New York City’s retail decline predates the pandemic, but a number of factors have sped it up and make recovery difficult, according to the Center for an Urban Future report. Those researchers cite “the rapid growth of online shopping, the increasing adoption of automation by retailers, the slow return of office workers and the sharp drop in the city’s population.”
Even the city’s restaurants have bounced back twice as fast as retail, with employment in that sector down 5.7%, per the report.
