Hunger Games: Grocers, Restaurants Leading Retail Growth

Here’s something to look forward to: Brick-and-mortar store openings in 2022 are on pace to outnumber store closings for the first time in five years. The trend is an ironic byproduct of the pandemic, said Erik Foster, a Chicago-based principal and head of industrial capital markets at Avison Young. As many people moved to up-and-coming metro areas these past two years, many retail chains have followed.

“There’s a lot of that momentum that’s going to where people are wanting to live,” he said.