Shops Shut as Wind Goes Out of Sales

Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—and some analysts predict rates as high as 12.5% by the end of 2008.

Following on the heels of a years-long period of booming expansion, the industry is now digging in to weather the storm. "This is economic Darwinism," said one analyst, predicting retail bankruptcy rates will reach highs not seen since the 1991 recession, with stores like the Sharper Image and furniture chain Bombay Co. leading the way. (More retail sales stories.)