, department stores, which cater to middle income shoppers, have struggled to hold onto customers as many turn to online shopping or to fast-fashion retailers. Macy's said it would close 150 namesake stores over three years and open 15 higher-end Bloomingdale's. Upscale Nordstrom, the department store chain, agreed last week to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group.
