In 2020 and 2021, the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to change everything about the way they do business. And even as Maryland recovers from shutdowns, shifts in consumer buying habits amid nagging inflation have hurt long-standing retail brick-and-mortar businesses.

As the threat of recession looms over Maryland, chains could face yet another difficult year with a whole new set of challenges. Months of inflation have caused operating costs at retail spaces to spike and have chipped away at the sales of mid-tier retailers, experts said.

Even for chains that survived the pandemic, a spate of closures could be on the horizon for both department stores and large retailers in 2023, UBS analysts predicted in mid-December of 2022.

“These trends are likely not good for department stores as both luxury companies, as well as off-price retailers, compete directly with department stores,” UBS analysts Jay Sole, Mauricio Serna, Shoshana Pollack, and Tiffany Agard told Insider. “We expect department stores to close locations as challenges persist.”