Recently, San Francisco has been the center of conversations surrounding heavy liberal-leaning policies. Businesses like cannabis dispensaries can operate with far more latitude compared to most other cities in the country. San Francisco also has a considerably relaxed approach to addressing homelessness, drug dealing, and petty crimes such as #shoplifting. 

Some believe that these liberal relaxed policies have forced retailers out of the city, including the recent closures of Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Saks Off 5th, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, nd Office Depot, and more.  These retailers leave because of increased theft of their goods,increased homelessness on sidewalks in front of stores, and open drug use throughout the city.. They believe that the city's just not a safe place to conduct business, and have used this narrative when announcing closures. 

Others argue that this is just an excuse to vacate an area that was largely impacted by the pandemic which still lingers with sustained remote work. Also, the economic downturn, layoffs, and inflation are causing consumers to spend less. Also, changes in consumer shopping behavior are negatively impacting sales,  and finding a way to blame it on the local politics is a better story to tell than to have to admit poor financial figures.

This leads to the big question, are San Francisco’s liberal-leaning policies the primary cause in retailers leaving the city?