The Changing Retail Landscape in 2025: How Economic Shifts and E-commerce Are Reshaping the Industry

The retail industry is undergoing a colossal transformation, shaped by economic shifts and the growing dominance of e-commerce. As big box retailers face closures and online shopping continues to rush, wholesale liquidation suppliers are seizing the opportunity. This shift is allowing for the the growth of discount stores, bin stores all. while the liquidation market is reshaping how consumers show and how businesses operate. In this blog we'll explore how these changes are impacting the retail landscape and creating new opportunities for shoppers and businesses.

The Retail Apocalypse: Major Chains Closing in 2025

As store closures become a thing of 2025, several major retail chains are struggling to stay afloat. Big Lots has already closed over 400 stores as of February 2025. There were 1,392 Big Lots stores at the start of 2024, and now stand with less than 900! Macy’s, and CVS are closing down locations as well. These closures aren’t limited to these brands- other retailers like J.C. Penney, Kmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond have also been heavily affected. So, why are these stores closing, and how does this create an opportunity for liquidations resellers?

Why Are Retail Chains Closing?

Inflation and Economic Uncertainty: With inflation concerns and fears of a recession, consumer spending has decreased significantly. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economic activity, and that number has dropped by 0.2% in the month of February- the biggest decrease in nearly four years (Reuters, 2025). As consumers become more cautious with their spending, even long standing retailers are experiencing drops in both foot traffic and sales.
Over Expansion of Retail: During the 2010s, retailers expanded aggressively, opening new stores to capture market presence. This was driven by the belief that more physical locations would mean greater brand visibility, customer acquisition, and sales. Now, this over expansion is backfiring. Too many brick-and-mortar locations are spreading resources thin and leading to higher operating costs.
The Shift Toward E-Commerce: Consumers have rapidly adapted to shopping online, attracted by the convenience and variety. This was particularly lead through platforms like Amazon, which shifted spending to online purchases. Even large brands, like Walmart and Target, are focusing more on e-commerce growth and streamlining their physical stores.

What Does This Mean for Liquidation Buyers?

More big name store closures equate to more liquidation inventory flooding the market. Wholesale liquidation suppliers have a unique opportunity to come by valuable products at a fraction of the retail price, often in bulk. The rise of liquidation truckloads has become a vital part of this evolving retail landscape.

The Rise of E-Commerce and Its Impact on Returns & Liquidation

The e-commerce boom, driven by giants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, has significantly transformed the retail landscape. Although shopping online provides unmatched convenience, it has also created difficulties in managing inventory, especially when it comes to processing customer returns.

Returns Are Skyrocketing

Studies show that 16%-20% of all online purchases are returned, a remarkable statistic that has resulted in a surplus of returned items that have to be resold or liquidated. In 2025, this trend continues to grown, with more customers relying on online shopping for their retail purchases.

Where Do Returns Go?

Returned goods typically end up in discount stores, bin stores, or are sold in bulk through liquidation truckloads. These products may range from electronics and furniture to clothing and home goods. Liquidation buyers can access these returns through wholesalers like Select Liquidation, who specialize in selling surplus stock.

For example, liquidation buyers can find an increasing number of Amazon return pallets, or even stock from smaller companies that overstocked or miscalculated demand.

Capitalizing on Liquidation Returns

As e-commerce continues to rise, so will the volume of returns. Smart entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this expanding market by reselling return pallets form Amazon and surplus inventory from major retailers like Target and Walmart.

Profitable Tips for Liquidation Buyers

Develop strong relationships with reputable liquidation wholesalers to make sure you’re sourcing quality merchandise at competitive prices. By building trust, you can gain access to a reliable supply of products, better deals, and lead to improved margins.
Diversify the types of products you purchase to target various consumers. By offering customers a diverse selection that caters to different preferences, needs, and tastes you can reach multiple target audiences. This enhances your market presence and minimizes the risks associated with relying on a single product category like market saturation, seasonality fluctuations, and increased competition.
Focus on niche markets, such as refurbished electronics or surplus home goods. You can cater to specific customer needs and interests. By doing this, you can establish a reputation as the go-to source for those products, making it easier for customers to find you and others to recommend you.

Discount & Bin Stores: The New Face of Retail

As inflation drives up prices, consumers are flocking to discount stores and bin stores for affordable shopping alternatives. These stores have become the go-to destinations for budget conscious shoppers, offering not only significant savings but also a sense of adventure in finding new products. Customers are drawn to the excitement of finding unexpected deals and cool items, making bin stores not only a practical choice, but a fun experience.

Why Consumers Prefer Discount Stores

As traditional retail becomes too expensive for many, shoppers are increasingly turning to bin stores to find great deals. The thrill of a treasure hunt for discounted products attracts a wide range of consumers—from bargain hunters to smart shoppers.

The Shift in Consumer Mindset:

Value Over Brand: Today’s consumers are focusing more on value rather than the brand names or fancy packaging.
Increased Price Sensitivity: With inflation concerns, consumers are looking for more affordable options. Discount stores are meeting this demand by offering competitive prices without compromising on the quality.

The Growth of Liquidation-Based Retail

Business models like pallet flipping and reselling liquidation merchandise are thriving in this new retail environment. As major retailers like Target, Amazon, and Walmart are flooding the market with liquidation inventory, creating new opportunities for wholesale liquidation suppliers.

Liquidation-Based Retail's Booming Success:

Bin Stores: These stores are becoming increasingly popular, and many entrepreneurs are capitalizing on their growth. They’re offering shoppers a mix of discounted merchandise in bins or pallets, creating an exciting and affordable shopping experience.
Pallet Flipping: This business model, where buyers purchase liquidation truckloads or pallets and resell them for a profit, continues to grow, especially in the wake of store closures and surplus inventory.
Online Platforms: With the rise of e-commerce, many liquidation resellers are now turning to online platforms like eBay and Amazon to sell their discounted inventory. These platforms make it easier to target a vast audience and the ability to reach customers beyond local markets.

In this booming industry, entrepreneurs can capitalize on a variety of retail strategies, whether through the resale of liquidation pallets, bin stores, or online platforms. As this environment continues to shift, liquidation based models present exciting opportunities for those ready to tap into a growing market.

The Future of Retail

The future of retail seems to be focused around discount stores, bin stores, and liquidation markets. As traditional retailers face economic pressure and store closure, they will likely continue to move more of their inventory through liquidators, creating vast opportunities for liquidation buyers to profit. This is expected to continue, with more inventory flowing through liquidators and opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs and liquidation resellers to capitalize on discounted merchandise. Resellers, in turn, are set to profit by reselling the products at a higher value.

This shift towards liquidation based retail models reflects a broader change in consumer behavior, with shoppers looking for bargains and unique finds at discounted prices. As the demand for affordable merchandise grows, especially in our current time of rising costs and inflation, the liquidation market will expand further.

With large retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon relying on liquidators to manage their surplus goods, the liquidation market is becoming a key player in the retail landscape.

How Tariffs and Trade Policies Could Reshape Retail in 2025

Shifts in tariffs and trade policies, particularly regarding imports from China, will continue to affect the retail industry in 2025. By staying informed about these changes, liquidation resellers can more effectively predict price changes and find opportunities to boost their profit margins.

Tariff Increases on Imports

Increased tariffs on goods from China could lead to higher prices for commonly sold retail products. As costs continue to rise, large retailers will most likely raise their prices, making them less competitive. This could results in more store closures and an influx in surplus inventory, which would then flow into the liquidation market.

More Store Closures

Rising costs from tariffs could drive more retailers to shut down unprofitable stores or scale back operations, which would lead to even more liquidation inventories flooding the market.

Trump’s Trade Policies and Retail Impact

President Donald Trump's trade policies have significantly influenced the e-commerce and retail sectors. In his second term, President Trump imposed substantial tariffs on imports from key trading partners like China, Canada, and Mexico.

For liquidation resellers, these policies present both opportunities and challenges. Increased tariffs and supply chain disruptions can lead to higher prices and reduced availability of certain goods. On the other hand, as retailers look to offload excess inventory to maintain profitability, liquidation markets can see an influx of discounted goods. Buyers can capitalize on these opportunities by sourcing products affected by tariffs, potentially opening up opportunities for lucrative resale.

Though some policies were focused on reducing dependence on Chinese manufacturing, higher taxes and tariffs on imports could potentially create more opportunities for liquidation buyers as retail goods become harder to source or more expensive to sell.

How Liquidation Buyers Can Profit from These Retail Changes

As the retail landscape shifts, there are several ways for liquidation buyers to profit from these changes.

More Store Closures = More Liquidation Inventory

As major retailers close their stores, more liquidation truckloads will become available, providing an opportunity to source products at deeply discounted prices. Wholesale liquidation suppliers can step in to help retailers offload unsold merchandise quickly.

Bin Stores and Discount Shops Are the Future

If you're not in the liquidation retail business yet, now is the time to start. Starting bin stores or discount stores can offer great returns, especially as more consumers look for affordable shopping options.

Amazon Returns and Reselling

Amazon returns are a goldmine for resellers. By buying liquidation pallets filled with returned items, buyers gain access to products that can be resold online or in physical stores. These items often sold at a fraction of their original cost, can be turned into a profitable venture.

Conclusion

The retail industry in 2025 is evolving at an accelerated pace due to economic shifts, the rapid growth of e-commerce, and the expansion of the liquidation market. With store closures, increased returns, and a shift towards discount stores, liquidation buyers have ample opportunity to thrive in this changing landscape. Now is the perfect time to explore liquidation pallets, bin stores, and resale businesses as the industry reshapes itself.