Despite the slow reopening of the economy, the COVID-19-battered retail sector is nonetheless predicted to experience up to 25,000 store closures this year as a result of the pandemic's economic chaos, said CNBC. The projection was made by business research firm Coresight, which had previously predicted 15,000 store closings. So far, the company had recorded over 9,000 store closings across the country.

Of the new projected closings, it is estimated that 55 to 60 percent will be in America's shopping malls, which have been ailing since long before the pandemic. One example might be the recently opened American Dream mall in New Jersey. Designed to bolster its retail stores with entertainment options such as an indoor ski slope and a water park, the sudden arrival of the pandemic shuttered the facility just before it could fully open, leaving the owners $5 billion in debt. Even as the economy reopens, Bloomberg notes it is unlikely that the mall will be able to draw the numbers it had originally anticipated, as it will be doing so at a time when people are especially uncomfortable gathering in large crowds.