Macy's closing 4 Downtown stores across US

[Crawford]

It's true there is too much retail per person in the U.S., though. This indirectly hurts weaker downtowns in the retail environment can't compete with the newest, best options.

Practically every city in the U.S. had multiple department stores downtown, until some point where there was enough new suburban shopping to siphon downtown shoppers. Some smaller cities didn't get their first malls until the 1980's, so all the department stores were still downtown. Port Huron, MI was like that, with three department stores into the 80's. But then a mall opened, and all three stores closed within a year or two.

Canada has less shopping space per person, so that translates to a somewhat better environment for downtown retail. Canada also doesn't have the 1960's-1970's black-white issues that ensured downtown retail decline (note that almost all smaller U.S. cities with downtown retail bases have tiny black populations and therefore little unrest during those decades- the Spokanes and Salt Lakes of the world).

Though even in Canada, I would say most people shop just like they shop in the U.S. Outside of Toronto I'm not aware of too many thriving retail environments in Ontario. Places like Windsor, London, Hamilton, St. Catherines, Niagara Falls, Kitchener, etc. don't have much retail downtown, and are basically like their equivalents across the border.