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With summer upon us, we dove into the data to explore Memorial Day foot traffic trends. How did people spend the long weekend? And how did major dining and retail categories fare on the holiday?
Gas stations were bustling on Friday, May 24th, as people filled their tanks in anticipation of a long, travel or activity-filled weekend. Visits to gas stations were up 32.3% compared to an average day this year – and the highest they’ve been since January 1st, 2024.
Year over year (YoY), gas station foot traffic increased 1.5%. And compared to pre-COVID, too, gas station visits were up 1.8% – showing that people are once again hitting the road, whether to go on weekend getaways or to visit nearby parks and attractions.
Indeed, Americans partake in many different activities on Memorial Day – from attending parades and memorial events to sight-seeing or enjoying the great outdoors. And visiting museums is a time-honored holiday tradition: On Monday, May 27th, museums nationwide drew a whopping 71.5% more visits than on an average Monday this year.
YoY, Museums were 1.6% busier on May 27th than in 2023 – and museum-goers spent more time exploring the exhibits (who says attention spans are decreasing?), browsing the gift shop, or fueling up at the cafeteria.
Memorial Day weekend is a prime time for picnics and barbecues. But for many Americans, it’s also an opportunity to enjoy a nice meal at a restaurant with friends and family.
Like on Mother’s Day, full-service restaurants get a much bigger Memorial Day visit boost than either fast-casual eateries or fast-food (QSR) joints. But all three dining segments enjoyed a significant YoY holiday visit increase this year – proving that despite still-high food-away-from-home prices, people are finding room in their budgets to treat themselves on their day off.
And the last Monday in May is, of course, a big day for savings, on everything from big-ticket items like mattresses, furniture, and major appliances, to clothing and other discretionary items. This year, apparel stores saw the biggest Memorial Day visit spike, with foot traffic up 40.5% compared to an average day and 88.2% compared to an average Monday. But home furnishing stores, home improvement stores, electronics retailers, and (to a lesser extent), grocery stores, all experienced considerable holiday visit spikes of their own.
And comparing Memorial Day retail activity to last year shows most of the analyzed categories seeing minor visit increases or holding steady – no small feat in today’s challenging retail environment. Like dining segments, grocery stores impressed with a 9.3% YoY visit increase – perhaps buoyed by consumers buying last-minute ingredients for their picnics or barbecues.
People were on the move this year on Memorial Day – fueling up their cars, and enjoying museums, restaurants, and retail sales. What does the rest of the summer hold in store for American consumers?
Follow Placer.ai’s data driven analyses to find out.
Known as the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas has always been a tourist hotspot. But for a growing segment of the population, Vegas is also becoming a popular place to lay down permanent roots. We dove into the tourism and migration data for the region in order to take a closer look at Las Vegas’ changing visitor and resident populations.
Like many vacation destinations, Las Vegas took a significant tourism hit at the onset of COVID. But with travel restrictions now a thing of the past, visitation to Las Vegas is roaring back.
Analyzing travel to Las Vegas using the Travel & Tourism Report shows that since the halfway mark of 2023, the total number of visit nights spent by travelers in the city (i.e. by those staying up 31 days) have consistently outperformed pre-pandemic levels. And with the sole exception of July 2023, visit nights have increased year-over-year (YoY) as well.
Alongside robust demand for experiences, investment in new, one-of-a-kind entertainment venues like the Sphere – which opened towards the end of 2023 – has likely played a part in reigniting tourism.
Who are the tourists driving this comeback? To explore the demographic characteristics of today’s visitors to Las Vegas, we zoomed in on the Las Vegas Strip – the iconic epicenter of it all, where most of the city’s luxury hotels, shops, restaurants, and casinos are concentrated.
Analysis of the Strip’s captured market with demographic data from AGS: Demographic Dimensions reveals that as tourist activity in the city began to pick up again, the median household income (HHI) of visitors to the Strip increased steadily. In Q1 2024, the median HHI of visitors to the Strip reached $93.0K, perhaps aided by tourism surrounding this year’s Super Bowl.
This indicates that the Strip is becoming a more upscale visit destination, and that demand for Vegas’ luxury offerings are driving visits. As more consumers with ample discretionary dollars make their way to Vegas, pricey shows – in addition to retail – are likely to become ever-more lucrative advertising opportunities.
A tourism boom isn’t the only phenomenon making waves in Sin City. In recent years, more and more out-of-towners have made Greater Las Vegas their home, and unlike some pandemic-era migration hotspots, Las Vegas continues to attract new residents.
Migration data indicates that many of those moving in are high-earners who are likely incentivized by the cost of living and tax benefits in the region.
Between December 2019 and December 2023, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise CBSA experienced net-positive domestic migration of 3.9%. In other words, the total number of people that moved to Las Vegas over the four-year period from elsewhere in the U.S., minus those that left, was equivalent to 3.9% of the region’s December 2023 population. Meanwhile, analysis of the CBSA’s origin to destination HHI ratio reveals that between December 2019 and December 2023, the median HHI of incoming residents was 20% higher than the median HHI of the local population.
And comparing migration data in December 2023 to December 2020, 2021, and 2022, revealed consistently positive net migration and origin to destination HHI ratios in the years since 2019. This indicates that the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise CBSA continues to attract many new and affluent residents. When planning future amenities and services, the region may want to take into account the opportunities – and challenges – presented by these population shifts.
Be it for a quick trip or full-on relocation, Las Vegas remains a prime destination in both the U.S. tourism and domestic migration landscapes. New entertainment venues and amenities keep Vegas top-of-mind for upscale vacationers while economic incentives drive moves from a high-income cohort.
For more tourism and migration insights, visit Placer.ai.
Last summer’s touring sensations Taylor Swift and Beyonce held concerts that will remain in the hearts of many. With thousands in attendance, both live tours were absolute juggernauts. It was like an adrenaline shot for the performing arts category after COVID-induced closures. Remember the days of drive-in concerts as a panacea? While these two reigning Queens of Music took top billing, there are hundreds of local venues around the country that cater to smaller audiences at a time but are no less impactful on their communities. These are the heart and soul for local plays, musicals, symphonies, operas, touring bands, and art exhibitions. Fundraisers are often held at community performance venues, and they can be incubators for performers to move on to a larger stage.
Placer recently attended the California Presenters Conference, which includes representatives from California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Programming directors, events managers, and community liaisons all met to share best practices, challenges, and successes. One box office manager, Jonathan Lizardo of the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University, noted that “Nostalgia” was an important theme at his performing arts center, with a recent live show of the Animaniacs in Concert proving to be a hit with adults and kids alike. In this case, his patrons were seeking some escapism and levity in their lives. On the other end of the spectrum, the arts can also be a powerful way to engage the audience in more serious issues, as one panel on Responding to Global Conflict at arts venues drew a crowd. Another topic of interest was the importance of engaging youth with the arts, through school-sponsored visits or after school enrichment. Many University performing arts centers reps were also in attendance, such as USC Vision and Voices, Stanford Live, Caltech Presents, and Seattle University.
Placer’s presentation touched on macrotrends around discretionary spend, examples of venue attendance around the US, an analysis of the visitation trends, audience profile, and economic impact of Taylor Swift’s US tour, and in depth look at a select group of performing arts centers in Arizona to see the role that they play in their community.
Mesa Arts Center has had the highest overall visitation in the past 12 months. Located in Mesa, AZ, it encompasses over 210,000 sq ft and was completed in 2005 at the cost of $95 million. In addition to four performance venues, it is also home to Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum. Programming is suited to a multitude of interests, including National Geographic Live, Broadway, classical music, popular music, ethnic artists, western artists, and dance. It also offers Art Studio for visual arts classes; Opportunities for Ages 55+ such as flamenco classes; and Festivals and Events, such as Dia de Los Muertos. Within the theaters complex, there are four theaters--the 1,570-seat Tom and Janet Ikeda Theater, 550-seat Virginia G. Piper Repertory Theater, 200-seatNesbitt/Elliott Playhouse, and the 99-seat Anita Cox Farnsworth Studio.
The Chandler Center for the Arts recently celebrated its 35th season. Upcoming performances include ballet like Coppelia or live music, such as Billy Joel’s The Stranger. Entertaining acts such as Stomp, Piano Battle, and Cirque du Soleil will also make their way over during the 2024-2025 season. Located in downtown Chandler, the venue includes three dynamic performance spaces (the 1,500-seat Main Stage, the 350-seat Hal Bogle Theatre, and the 250-seat Recital Hall) as well as two extensive art galleries (The Gallery at CCA and Vision Gallery).
While Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts had the fewest absolute visits in the past 12 months, its year-over-year variance increase has been the highest.
What might account for the difference, one might wonder. Fortunately, Placer data enables one to compare a venue against itself in order to highlight differences from one year to the next. According to the 2023-2024 calendar, it appears that Hubbard Street Dance Chicago playing 2 nights in a row, was a hit with the audience during the week of Jan 29-Feb 4.
It appears the increase in visits cannot be attributed to a single segment. In fact, visits across multiple segments increased year-over-year when comparing May 2023 - April 2024 (blue) vs. May 2022-April 2023 (red) per Spatial.ai PersonaLive.
The most recent 12 months also attracted visits from a much larger trade area.
Migration may also be a factor in the increase of visits to the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center. Placer’s Migration Dashboard is noting an increase in both residents and seasonal visitors over the years.
Eatertainment chains – entertainment concepts that combine dining and play – are thriving in the current experience economy. We dove into the data for game and restaurant chains Dave & Buster’s and Main Event Entertainment (acquired by Dave & Buster’s in 2022) to better understand how eatertainment is driving success in 2024.
The past few years have been challenging ones for restaurants. But eatertainment has a special draw – and since November 2023, both Dave & Buster’s and Main Event Entertainment have seen mainly positive YoY visit growth.
In January 2024, visits slowed in the wake of extreme weather that rocked much of the country and led many would-be diners to stay home. But in February and March 2024 things picked up again, with the two chains seeing YoY visit growth ranging from 4.6% to 10.6%.
Again in April 2024, both Dave & Buster’s and Main Event Entertainment experienced minor visit gaps. But a closer look at weekly visits reveals that this was largely due to a calendar shift: April 2024 had one fewer Saturday than April 2023 – the chains' busiest day of the week by far. (In Q1 2024, Saturdays accounted for 33.8% of total visits to Main Event Entertainment and 33.3% of visits to Dave & Buster’s). And during nearly every individual week of April 2024, the brands maintained strongly positive momentum.
Dave & Buster’s and Main Event Entertainment recent visit growth has been partly fueled by the two chains’ growing store counts. And a deeper dive into how the chains’ visitation patterns have evolved since COVID shows why they are well-positioned for continued expansion – and success.
One factor likely contributing to the eatertainment brands’ strength is the increasing loyalty of their visitors. Dave & Buster’s leveled up its rewards program in 2021 – and has been upping its loyalty game ever since. Members can access special deals, like the chain’s recent 50% off food promotion, and earn points by playing games or ordering off the menu. Main Event, too, keeps customers coming back with a variety of promotions, from Monday Night Madness to Kids Eat Free Tuesdays – a particularly attractive offer for the chain’s family-oriented audience.
And since 2019, both chains have seen a steady increase in the share of visits made by customers frequenting the chain at least twice a month.
In addition, both Dave & Buster’s and Main Event appear to be finding success by leaning into the evening daypart.
Back in 2019, Main Event introduced a late-night menu and announced that all of its stores would be open until at least 12:00 AM – and even later on Fridays and Saturdays. (Even before that, some of its stores were open during the wee hours). Dave & Buster’s has also taken steps to increase its night-time business with special late-night deals and happy hours.
And location analytics indicates that this strategy is bearing fruit. Over the past several years, both brands have experienced an increase in their share of late-night visits (i.e. those taking place between 9:00 PM and 2:00 AM). And in Q1 2024, Dave & Buster’s and Main Event saw 23.9% and 27.3% of their total visits during the late-night daypart, respectively.
While it might be assumed that at-home entertainment and the "Netflix effect" pose a threat to eatertainment chains (particularly during the evening hours, as there is more content than ever to get home to), the data suggests that many consumers are staying out late for social dining and entertainment.
Demand for dining and social experiences continues to grow. As consumer behavior and demographics evolve, how will these eatertainment chains perform and which new concepts may rise to prominence as 2024 progresses?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
In this blog, we dive into the latest location analytics and demographic data for luxury retailers and high-end department stores and take a closer look at consumer behavior in the upscale shopping space.
Over the past year, the Placer.ai Luxury Retail Index – including brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and Chanel – saw year-over-year (YoY) foot traffic growth during crucial shopping seasons. May and June 2023 had significant increases in YoY visits, perhaps due to an influx of recreational shoppers on summer vacation, and July saw an uptick as well. YoY visits peaked again in November and December, likely reflecting the popularity of upscale retail corridors during the all-important holiday shopping season.
Some of this strength may be a result of affluent consumers refocusing their shopping on the U.S.: In 2022, many high-income shoppers chose to purchase big-ticket items abroad due to various economic benefits. But by 2023, demand for domestic luxury retail appeared to rebound, as some upscale retail clients “repatriated” their discretionary dollars.
To be sure, visit gaps re-emerged in some months of early 2024 – though these are partly attributable to factors like January’s unusually stormy weather and an April calendar shift. (April 2024 had one fewer Saturday than April 2023, providing less opportunity for visits in the highly discretionary category). But March 2024 also saw YoY visit growth. And given how well luxury retailers performed during their busiest months of year, the category may very well rally once again heading into the summer.
Recent location intelligence also offers encouraging signs from the high-end department store space.
Like luxury retailers, high-end department stores saw narrowing visit gaps during the peak holiday shopping season – with Saks Fifth Avenue seeing a YoY uptick in November 2024, and Neiman Marcus seeing one in December.
In March 2024, YoY traffic turned positive for Nordstrom (3.3%), Bloomingdale’s (3.1%), and Neiman Marcus (3.1%), while Saks Fifth Avenue had just a -0.6% visit gap. And although April 2024 was a challenging month for the retailers, perhaps due in part to the calendar shift mentioned above, all four upscale department stores outperformed the traditional apparel category – another indication that high-end department stores may be poised for a comeback.
Analyzing demographic changes in the captured markets of both luxury brands and high-end department stores indicates that increasingly affluent consumers are the main drivers of visits to the segment. (A chain’s captured market is obtained by weighting each Census Block Group (CBG) in its trade area according to the CBG’s share of visits to the chain – and so reflects the population that actually visits the chain in practice).
Over the last four quarters, visitors to luxury retailers and high-end department stores came from areas with higher median household incomes (HHIs) than in previous years. For example, during the period between Q2 2023 and Q1 2024, the median HHI of Bloomingdale’s captured market was $122.1K, an increase from $119.7K between April 2022 and March 2023, and $117.3K from April 2021 to March 2022.
In the face of recent inflationary pressures, aspirational luxury shoppers (who tend to be slightly less affluent) are likely quicker to adjust their behavior and trade down to more affordable brands. Meanwhile, prestige luxury shoppers – those with the highest incomes – tend to be relatively resilient, and so are able to continue shopping at their favorite luxury brands, driving up the HHI in these retailers’ trade areas.
Luxury retailers and high-end department stores have had recent foot traffic successes, while their clientele has become increasingly affluent. Will these brands continue their upward visit trajectories – and how will they leverage affluent foot traffic going forward?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Discretionary retail has faced its fair share of headwinds over the past few years, from pandemic-related restrictions to inflation. And while prices have stabilized, subdued consumer confidence continues to weigh on non-essential segments. But even in this challenging environment, some companies, like Ulta Beauty, are continuing to see visit growth, while others, like Gap Inc. and its portfolio of apparel brands, are making a comeback.
With Q2 2024 well underway, we take a look at the foot traffic patterns for these companies to see how they are faring.
In 2020, Placer.ai predicted that Ulta Beauty would be an unstoppable force in beauty retail – and the chain has impressed ever since. Over the past several years, Ulta has been on a consistent upward visit trajectory, propelled by strong demand for affordable luxuries (the so-called “Lipstick Effect”), and consumer interest in self-care.
And though the pace of Ulta’s tremendous YoY visit growth has moderated somewhat in recent months, the beauty giant continues to thrive – drawing even more visitors in early 2024 than during the equivalent period of last year. Between January and April 2024, YoY visits to the beauty retailer remained consistently elevated, outperforming the wider Beauty & Wellness space.
The fashion segment has experienced rising prices and persistent inflation over the past few years, leading to a new era of discount and thrift shopping. And iconic apparel retailers like Gap Inc – operator of Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, and Banana Republic – have not been immune to the challenges facing the category.
But through a combination of high-profile hirings and revitalized branding efforts, Gap Inc. has been readying itself for a comeback. In Q4 2023, the retailer announced stronger-than-expected results, driven primarily by Gap and Old Navy. And recent foot traffic to the company’s largest brands provides further evidence that its turnaround efforts may be starting to bear fruit.
During the all-important November and December shopping season last year, Gap and Old Navy saw YoY visits hold steady or increase, outpacing the wider Apparel space. In January 2024, visits to the two chains declined in the wake of an Arctic blast that kept many shoppers at home. But in February, Gap enjoyed a 0.7% YoY visit bump, while Old Navy saw just a mild drop – less than that of the overall Apparel category. In March 2024, both Gap and Old Navy enjoyed strong YoY visit growth, far outperforming overall Apparel – likely driven by sales events held by each brand. And though April saw YoY visits decline once again, with the two chains falling behind Apparel, drilling down into weekly data offers a different perspective.
Both Gap and Old Navy started off April with lackluster YoY performance, perhaps due in part to the comparison to an early April 2023 that included Easter weekend. But towards the end of April and beginning of May, Gap and Old Navy’s’ visit gaps narrowed – with some weeks seeing positive YoY visit growth, and with the two chains once again either nearly on par with, or outperforming, overall Apparel.
Gap Inc. itself is bullish about what the next year holds in store, with big names like Zak Posen joining the Gap family in hopes of propelling the company forward. Though it may be premature to declare an end to the troubles that have plagued the clothier in recent years, early 2024 foot traffic provides further evidence that the company is heading in the right direction.
Ulta continues to experience visit growth, highlighting Beauty’s enduring appeal. Meanwhile, Gap and Old Navy are witnessing narrowed visit gaps and some weekly visit growth.
Is the Apparel segment making a comeback? Can the Beauty segment sustain its positive momentum indefinitely?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up to date with the latest retail developments.
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.
