Hometown Glory

Houston rated America's No. 1 shopping city

Can you hear the siren song of the Galleria? Forbes can.

When it comes to shopping meccas, the Galleria and the rest of Houston simply can't be beat, according to Forbes, which has ranked us as the top American city for shopping.

To measure what makes a city click for both fashionistas and bargain hounds, Forbes tallied the number of major shopping centers, individual retail locations, the consumer price index, sales tax and even the number of Walmarts in every United States city with a population over 600,000.

Texas cities were big, with a quarter of the nation's 257 million square feet of gross leasable retail area in the state. Houston came out on top with almost 17,000 retail locations and 54 shopping centers.

In addition to the Galleria, Forbes and stylist Kate Barash name-check 310 Rosemont and Lot 8 as Houston's signature style boutiques.

Dallas came in third with 19,000 retail spaces and 28 malls, behind No. 2 Phoenix. Texas cities San Antonio (No. 8), Austin (No .12) and El Paso (No. 21) also represented.

Big cities with designer presence like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco scored towards the bottom of the top 25, with a lack of malls and high sales tax and prices the chief factors. Even New York's 75,000 retail locations couldn't move it above No. 22.

Now if only Houston could wrangle an H&M, we'd really have it all.

Editor's note: For more, check out KTRK Ch. 13's extensive photo gallery on Houston's shopping power.

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no more magic of macy's

Macy's to shutter dozens of stores nationwide, including 1 in Houston

Courtesy photo

Macy's said it would be moving forward with closing 66 locations, including Houston's Alameda Mall store.

A major department store name is contracting its presence in Texas: Macy's is planning on closing six of its locations statewide, including a Houston store, by the end of April 2025.

Macy's is the New York-based brand, which includes Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury.

According to a press release, the company will be closing 66 stores nationwide as a part of its "Bold New Chapter" strategy to make the company profitable again. In all, Macy's is planning on shuttering 150 "underproductive" locations by 2026.

The singular Houston Macy's that is included in the closure is located at Almeda Mall. A clearance sale is expected to begin this month and will last for approximately 8-12 weeks, according to a FAQ on the Macy's website. Shoppers who currently patronize that store will soon have to travel eight miles farther to Macy's Baybrook Mall location in Friendswood, or visit one of the three remaining locations in the city limits.

The five Dallas-Fort Worth stores that are closing include:

Macy's Village, 201 Stacy Rd. in Fairview
Shops at Willow Bend, 6209 W. Park Blvd. in Plano
Southlake Town Square, 321 State St. in Southlake
Market by Macy's WestBend, 1751 River Run #101 in Fort Worth
Highlands of Flower Mound, 6101 Long Prairie Rd. Suite 500 in Flower Mound

Though Texas is losing six stores, California and New York will be hit harder with the loss of nine stores each.

"Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go–forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service," said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. in the release.

shopping closings