Boston Retail Market Report

Construction slowdown helps offset market headwinds. Boston’s retail sector has been under pressure in 2025, influenced by large-scale restructuring at Walgreens and CVS, and the bankruptcy of Rite Aid. The store closures that resulted played a role in the metro’s vacant stock growing by more than 1 million square feet in the first half. That said, the number of store closures is expected to ease in the coming months, as the bulk of drug-store and other move outs were front-loaded in the first half of 2025. With retail completions at historic lows and more than 80 percent of this year’s pipeline preleased as of August, supply-side pressure should remain low, setting the stage for potential demand stabilization later in the year.