Until recently, Bronxville's Pondfield Road was a downtown success story in the increasingly competitive retail world where many brick-and-mortar stores are forced to close in the era of online shopping.

Now, Bronxville, one of the wealthiest communities in Westchester, has started to experience the same pain as many other municipalities in the region: A handful of downtown retailers have shuttered their doors, leaving behind "for rent" signs on the village's thoroughfare.

"It’s been happening elsewhere for the last decade, and finally, after 10 or 15 years, it’s happening here," said village resident Julia Murphy, as she walked by Pondfield Road recently. "​​​​​​It’s seeping into the whole economy, seeping into Scarsdale, Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue."

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Retailers are closing stores at a record pace throughout the nation. The number of stores announced to be closed in the first quarter of 2017 — 3,337 — is nearly as many as all of 2016 when 3,435 stores were announced to be closed, according to International Council of Shopping Centers.

Along with national brands, mom-and-pop retailers facing declining in-store sales are also closing their doors. The impact has been felt in many corners of downtown business districts in the region, and local officials are taking steps to combat further decline.

CHART: Announced storefront closures nationwide

Confluence of factors

From rising rents to declining foot traffic, retailers close their stores for a combination of reasons. In the case of the once-thriving Mount Kisco downtown, the recent downturn began as a reaction on the part of corporations to the impact of the recession, said Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich.

"Unfortunately, those vacancies are created due to a global economic problem," said Cindrich, citing the Borders book store and the Cosi restaurant — both businesses were doing fine locally but closed because of the corporations' overall financial decline — as examples. "For small businesses — they can't survive without anchor stores to draw people in."

Mount Kisco welcomed a couple of new businesses in recent years, such as Modell's Sporting Goods and Siegel Bros. Downtown corridors on Moger Avenue and Main Street remain plagued by more than a dozen empty storefronts.

Shirley Wang, who has managed Rose Garden Jewelers on Moger Avenue for 25 years, said her store may be the next to go.

"My old customers are not around anymore," said Wang, who is holding a closing sale. "And younger people, they don't know me, and they probably don't give me a try."

In Larchmont, much loved retailers, such as Wendy Gee!, an iconic gift shop on Palmer Avenue, as well as Wraps & Things, a local lunchtime favorite at the corner of Palmer and Larchmont avenues, closed their doors.

"Those storefronts are all still vacant," said Adrienne Weiss-Harrison, a longtime village resident. "I am concerned. I think a lot of people in the town are concerned."

Internet-proof

Nationwide, traditional retail stores — selling goods such as clothing or gift items — are becoming less of a component of downtown, said James Ryan, principal of JMC, a land use, planning and civil engineering firm based in Armonk.

Those stores are being replaced by internet-proof, service-oriented businesses — such as boutique fitness studios or other specialty services — and restaurants, he said.

"The difficulty is that … in a lot of cases, the current zoning (in many Westchester communities) doesn’t allow those uses," he said. "So when a developer comes to me ... I tell them that the approval process is going to be a three-months process. Then often times, they'll go somewhere else."

Recognizing the changing nature of the retail landscape, Bronxville village officials in 2014 welcomed two fitness studios — indoor cycling SoulCycle and barre workout Pure Barre — in the downtown by granting them special permits.

Those new businesses not only filled vacant retail storefronts but also brought back people to downtown, said James Gordon, CEO and real estate broker with Admiral Real Estate Services Corp. based in Bronxville.

"The municipality worked with the retailers and landlords to work through the code system to make it easier for retailers to come in," Gordon said.

The village is further revamping zoning codes for the business district, said Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin.

"You have to take your village code and make sure that it’s working for the 2017 lifestyle without diminishing the quality," Marvin said. "It’s a fine line because you want to make sure that we reflect the lifestyle of your residents, but you are not diminishing the beauty or the standards of your community."

Marvin has recently reconvened the village's Retail Mix and Marketing Committee, which brings together landlords, merchants and shoppers to find solutions to downtown store vacancies.

Larchmont officials are also taking action to bring back vibrancy to its downtown business district, said Mayor Lorraine Walsh. The village's initiatives include formulating its retail strategy with the help of Susan Fine and Jill Hayman of Fine Development Partners, a consulting firm that specializes in analyzing and implementing complex real estate projects.

"This is our top priority as the village board," Walsh said.

Foot traffic

Cindrich, of Mount Kisco, said to boost foot traffic in downtown, his village is revisiting its comprehensive plan.

"The village is considering building a transit-oriented development in our downtown," Cindrich said, adding that would "attract more millennials and empty-nesters into our business district."

If approved, Mount Kisco would join more than a handful of Lower Hudson Valley communities that have adopted the transit-oriented development concept to transform their once-neglected downtowns. Thousands of apartments, along with retail and office spaces, are being proposed and constructed near transit-hubs, including White Plains, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Port Chester.

Another way to maintain vibrancy in downtown is to include some cultural and entertainment features to draw people from outside. The method is working in Pleasantville, just two stations away from Mount Kisco on Metro-North's Harlem line.

Pleasantville village Mayor Peter Scherer said downtown shops and restaurants gain extra exposure thanks to the Jacob Burns Film Center and a popular Saturday morning farmers market. The village downtown also serves as a transit hub for commuters, local employees and college students, generating additional foot traffic.

"The mantra for Pleasantville has been a modest growth and reinvestment in existing properties to keep this place as a tight, small, welcoming place that it has been for many years,"Scherersaid.

Shop local

Against all odds, some longtime retailers are still fighting a good fight against online competitors.

Gene Sgarlata, who owns the Womrath Bookshop on Pondfield Road in Bronxville, said creating a welcoming place where customers can expect personalized attention has been one of his business strategies.

"When somebody comes in, and they need help, we can give them guidance to help them select something," Sgarlata said but added: "We do okay, but getting tough, with all the variables, the Internet, Amazon."

To assist local merchants, Marvin, the Bronxville mayor, sent out a letter to residents, saying that from the village's sales tax revenues to their homes' property values, the vibrancy of the local business district is directly connected to the long-term health of the community.

"Our business district is at a crossroads, and our merchants need you now more than ever," Marvin wrote in the letter, which was mailed along with the village's tax bills. "I urge you to think local and shop local. Everyone will benefit."

Walsh, of Larchmont, echoed Marvin's sentiment in her letter published in the recent OurVillage newsletter.

"A downtown needs people walking, shopping and gathering with friends and neighbors," she said. "It's the people that energize and support our business districts, creating buzz and excitement about Larchmont as a destination for shopping and dining."

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