Walmart, Target, and More: What Retail Chaos Means for Missouri

In case you haven't noticed, the retail store business has been in a bit of chaos this year with numerous closings and changes. What exactly does that mean for the many big box stores like Walmart and Target in Missouri? Let's take a deep dive and see where the trends are leading.

What is retail chaos anyway?

There are two answers to that question. Heavy customer traffic, inadequate staffing, insufficient inventory, disorganized displays, or poor operational systems can and do result in profits falling for a retailer. Retail Insight described stores that have these characteristics saying they "feel like a battlefield". How many Missouri stores have you been in where this is how you feel and what is the result? This is one of the many reasons why online shopping is thriving and brick and mortar retail is struggling.

That leads to the second answer about retail chaos in Missouri when even big box stores begin closing locations because of less traffic and business. Business Insider documented how Walmart closed many underperforming stores in the past year.

How do Missouri stores fix retail chaos?

There's another issue that has caused retail chaos and that's shoplifting. Target has issued a statement recently about how their improved anti-shoplifting measures have greatly reduced store profit loss, but there's an argument on Reddit about whether those changes are good or bad for paying customers.

The hope is that the available workforce will increase and in-store training of staffs will improve to help turnaround this trend of Missouri stores closing. Will that make 2025 a better year than 2025 for Missouri retail? Let's hope.