retail apocalypse

noun

The closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores in the United States, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010.

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Meanings

nounretail apocalypse (usually uncountable, plural retail apocalypses)

plural retail apocalypses

  1. USuncountableusuallyurban studieseconomicsThe closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores in the United States, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010.

    The threat of a retail apocalypse coming for your business depends on the specific retail category and your current operations.

    2023 March 12, Jake Rheude, “Retail Apocalypse: What Is It and Should You Follow the Trend?”, in Loss Prevention Magazine
    1 more example

    Toys “R” Us is hardly the only retail operation to learn this lesson the hard way. The so-called retail apocalypse felled roughly 7,000 stores and eliminated more than 50,000 jobs in 2017.

    2018 June 13, Bryce Covert, “The Demise of Toys 'R' Us Is a Warning”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN

Origin

First appeared in print in an essay titled It's Not My Department! in the early 1990s by author Peter Glen.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

retail apocalypse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retail%20apocalypse

MLA

“retail apocalypse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retail%20apocalypse. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retail apocalypse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retail%20apocalypse.

Source: retail apocalypse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.