Dick’s Sporting Goods has agreed to buy smaller rival Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, the second major footwear deal this month after the buyout of Skechers, as US retailers look to navigate a tough demand landscape.

Short interest has risen 7.8% during the past two reporting periods, which now accounts for more than 16% of the stock's total available float. At the stock's average pace of daily trading, it would take shorts three days to buy back their bearish bets.