Oklahoma City retail is likely to see some growth in the coming year - but some older establishments are struggling. That’s according to the 2023 Mid-Year Retail Market Report from OKC’s Price Edwards and Company.

Bankruptcy news from Bed Bath and Beyond, Tuesday Morning, Party City and David’s Bridal means a smattering of locations will close. Bed Bath and Beyond and Tuesday Morning are liquidating — with the Bed Bath and Beyond name living on through Overstock.com, which is rebranding.

The report says these “failures” are mostly due to bad business plans and too much debt. Real estate experts still say the city’s limited supply of “good retail spaces” have been or are likely to be snapped up.

The report also finds retail occupancy has actually increased - with a surprising and “significant influx” of new tenants. The commercial property company, CoStar, finds the nation's retail vacancy is near an all-time low at 4.2 percent.

Price Edwards finds that can be seen in high-end mixed-use developments like Oak at Penn and Northwest Expressway, TheStacks in Yukon, Andretti Indoor Karting coming to the Half off Broadway Avenue, and a recent announcement of Dick’s House of Sports.

In the report, real estate experts also say various pandemic relief programs were a “direct shot in the arm to consumers,” who still have excess savings left over from the pandemic, and are still spending at the same rate as last year, even with savings dwindling.

But economists are still wary of various factors which can lead to a decrease in consumer confidence, such as a potential recession later this year, too much borrowing, running out of pandemic funds and an anticipated negative 2024 Presidential Election.