According to Business Insider, more than 1,000 new retail stores are scheduled to open across the United States in 2026. The expansion marks a reversal from the closure-heavy years of 2020-2023 and signals that physical retail location operators see demand for brick-and-mortar touchpoints even as ecommerce takes a larger share of total spend. The implication for physical-product brands: shelf space is opening up, and the landlords need tenants who can move volume.
The mechanics are straightforward. National chains including fitness apparel, home goods, and value retailers are signing leases in reconfigured mall anchors, outparcels, and urban storefronts. Mall operators such as Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties are converting former department-store boxes into multi-tenant retail districts, and those tenants need inventory partners. Wholesale buyers at these chains are filling assortments now for fall 2025 and spring 2026 delivery windows.
This works because the store buildout timeline creates a procurement vacuum. A retailer signing a lease today needs to lock suppliers six to nine months before doors open. Buyers are less risk-averse during expansion cycles—they need product to fill fixtures, and an unknown brand with a clean line and reliable lead time can win a test buy that would not clear the door during a contraction year. The expansion also pressures existing tenants to refresh assortments or risk looking stale next to new competition, which opens secondary reorder opportunities for brands already on file.
For a small physical-product brand, the play is to position as the reliable fill-in supplier during this pre-opening scramble. Identify which chains are opening locations in your category—apparel, home, gift, wellness—and cold-reach the regional or category buyer with a concise pitch: you ship on time, you hold safety stock, and you can deliver a test assortment of 200-500 units per door with 60-day payment terms. Reference the expansion announcement by name and date. Offer to send samples and a line sheet within 48 hours. Keep the SKU count tight—three to five hero items, not a 40-piece catalog. Budget roughly $8,000 to $15,000 for the first production run to cover minimums, freight, and net terms. If the test performs, the reorder comes faster than in a stable environment because the buyer has empty fixtures and a revenue plan to hit.
The secondary move is to approach landlords directly. Mall operators and lifestyle-center developers often maintain lists of preferred emerging brands they introduce to anchor tenants. A direct inquiry to the leasing office—formatted as a tenant prospect, not a vendor—can surface introductions that bypass the retailer's buyer queue. Offer a pop-up or short-term lease test in an empty inline space. Landlords under pressure to show occupancy will deal. Performance data from that test becomes your credential when you approach the national buyer at the chain three doors down.
The 2026 expansion window will not last. Retail construction cycles run 18 to 24 months from lease signing to door opening, which means the majority of new-store buyer mandates will close by mid-2025. Brands that ship samples and lock test orders in Q2 2025 will have product on shelves when traffic peaks in Q4 2026. Brands that wait for the stores to open will pitch into a market that has already filled its assortments and moved to reorder mode, where incumbent suppliers hold the advantage.