Summer is coming to an end, which means kids head back to school, pumpkin spice lattes reign supreme, and the build up to the holidays begins.

This year, retailers are contending with concerns about Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods in the United States and the outcomes of Brexit in the United Kingdom as Q4 approaches. As a result, retailers are focusing less on the retail apocalypse and building out their omnichannel presence and more on navigating possible upheaval in the market.

This year, it's been clear that certain sectors are not successful. The apparel industry is struggling to keep up with the e-commerce market; so far this year, apparel stores have accounted for 36% of store closings and footwear stores for 28%. As of July 31, 2019, over 7,500 retail stores have closed. Compare that to over 5,500 in all of 2018. This scary number isn't the only alarming trend. Through August 2019, 13 brands filed for bankruptcy, up from 17 brands in all of 2018.

There is hope. As of July 31, 2019, over 3,000 stores opened, compared to 3,300 in all of 2018. However, most of these stores are general goods retailers, not apparel and footwear. So while there are more closures this year compared to last, there are also more openings.This signals industry-level change.