U.S. Retail MarketBeat Q4 2025

U.S. retail market fundamentals strengthened in Q4 2025 with net absorption reaching 3.4 million square feet—the strongest quarterly performance since Q4 2023—driven by discount retailers, grocery chains, and sporting goods stores backfilling vacant spaces, while the national vacancy rate finished at 5.7%, up 40 basis points from Q4 2024. Holiday sales grew 3.9%-4.2% year-over-year with 73% of purchases in physical stores, though new supply remained historically constrained at 10.2 million square feet for the full year, the lowest on record and 63% below the 2015-2019 average, while the under-construction pipeline of 12.7 million square feet represents the strongest level in five years with neighborhood centers driving 67% of activity.