A US Bank branch recently closed in a local Kroger store.
A Facebook user posted about the closure in the group Retail Dead or Alive. They included photos of the now empty space, saying “US Bank inside of Kroger. It was open about a month ago.”
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In the photo, a sign on the door says the effective closing date was August 1.
Financial institutions have been closing in-store branches at a higher rate after the pandemic. A report from S&P Global Market Intelligence from last October showed pre-pandemic closure rates of branches in retail stores was 4.2% in 2019.
By 2021, the closure rate of such branches was 17.5%.
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That rate is slowing down, though still high. By 2023, banks closed 10.7% of their in-store branches, which is still more than seven times the closure rate for other types of branches.
In the comments, Facebook users shared their experiences of similar scenarios happening near them.
One person said: “Fifth Third has been slowly closing their Kroger branches here in Cincinnati for a while now. I’m assuming all locations will eventually be gone.”
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Another wrote: “Kroger by my house turned their old bank space into grocery delivery/pickup service.”
The Wall Street Journal reported the popularity of mobile banking could be the catalyst for the high number of bank closures. Online banking offers higher interest rates and lower fees for banks, as well as allowing them to minimize costs by limiting their physical footprint.
Forbes reported that as of 2022, roughly 78% of adults in the U.S. prefer mobile banking than visiting their local branch in person.
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Among all bank branch types, 2,454 branches closed in 2023. This year, major banks have already closed over 400 branches as well, according to the WSJ.
