.svg)
%20_%20Texas%20Roadhouse.avif)
In 2024, many inflation-squeezed consumers looked to budget-dining options or simply ate more meals at home. How did full-service chains Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse drive foot traffic in such a challenging macroeconomic environment? We dove into the data to find out.
In 2024, value was a key ingredient in Chili’s and Texas Roadhouses’ recipes for success – although each chain used a different strategy to communicate its affordability to consumers.
Chili’s leaned into budget-friendly meal deals in 2024. The chain’s rebooted 3 For Me value menu drove significant traffic in Q2 2024 (9.7% visit growth YoY), and visits skyrocketed again in the fall, due in part to the viral Fried Mozzarella appetizer, part of a Triple Dipper deal, and the promotional $6 “Witches Brew” margarita – propelling the chain to 23.0% YoY visit growth in Q4 2024.
Texas Roadhouse, on the other hand, doesn’t run promotions – and instead relies on its already strong value perception to drive traffic when budgets are tight. But the chain’s consistent YoY visit growth (7.2% in 2024) was also likely due to its growing real estate footprint: over 30 new locations that are approximately 10% larger than previous builds, allowing for higher guest volumes.
Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse’s value perception appears to attract many consumers from lower-income households – but the chains drive traffic from diners with slightly more discretionary income as well.
Diving into the demographic characteristics of visitors revealed that in 2024, Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse received a smaller share of visits from the households earning over $100K/year compared to the nationwide distribution. (Texas Roadhouse served a slightly smaller share of these households, likely due to its smaller market strategy.) At the same time, both chains drove a larger share of traffic from households earning less than $50K/year and between $50K and $100K/year, compared to the nationwide distribution. This suggests that Chili's and Texas Roadhouse visitors are likely seeking value for money, but a significant share have more discretionary income to spend on higher-priced items – like top-shelf margaritas and steaks – than the average U.S. consumer.
As Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse continue investing in innovations and technological solutions to improve efficiency and customer experience, the chains are likely to continue attracting visitors looking to get the most bang for their dining bucks in 2025.
Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse may attract visitors from a similar demographic, but analysis of the markets in which the chains drive the most visits reveals several distinct regional preferences among dining consumers nationwide.
In 2024, Texas Roadhouse received a greater share of visits in a majority of Midwest and Mid-Atlantic CBSAs – consistent with a smaller market strategy – while Chili's drove a greater share of visits in denser markets and a majority of the CBSAs in California, Texas, and Florida.
But despite these regional differences, the chains received a near-even share of visits. Texas Roadhouse, with 675 U.S. locations, claimed 51.2% of visits to both chains, while Chili’s with over 1200 locations claimed 48.8% of the chains’ combined visits.
Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse have found success by providing value for money that sets them apart from other full-service chains. Yet, both chains drive an above-average share of high-income traffic, indicating that they are winning with value-conscious consumers with the means to indulge.
For more data-driven dining insights, visit Placer.ai.
College students often have to count their pennies – but they also know how to have a good time and are willing to pony up for things that matter to them. So with spring semester underway, we dove into the data to explore collegiate dining habits in the University City district of Philadelphia, PA – home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, as well as several smaller schools. How does the campus vibe impact visitation trends at local convenience stores and restaurants?
We dove into the data to find out.
Wawa – famous for low prices and round-the-clock service – is the perfect place to grab a sandwich to fuel an all-night study session or a cup of coffee on the go. And the University City Wawa at 3724-2744 Spruce Street is a local landmark, serving everyone from students and university employees to other area residents.
Analyzing visitation patterns at the Spruce Street Wawa shows that the store’s visitation patterns mirror the rhythms of campus life – with an uptick in late-night visits and fewer early-morning ones. Between September and December 2024, for example, some 8.7% of visits to the Spruce Street location took place between midnight and 3:00 AM – far exceeding the chainwide average of 3.8%. Meanwhile, visits during the early morning hours (6:00 AM to 9:00 AM) remained subdued – a trend consistent with the typical university lifestyle. And while the average Wawa’s traffic peaked during lunchtime, the Spruce Street location peaked between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM – prime afternoon snack time.
Examining the Spruce Street Wawa’s captured market – i.e. the census block groups (CBGs) feeding visits to the store, weighted to reflect the share of visits from each CBG – shows that it is indeed college students driving the location’s late-night activity. Between September and December 2024, 63.3% of the Spruce Street Wawa’s captured market during the 12:00 AM - 3:00 AM daypart was made up of STI:Landscape’s “Collegian” segment – a group encompassing currently-enrolled college students living in dorms or off campus. By 3:00 AM, this share dropped to 12.2%, before bottoming out at 10.1% between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM – unthinkably early for many undergrads. The share of “Collegians” then began to climb back upwards, reaching just over 50.0% in the evening.
Of course, Wawa isn’t the only local dining spot to benefit from student patronage. Local favorites – from the full-service White Dog Cafe in University City to the quick-serve Kiwi Yogurt on Chestnut St. – also attract plenty of undergrads.
But while Kiwi Yogurt stands out as a key weekday attraction for busy students, White Dog Cafe is more of a weekend destination. On Mondays through Fridays, the share of “Collegians” in Kiwi Yogurt’s captured market stood at 36.4%, dropping to 22.6% on weekends. Meanwhile, White Dog Cafe experienced an opposite trend, with the share of “Collegians” increasing on weekends (36.7%) and declining during the week (24.5%).
Whether it’s a late-night Wawa hoagie run or a weekend brunch at White Dog Cafe, even skint college students can find room in their budgets for convenient snacks and fun outings with friends – funneling steady foot traffic to local restaurants, cafes, and stores.
How will student dining trends continue to evolve in 2025?
Follow Placer.ai to find out.
Looking at the discretionary categories that outperformed this holiday season, we may be on the cusp of a new trend heading into 2025: reinvention. Our data highlights that home furnishings, beauty, and apparel were among the top-performing discretionary retail categories in terms of year-over-year visits during November and December, as shown below.
The performance of these three categories is notable for different reasons. After significant declines earlier in the year, the home furnishings category rebounded strongly. As discussed in November, this recovery was supported by strength in the housewares category and mattress retailers. Housewares retail has generally outperformed home furnishings over the past few years – a trend partly attributed to increased out-of-home entertaining. While purchasing gifts for hosts likely drive visits for some home furnishing retailers, we may now be entering a replacement cycle for many home furnishing products purchased during the pandemic, which could further support the category’s recovery. In other words, many consumers may be looking to reinvent their personal spaces starting with their homes.
The strength in beauty and apparel may reflect a broader trend of personal reinvention. What fueled this movement? It could be as simple as buying a new outfit for a holiday party or experimenting with seasonal beauty products. However, several apparel retailers we spoke to over the past few months pointed to additional factors, including health and wellness trends. 2024 saw a rise in in-person workouts (one of the strongest retail categories in year-over-year visitation), greater adoption of technology-driven fitness and wellness routines, and increased use of wellness supplements and GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. Retailers noted that healthier lifestyles during 2024 drove increased demand for apparel this holiday season—a trend that could have substantial implications for the year ahead.
Overall food-away-from-home spending grew in 2024, driven by decelerating inflation and a robust economy that eased budgetary concerns. How did coffee chains, one of the largest discretionary food categories, perform?
We took a closer look at foot traffic to Starbucks and Dunkin’ to find out.
Despite the ongoing consumer uncertainty, 2024 visits to Starbucks and Dunkin’ remained close to 2023 levels. The traffic trends range from 2.9% down year-over-year (YoY) to 1.9% up YoY for Starbucks, and from 1.3% down to 1.9% up YoY for Dunkin’ – a testament to coffee’s enduring draw.
While the YoY visit patterns to Starbucks and Dunkin’ were relatively similar in 2024, the two chains experienced distinct visitation patterns throughout the day. During the early morning daypart (6:00 - 9:59 AM), Dunkin’ attracted 39.9% of its visitors, while Starbucks received only 29.9% of its customers before 10 AM. However, as the day transitioned into evening, Starbucks took the lead, capturing 23.7% of visitors during the 3:00 - 6:59 PM daypart, significantly higher than Dunkin’s 16.4%.
These visitation patterns highlight distinct opportunities for both chains to expand their appeal across different dayparts. Dunkin’ could offer afternoon specials to attract more visitors in the afternoon and evening daypart, and Starbucks could broaden its breakfast offerings to capture a larger share of the early morning crowd.
A closer look at Starbucks’ daily visitation patterns highlights the chain’s mastery in leveraging calendar events and special promotions to boost foot traffic. Events like Red Cup Day and buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) deals, including on Mother’s Day, drove impressive visits bumps ranging from 28.1% to 40.4% higher than the 2024 daily visit average.
These promotions appear to have been so successful that Starbucks, under the leadership of new C.E.O. Brian Niccol, announced it would scale them back – in part to restore the chain’s “coffeehouse roots” and avoid over-crowded stores on promotion days. But even without special discounts in the last five weeks of the year, Starbucks still received major traffic spikes on key shopping days like Super Saturday and Black Friday, with visits surging 27.5% and 26.6% above the YTD daily average, respectively. This highlights the brand’s ability to drive strong performance even with fewer promotions during peak seasons.
As part of the effort to elevate the in-store experience, Starbucks has also announced plans to implement a code of conduct, with the goal of facilitating the creation of an “inviting and welcoming community coffeehouse.” One significant shift, coming into effect on January 27th, bars people from lingering in its facilities without making a purchase.
A closer look at dwell time for the chain reveals that the vast majority of visits to the chain are currently less than 10 minutes long, with mobile orders making up almost a third of total Starbucks orders. The predominance of short visits and the popularity of mobile orders indicates that many Starbucks customers likely prioritize convenience, and prefer to grab a drink to go without taking advantage of the coffeehouse amenities. But with new incentives – including a free refill policy for all customers, not just loyalty club members – dwell times may well go up over the coming months.
Starbucks and Dunkin’ continued serving coffee drinkers in 2024, despite the ongoing constraints on many consumers' discretionary spending budgets.
Will Starbucks and Dunkin’ continue to drive visits into 2025? Visit Placer.ai for the latest data-driven dining insights.
Placer.ai observes a panel of mobile devices in order to extrapolate and generate visitation insights for a variety of locations across the U.S. This panel covers only visitors from within the United States and does not represent or take into account international visitors.
The end of the year is a time of bustling activity as many Americans travel to visit family and friends, go on vacation, and enjoy recreational attractions. Using the latest location analytics for transportation hubs, hotels, museums, and aquariums, we uncover key trends in consumer behavior during the holiday season.
The end of the year was a busy travel period as consumers visited family and friends or headed out on vacation. Between December 18th and December 23rd, visits to major airports and ground transportation hubs (train and bus stations) were higher than the 2024 same-day average, with visits to both ground and air travel hubs peaking on Super Saturday (December 21st).
Visits to transportation hubs then fell on December 24th and 25th 2024 – although the drop was much more dramatic for airports than for train and bus stations – as many people stayed in place for the duration of the holiday.
Visits to transportation hubs remained slightly below the same-day yearly average on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2024 – although traffic to both airports and ground transportation hubs increased compared to the Christmas lull, as some travelers began to make their return trips. But starting on December 27th, traffic trends for the two types of transportation hubs began to diverge: visits to ground transportation hubs were above average same-day levels, whereas airport visit levels remained below average until the following day, December 28th, 2024. This could indicate that air travelers, who may spend more on transportation or travel greater distances, stay longer at their destination to make the journey worthwhile.
Although ground transportation hubs and airports experienced elevated traffic over the majority of the holiday period, the same did not appear to be the case in the hospitality space.
Between December 18th and December 29th, 2024, daily visits to almost all hotel categories – from economy to upper upscale – remained below the same-day average for 2024. The decrease in business travel during this time, coupled with the tendency for those visiting family and friends to stay with their hosts, likely accounted for this trend. Only the luxury hotel category – which doesn’t typically receive business guests – saw elevated daily visits beginning on December 22nd, 2024, likely driven by affluent holiday vacationers.
During the final days of 2024 – December 30th and 31st – all six hotel categories experienced their most robust foot traffic of the period, and most saw their visits surge above the yearly same-day average. This suggests that many consumers, traveling at various hospitality tiers, took hotel-based vacations after spending Christmas at home or at the home of a loved one.
As consumers leveraged time off in the second half of December, museums and aquariums appeared to be popular attractions.
December 23rd, 2024 saw the first visit surge of the period for museums (31.7% above the yearly same-day average) and aquariums (12.6% above the yearly same-day average), perhaps as consumers sought out activities to do with visiting guests.
Following a brief visitation lull on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, foot traffic to museums and aquariums increased again and remained elevated between December 26th through the end of the year. And both museums and aquariums saw their largest visit peaks of the period on December 30th, 2024 (106.3% and 75.2% above average, respectively), suggesting that these attractions were popular with holiday visitors and end-of-year vacationers alike.
Analysis of transportation hubs, hotels, and leisure venues reveals shifting travel patterns and consumer behaviors during the final weeks of the year. The data suggests that while ground transportation users and air travelers alike typically travel before Christmas Eve, air travelers likely prefer to spend a little extra time at their holiday destination. And although travel is an integral part of the holiday season, most hotel categories don’t see elevated visits until the last few days of the year when family affairs have concluded and vacations are in full swing. Similarly, museums and aquariums sustain elevated traffic for several days after the holiday, as consumers leverage their time off for unique experiences.
For more data-driven insights, visit Placer.ai.
About the Convention Center Index: The Placer.ai Convention Center Index analyzes foot traffic to nearly 150 major convention and conference centers across the country. It excludes resorts and stadiums.
Convention centers serve as hubs for networking, trade shows, and corporate events. But the pandemic brought in-person gatherings to a halt, with businesses pivoting to online conferences – or eschewing them altogether.
And though social-distancing and other pandemic-era restrictions have lifted, the changes in the office and business world continue to linger. With that in mind, we took a closer look at the visitation data to these centers to see how convention center traffic trends and visitor demographics have shifted since pre-pandemic.
COVID-19 profoundly disrupted in-person networking. Now, nearly five years later, its impact on business travel and corporate events still lingers as virtual and hybrid events remain popular. However, similar to the return-to-office trends Placer.ai has tracked over the past few years, convention centers are also showing signs of slow but steady recovery.
While 2024 visits to convention centers nationwide were still 11.2% lower, on average, than in pre-pandemic 2019, traffic was also 3.3% higher than in 2023 and a significant 21.3% higher than in 2022. So – while the frequency and magnitude of in-person business events are not quite back to pre-pandemic levels yet, the visit trends indicate that the convention center recovery story is still being written.
The pandemic’s impact extends beyond overall attendance numbers – diving deeper into the data also reveals shifts in when people visit convention centers. The share of weekend visits jumped from 44.5% in 2019 to 46.9% in 2022 and has remained relatively steady ever since. This suggests that convention centers may have pivoted to hosting concerts, sporting matches, and other leisure events to make up for the dip in business conferences and conventions.
Analyzing the trade areas from where convention centers draw their visits also reveals that the demographics of convention center visitors has shifted since the pandemic. The median household income (HHI) of visitors to convention centers has steadily increased each year analyzed, rising from $86.6K in 2019 to $88.4K in 2024. Similarly, visitors in 2024 were more likely to come from captured market trade areas with higher shares of the “Power Elite” segment than in 2019.
These two metrics indicate a shift in the profile of convention visitors. As virtual attendance becomes more normalized, many companies may be becoming more intentional about subsidising business travel and trade show attendance, reserving in-person events for higher-level executives, decision-makers, or industry leaders. This shift has significant implications for the industry, as convention centers may need to adapt their offerings and facilities to cater to the needs and preferences of this more specialized demographic.
The convention center space appears to be on a slow and steady recovery – and while visits may not return to their pre-pandemic highs, the share of weekend visit growth and increasing attendance of higher-profile professionals indicate that the segment is pivoting.
Will convention centers and office spaces continue to recover? Visit Placer.ai for the latest office and business foot traffic trends.
The grocery industry has navigated unprecedented challenges in recent years – from pandemic-driven shifts in consumer behavior and supply chain disruptions to rising costs, labor shortages, and increased operational demands. In the face of these hurdles, the category has been pushed to innovate, adapting everything from product selections to shopping formats to meet changing consumer expectations.
But within the grocery industry, some segments resonate particularly strongly with the 2024 consumer. This white paper dives into the data to explore two segments that have been leading category-wide visit growth for some time: specialty and fresh format stores, which focus on produce, organic foods, and culturally specific items (think Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, and H Mart, to name a few), and value grocery chains like Aldi, WinCo Foods, and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. Location analytics show shoppers are increasingly drawn to these two grocery store types, a shift that has the potential to reshape the grocery landscape.
How did value and specialty grocery chains perform in Q3 2024 in comparison to traditional supermarkets like Kroger, Albertsons, and H-E-B? How does visitor behavior vary between the three grocery segments, and what differences can be observed in the demographic and psychographic make-ups of their trade areas? The report explores these questions and more below.
The grocery industry has performed well over the past few months, with steady weekly year-over-year (YoY) visit increases throughout Q3 2024. During the week of July 1st, the segment saw a 4.6% YoY foot traffic boost, likely driven by shoppers loading up on ingredients for Independence Day barbecues and picnics. And after tapering somewhat in early August, visits picked up again in September, with YoY increases ranging from 2.0% to 2.9% throughout the month. This positive growth is a good sign for the segment – which has experienced more than its fair share of challenges over the past few years.
Though the grocery category as a whole is thriving, a closer look at different segments within the industry reveals that some are seeing more significant growth than others.
Indeed, digging deeper into grocery visits throughout Q3 2024 reveals that much of the industry’s growth is being driven by specialty and fresh format stores and value grocery chains. The two segments offer markedly different shopping experiences: Specialty chains tend to emphasize harder-to-find ingredients and fresh produce – sometimes even at higher price points than traditional grocery stores – while value grocery stores focus on affordability. But both categories are experiencing outsize visit growth in 2024, highlighting consumers’ dual interest in both quality and value.
In July and August 2024, traditional supermarkets, specialty grocers, and value chains all experienced positive YoY visit growth. But while traditional grocery stores saw a 3.1% increase in July and just a 0.9% uptick in August, value and specialty chains saw YoY growth ranging from 4.7% to 7.7% during the two months. In September 2024, YoY visits to traditional grocery stores fell by 0.5%, while value and specialty chains saw 5.0% and 5.2% increases, respectively. For today’s consumer, it seems, savings are key – but specialty offerings also resonate strongly.
Today’s grocery shoppers are increasingly embracing specialty grocery options – and analyzing consumer driving habits to grocery stores shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to reach them.
Breaking down grocery visits by distance traveled reveals that just 18.5% of visits to specialty and fresh format grocery chains came from less than one mile away in Q3 2024 – compared to 23.9% for traditional grocery stores and 23.2% for value chains. Similarly, 31.3% of visits to specialty and fresh format grocery stores originated from one to three miles away, compared to 34.7% and 34.5% for the other analyzed segments.
On the flip side, some 26.4% of visits to specialty and fresh format stores were made by people traveling at least seven miles to do their shopping – compared to 22.7% and 21.4% for traditional and value chains, respectively. Specialty grocery operators can account for this difference, locating stores in areas accessible to geographically dispersed audiences eager to shop their unique offerings.
And a look at changes in visitor behavior at three key specialty chains – Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Great Wall Supermarket – shows that even as these brands expand their footprints, customers are increasingly willing to travel the distance to visit them. Between 2019 and 2024, all three chains saw a marked increase in the share of visitors traveling over seven miles to shop their offerings. .
Asian grocery chain Great Wall Supermarket, a relatively small regional chain with some 22 locations across eight states, saw the most significant increase in visits from afar over the analyzed period. In Q3 2024, 32.3% of visits to the chain originated from seven or more miles away, up from 28.3% in Q3 2019. Ranked America’s Best Supermarket by Newsweek in 2024, the chain’s wide selection of everything from seafood to fresh produce has made it a hit among Asian food aficionados – and as the supermarket’s reputation grows, so does its draw among customers living further away from its venues.
Consumer favorite Trader Joe’s and organic grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market also grew their shares of long-distance visits between 2019 and 2024 – no small feat for the two chains, given their expansion over the past several years.
This travel distance snapshot serves as a reminder of the unique role played by specialty grocery stores that offer their customers unique shopping experiences, premium or organic products, and culturally specific items. Shoppers will go out of their way to travel to these stores – and even as they expand and become more readily accessible, their growing popularity makes them ever-more attractive destinations for customers coming from further away.
While visitors to specialty grocery chains often travel long distances for unique offerings, cost-conscious consumers at value stores exhibit other behaviors that differentiate them from traditional and specialty grocery shoppers.
The rising cost of living has pushed the discount retail segment into overdrive – and value grocery chains are also benefiting. The category has flourished in recent years, with many bargain-oriented grocery chains adding new stores at a rapid clip to meet burgeoning consumer demand.
Like visitors to specialty grocery chains, value grocery shoppers demonstrate segment-specific behaviors that reflect their preferences and habits. And perhaps most strikingly, foot traffic data reveals that these shoppers tend to stay longer in-store than visitors to traditional and specialty grocery chains.
In Q3 2024, 26.5% of visits to value grocery chains lasted longer than 30 minutes, compared to 23.4% for traditional grocery chains and 23.7% for specialty and fresh format chains. This suggests that these stores attract shoppers who take their time and carefully consider price points, looking for the best value for their dollar – a need that the chains they frequent seem to be meeting.
Given the tremendous success of the value grocery space in recent years, it may come as no surprise that some traditional supermarkets are getting in on the action by opening or expanding discount banners of their own. How do such off-shoot banners impact these grocers’ reach?
Cult-favorite Texas grocery chain H-E-B opened the first branch of its value banner, Joe V’s Smart Shop, in 2010. The discount arm currently includes 11 stores – mainly in the Houston area – with several new stores opening, or in planning stages, in Dallas.
And foot traffic data shows that Joe V's attracts mission-driven shoppers who make less frequent but significantly longer trips than visitors to traditional grocery stores. In Q3 2024, the average visit duration at Joe V’s was 37.8 minutes, compared to just 26.8 minutes at H-E-B – a full 11 minute difference. At the same time, while 38.5% of Q3 visits to H-E-B were made by customers frequenting the chain, on average, at least four times a month, just 11.8% of visits to Joe V’s were made by visitors reaching that threshold.
Joe V’s is also more likely than H-E-B to attract parental households, with 36.8% of its captured market made up of households with children – significantly higher than H-E-B’s 32.0%.
Together, these data points paint a picture of the average Joe V’s shopper: cost-conscious, likely to have children, and inclined to carefully plan shopping trips to maximize savings and cut down on grocery runs. This suggests that they are mission-driven and focused on stocking up rather than running out to grab ingredients as the need arises.
Major grocery store operators often operate a variety of store types at different price points to appeal to as many shoppers as possible, and Hy-Vee is no exception. The regional grocery favorite launched a discount chain, Dollar Fresh, in 2018 and currently operates 25 stores under that banner, aiming to attract middle-class, cost-conscious shoppers.
Using Experian’s Mosaic dataset to analyze Dollar Fresh’s trade area reveals that the chain’s captured market features significantly higher shares of lower-middle-class family consumers than its potential one – highlighting its special draw for these shoppers. (A chain’s potential market is obtained by weighting each Census Block Group (CBG) in its trade area according to population size, thus reflecting the overall makeup of the chain’s trade area. A business’ captured market, on the other hand, is obtained by weighting each CBG according to its share of visits to the chain in question – and thus represents the profile of its actual visitor base. Comparing a chain’s captured market to its potential one can serve as a helpful gauge of the brand’s success at attracting key audience segments.)
In Q3 2024, the “Pastoral Pride” family segment represented 11.4% of Dollar Fresh’s captured market, compared to just 5.3% of its potential market. This over-representation of lower-middle-class consumers from small towns in Dollar Fresh’s captured market indicates that the chain is especially effective at drawing customers that belong to this segment. Though Hy-Vee’s captured market also boasted a higher share of this demographic than its potential one in Q3, the difference was much smaller – and the chain’s overall reach among these consumers was more limited.
In contrast, Hy-Vee excels at attracting “Flourishing Families” – affluent, middle-aged families and couples – who made up 10.3% of the supermarket’s captured market in Q3 2024. Dollar Fresh’s captured market, on the other hand, featured a smaller share of this segment than its potential one – showing that the discount chain is of less interest to these consumers. So while Hy-Vee tends to appeal to higher-income families with more spending flexibility, value-conscious shoppers have been making their way to Dollar Fresh.
This audience segmentation analysis shows how value offerings help grocery chains attract wider audiences – and highlights the advantage of operating multiple store types to appeal to a broader range of shoppers.
People will always need access to a variety of fresh foods – ensuring that grocery stores and supermarkets continue to play a vital role in in the retail landscape. And while the category as a whole has continued to thrive even in today’s challenging environment, specialty and value grocery chains resonate particularly strongly with the 2024 consumer. As grocery retailers diversify their formats, those aligning with consumer preferences for affordability, uniqueness, and quality are well-positioned for continued growth.
Malls have come a long way since their introduction to the world in the 1950s. These gleaming retail hubs promised shoppers a taste of the American dream, offering a third place for teens, families, and everyone in between to shop, socialize, and hang out.
And though malls have faced challenges in recent years, as e-commerce and pandemic-induced store closures led to shifts in consumer habits, the outlook is brightening. Malls have embraced innovation, incorporating enhanced entertainment, dining, and experiential offerings that attract a diverse range of visitors and redefine their purpose.
This white paper takes a look at the recent location intelligence metrics to gain an understanding of the changes taking place at malls across the country – including both indoor malls and open-air shopping centers. The report explores questions like: Why do malls experience foot traffic bumps during the summer months? How much of an impact do movie theaters have on mall visits, and what can mall operators learn from the Mall of America and American Dream malls’ focus on experiential entertainment?
Mall visitation is highly seasonal, with strikingly consistent monthly visitation patterns. Each year, visits decline somewhat in February, pick up in March, and begin to trend upward again in May – before peaking again in August. Then, after a slower September and October, foot traffic skyrockets during the holiday season, spiking dramatically in December.
And while these trends follow similar patterns every year, comparing monthly visits throughout 2019, 2023, and 2024 (YTD) to each year’s own January baseline shows that this seasonality is growing more pronounced - especially for indoor malls.
Following a lackluster 2023, visits to both indoor malls and open-air shopping centers peaked higher in March 2024 than in 2019. And this summer, indoor malls in particular saw a much larger visit boost than in previous years. In August 2024, for example, visits to indoor malls were 27.3% higher than in January 2024 – a substantially higher baseline jump than that seen either in August 2019 (17.0%) or in August 2023 (12.0%). And though open-air shopping centers experienced a smaller summer visit boost, they too saw a bigger bump this year than in 2019 or in 2023.
But malls aren’t just seeing larger visit spikes this year relative to their January baselines – they are also drawing bigger crowds than they did in 2023.
Between June and August 2024, indoor malls and open-air shopping centers both experienced year-over-year (YoY) visit growth. Indoor malls saw the largest YoY foot traffic boost (3.7%) – perhaps owing in part to 2024’s record-breaking heat, which led many patrons to seek refuge in air conditioned spaces. Still, open-air shopping centers, which feature plenty of air conditioned stores and restaurants, also enjoyed a YoY visit boost of 2.8% during the analyzed period.
Malls’ strong summer baseline and YoY foot traffic growth built upon the strong performance seen during most of 2024 so far, leading to the question: What is driving malls’ positive momentum? We delve into some of the factors propelling these changes below.
One offering that continues to play a significant role in driving foot traffic to malls is on-site movie theaters. Summer blockbuster releases, in particular, help attract crowds to theaters, in turn boosting overall visits to malls.
Much like malls, movie theaters have also proven their resilience over the past few years. While pundits fretted about the theater’s impending death, production houses were busy releasing blockbuster after blockbuster and shattering box-office records at an impressive clip. And while 2023 was certainly a banner year for blockbuster summer releases, 2024 has had its fair share of stunning box-office successes, leading to major visit boosts at theaters across the country.
Analyzing visits to malls with and without movie theaters highlights the impact of these summer Hollywood hits. Between June and August 2024, malls with theaters saw bigger visit boosts compared to a monthly year-to-date (YTD) average than malls without – an effect observed both for indoor malls and for open-air shopping centers.
For both mall types, the gap between centers with and without movie theaters was most pronounced in July 2024, likely owing to the release of Inside Out 2 in mid-June as well as the July releases of Deadpool & Wolverine and Twister. But in June and August 2024, too, centers with movie theaters sustained particularly impressive visit boosts – a solid sign that movie theaters and malls remain a winning combination.
Malls with movie theaters also drew higher shares of evening visits (7:00 PM - 10:00 PM) this summer than those without. Between June and August 2024, for example, evening outings accounted for 22.9% of visits to open-air shopping centers with movie theaters – compared to 18.2% of visits to centers without theaters. Indoor malls with theaters also saw a larger share of evening visits than those without – 18.1% compared to 15.0%.
This increase in evening traffic is likely driven by major summer movie releases and the flexibility of summer schedules, with many visitors – including families – taking advantage of late-night outings without the concern of early wakeup calls. These summer visitation trends benefit both theaters and malls, opening up opportunities for increased sales through concessions, promotions, and evening deals that attract a more relaxed and engaged crowd.
Analyzing the demographics of malls’ captured markets also reveals that centers with movie theaters are more likely to attract certain family-oriented segments than those without. (A mall’s captured market consists of the mall’s trade areas – the census block groups (CBGs) feeding visitors to the mall – weighted according to each CBG’s actual share of visits to the mall.)
Between June and August 2024, for example, 14.2% of the captured markets of open-air shopping centers with movie theaters were made up of “Wealthy Suburban Families” – compared to 9.7% for open-air shopping centers without theaters.
Indoor malls saw a similar pattern with regard to “Near-Urban Diverse Families”: Middle class families living in and around cities made up 9.0% of the captured markets of indoor malls with movie theaters, compared to 7.1% of the captured markets of those without.
This increase in foot traffic from middle-class and wealthy family segments can be a boon for malls and retail tenants – driving up food court profits and bolstering sales at stores with kid-friendly offerings.
Malls have long positioned themselves as destinations for summer entertainment as well as retail therapy, holding – in addition to back to school sales – events like Fourth of July celebrations and even indoor basketball and arena football games. And during the summer months, malls attract visitors from further away.
Between June and August 2024, indoor malls drew 18.2% of visitors from 30+ miles away – compared to just 16.7% during the first five months of the year. Similarly, open-air shopping centers drew 19.6% of visits from 30+ miles away during the summer, compared to 17.1% between January and May.
Extended daylight hours, summer trips away from home, and more free time are likely among the contributors to the summer draw for long-distance mall visitors. But in addition to their classic offerings – from movie theaters to stores and food courts – malls have also invested in other kinds of unique experiences to attract visitors. This next section takes a look at two mega-malls winning at the visitation game, to see what sets them apart.
The Minneapolis-based Mall of America opened in 1992, redefining the limits of what a mall could offer. The mall boasts hundreds of stores, games, rides, and more – and is constantly expanding its attractions, cementing its status as a top destination for retail and entertainment.
Between June and August 2024, Mall of America experienced a 13.8% YoY visit increase, far outperforming the 3.7% visit boost seen by the wider indoor mall space. And as a major tourist attraction – the mall hosted a series of Olympic-themed events throughout the summer – it also drew 41.6% of visits from 30+ miles away. This share of distant visitors was significantly higher than that seen at the mall during the first five months of 2024, and more than double the segment-wide summer average of 18.2%.
The Mall of America also seems to be attracting more upper-middle-class families during the summer than other indoor malls: Between June and August 2024, some 18.0% of Mall of America’s captured market consisted of “Upper Suburban Diverse Family Households” – a segment including upper-middle-class suburbanites – compared to just 11.1% for the wider indoor mall segment. The increased presence of these families at the Mall of America may be driven by the variety of events offered during the summer.
In 2019, the American Dream Mall in New Jersey opened and became the second-largest mall in the country. Since the mall opened its doors, it has also focused on blending retail and entertainment to draw in as wide a range of visitors as possible – and summer 2024 was no exception.
The mall hosted the Arena Football League Championship, ArenaBowl XXXIII, on Friday, July 19th. The event successfully attracted a higher share of visitors traveling from 30+ miles away compared to the average summer Friday – 35.4% compared to 25.7%.
Visits to the mall on the day of the championship were also 13.6% higher than the Friday visit average for the period between June and August 2024, showcasing the mall’s ability to draw in crowds by hosting major events.
Malls – both indoor and open-air – continue to evolve while playing a central role in the American retail landscape. Increasingly, malls are emerging as destinations for more than just shopping – especially during the summer – driving up foot traffic and attracting visitors from near and far. And while much is often said about the impact of holiday seasons on mall foot traffic, summer months offer another opportunity to boost mall visits. Malls that can curate experiences that resonate with their clientele can hope to see foot traffic growth – in the summer months and beyond.
New York City is one of the world’s leading commercial centers – and Manhattan, home to some of the nation's most prominent corporations, is at its epicenter. Manhattan’s substantial in-office workforce has helped make New York a post-pandemic office recovery leader, outpacing most other major U.S. hubs. And the plethora of healthcare, service, and other on-site workers that keep the island humming along also contribute to its thriving employment landscape.
Using the latest location analytics, this report examines the shifting dynamics of the many on-site workers employed in Manhattan and the up-and-coming Hudson Yards neighborhood. Where does today’s Manhattan workforce come from? How often do on-site employees visit Hudson Yards? And how has the share of young professionals across Manhattan’s different districts shifted since the pandemic?
Read on to find out.
The rise in work-from-home (WFH) trends during the pandemic and the persistence of hybrid work have changed the face of commuting in Manhattan.
In Q2 2019, nearly 60% of employee visits to Manhattan originated off the island. But in Q2 2021, that share fell to just 43.9% – likely due to many commuters avoiding public transportation and practicing social distancing during COVID.
Since Q2 2022, however, the share of employee visits to Manhattan from outside the borough has rebounded – steadily approaching, but not yet reaching, pre-pandemic levels. By Q2 2024, 54.7% of employee visits to Manhattan originated from elsewhere – likely a reflection of the Big Apple’s accelerated RTO that is drawing in-office workers back into the city.
Unsurprisingly, some nearby boroughs – including Queens and the Bronx – have seen their share of Manhattan worker visits bounce back to what they were in 2019, while further-away areas of New York and New Jersey continue to lag behind. But Q2 2024 also saw an increase in the share of Manhattan workers commuting from other states – both compared to 2023 and compared to 2019 – perhaps reflecting the rise of super commuting.
Commuting into Manhattan is on the rise – but how often are employees making the trip? Diving into the data for employees based in Hudson Yards – Manhattan’s newest retail, office, and residential hub, which was officially opened to the public in March 2019 – reveals that the local workforce favors fewer in-person work days than in the past.
In August 2019, before the pandemic, 60.2% of Hudson Yards-based employees visited the neighborhood at least fifteen times. But by August 2021, the neighborhood’s share of near-full-time on-site workers had begun to drop – and it has declined ever since. In August 2024, only 22.6% of local workers visited the neighborhood 15+ times throughout the month. Meanwhile, the share of Hudson Yards-based employees making an appearance between five and nine times during the month emerged as the most common visit frequency by August 2022 – and has continued to increase since. In August 2024, 25.0% of employees visited the neighborhood less than five times a month, 32.5% visited between five and nine times, and 19.2% visited between 10 and 14 times.
Like other workers throughout Manhattan, Hudson Yards employees seem to have fully embraced the new hybrid normal – coming into the office between one and four times a week.
But not all employment centers in the Hudson Yards neighborhood see the same patterns of on-site work. Some of the newest office buildings in the area appear to attract employees more frequently and from further away than other properties.
Of the Hudson Yards properties analyzed, Two Manhattan West, which was completed this year, attracted the largest share of frequent, long-distance commuters in August 2024 (15.3%) – defined as employees visiting 10+ times per month from at least 30 miles away. And The Spiral, which opened last year, drew the second-largest share of such on-site workers (12.3%).
Employees in these skyscrapers may prioritize in-person work – or have been encouraged by their employers to return to the office – more than their counterparts in other Hudson Yards buildings. Employees may also choose to come in more frequently to enjoy these properties’ newer and more advanced amenities. And service and shift workers at these properties may also be coming in more frequently to support the buildings’ elevated occupancy.
Diving deeper into the segmentation of on-site employees in the Hudson Yards district provides further insight into this unique on-site workforce.
Analysis of POIs corresponding to several commercial and office hubs in the borough reveals that between August 2019 and August 2024, Hudson Yards’ captured market had the fastest-growing share of employees belonging to STI: Landscape's “Apprentices” segment, which encompasses young, highly-paid professionals in urban settings.
Companies looking to attract young talent have already noticed that these young professionals are receptive to Hudson Yards’ vibrant atmosphere and collaborative spaces, and describe this as a key factor in their choice to lease local offices.
Manhattan is a bastion of commerce, and its strong on-site workforce has helped lead the nation’s post-pandemic office recovery. But the dynamics of the many Manhattan-based workers continues to shift. And as new commercial and residential hubs emerge on the island, workplace trends and the characteristics of employees are almost certain to evolve with them.
