Retail real estate heads for dark 2017

Reeling from a shaky holiday season and slowing mall traffic, U.S. retailers are facing increasing pressure to close stores as more of their business migrates to the internet. More than 10 percent of U.S. retail space, or nearly 1 billion square feet, may need to be closed, converted to other uses or renegotiated for lower rent in coming years, according to data provided to Bloomberg by CoStar Group.