These Beloved Businesses Permanently Closed In Rhode Island In 2025

The holiday shopping season is almost upon us, and Rhode Island consumers might be surprised to see that some of their favorite brick-and-mortar stores have disappeared since they last checked off gifts on Santa’s list.

Popular fabric and crafts retailer Joann closed its Rhode Island store earlier this year. There are multiple reasons, but a big one is e-commerce competition. In a report last year, UBS analysts said another 45,000 stores may close by 2029 as retail’s physical footprint increasingly shifts to fulfillment and distribution centers.

Amid the store closures and constrictions, larger corporations such as Walmart, Costco, Target and Home Depot plan to expand, according to the analysis.

See also: Hasbro Pulling Out Of Pawtucket And Heading To Boston

Large businesses benefit from their size, which allows them to absorb higher costs and secure more favorable agreements compared to smaller businesses — especially the independent shops that anchor main streets across the country.

It only takes a small shift in the economy to sour what was once a profitable business. For many, “the tariffs are that kind of tipping point,” Scott Lincicome, vice president of economics and trade at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told Minnesota Public Radio’s “Marketplace.”

Even worse than losing retail and restaurants, Rhode Island lost Hasbro. The international toy and entertainment holding company is pulling out of Pawtucket and heading for Boston.

See also: Anchor Medical Out Of Business

The Ocean State also lost Anchor Medical, which shut down in the summer after serving Rhode Islanders for 25 years.

Consumers Fret About Prices

Every day, Americans are on the same precipice. Tariffs are adding to inflation, high credit card interest rates and other pressures already pushing many families to the edges of their financial comfort.

To get the best deals, many consumers began their holiday shopping last summer, before President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs on some of the top importers of U.S. consumer goods took effect. Nearly half (49%) of the 2,600 consumers surveyed by Bankrate said they planned to start buying gifts before Halloween, and 41% are worried about higher prices.

See also: Starbucks Plans Store Closures, Layoffs: What To Know In RI

“Tariff concerns are likely a prominent reason why more than 2 in 5 holiday shoppers fear higher prices this year,” said Ted Rossman, a senior analyst at Bankrate.

About 70% of those surveyed said they expect to spend the same (43%) or more (27%), according to the survey.

That could be good news for retail businesses that are dependent on the fourth-quarter holiday sales to finish the year in the black.