A new National Retail Federation article addresses a recent report that an estimated 75,000 stores in the U.S. will have to close by 2026 due to the growth of online shopping.

The article quotes retail analyst Greg Buzek who addressed the false assumptions in the projection. The trend toward online sellers opening brick-and-mortar stores such as Amazon.com means 850 new stores will open across the country in the next five years, Buzek said.

A related trend of buying online and picking up the merchandise at the store also means that many stores pegged for closing will need to remain open. This trend is growing due to reports of people stealing packages delivered to customers’ homes.

“By simplifying that if online sales go up, store sales must go down, thus stores must close creates a headline that is very misleading,” Buzek said.

Click here to read the entire piece.

Source: National Retail Federation