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Mall visit trends improved slightly in July 2025. Indoor mall traffic grew 1.3% year-over-year, reversing June's visit declines. This growth highlights indoor malls' rebound and suggests that enclosed shopping centers continue to attract consumers seeking climate-controlled comfort during peak summer heat.
Meanwhile, open-air shopping centers and outlet malls narrowed their visit gaps, with visits to open-air shopping centers almost on par with July 2024 levels and visits to outlet malls just 2.1% lower than this time last year.
Diving into the weekly data reveals a more complex picture. While mid-July visits were generally up relative to 2024 – perhaps boosted by the various July sales events – traffic across all three formats softened towards the end of the month. This may suggest that these major promotional events may be pulling demand forward rather than generating sustained, incremental traffic and highlights the challenge of converting a promotional 'sugar rush' into lasting momentum.
Boise Towne Square significantly outpaced the broader Placer.ai Indoor Mall Index in July, posting 12.2% year-over-year growth versus the national average of 1.3% – extending the Idaho mall's exceptional performance streak throughout 2025. And remarkably, Boise Towne Square has also consistently surpassed its pre-pandemic visit level every month of 2025 so far.
While multiple factors likely contribute to this strength, a major traffic driver has been the new In-N-Out location that opened in the mall in late October 2024. Since the opening, visits to Boise Towne Square have steadily increased, and other tenants – including other dining establishments – have also benefited from sustained visit improvements across the entire mall.
This demonstrates the powerful halo effect that a high-draw non-traditional anchor tenant can create for an entire shopping center.
To check out retail foot traffic trends for yourself, try Placer.ai's free industry trends tool.
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Despite persistent economic uncertainty, the retail sector continues to show signs of stability, though not without caveats. Store closures have put pressure on vacancies, while new construction remains limited. Yet, leasing momentum has persisted in prime locations, supported by resilient consumer demand and evolving tenant strategies. In this report, we explore the key takeaways across retail fundamentals and shifting consumer behavior, using foot traffic trends to illuminate where the market is headed next.
Overall consumer foot traffic was up year-over-year in the first half of 2025, pointing to the resilience of the U.S. consumer and the continued demand for brick-and-mortar channels. Car wash services received the most significant visit spike, followed by theaters, music venues, and attractions. However, out-of-home entertainment still has a way to go before reaching pre-COVID visit levels. Traffic to fitness chains also increased, an impressive accomplishment given the category's multi-year growth streak.
Meanwhile, visits lagged for discretionary categories, especially those carrying larger-ticket items, such as home improvement retailers and electronics stores. Traffic to gas stations and C-stores was also below 2024, perhaps due to the recent dip in domestic travel.
Source: Colliers, Placer.ai
Analyzing the top 10 chains from the Placer 100 Retail and Dining Index with the most significant YoY growth in visits per venue in H1 2025 highlights consumers' current preference for affordable brands. Chili's took the top spot – its ongoing value promotions are still resonating with diners and driving traffic to the chain in 2025. Crunch Fitness, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, and HomeGoods – each known for their affordability– also made the top 10 list.
Several chains catering to mid- and high-income consumers – including Nordstrom, Staples, LA Fitness, and Barnes & Noble – experienced significant growth in visits per venue. This suggests that while value matters, brands don't need the lowest prices to win customers. Consumers want confidence that they're getting their money's worth. Brands that effectively communicate their value proposition can thrive, no matter the final price point.
Source: Colliers, Placer.ai
The first half of 2025 painted a mixed picture for retail real estate. While well-located centers continued to see solid leasing activity and rent stability, a surge in store closures placed an upward pressure on vacancies across lower-tier assets. New construction remains muted amid high borrowing costs, with most developers focusing on repositioning existing spaces. Absorption and leasing activity reflected the broader theme of bifurcation—strong demand for value-driven and experiential retail on one end, and lingering weakness in legacy retail formats.
Despite ongoing macroeconomic noise – from inflationary pressures to tariff uncertainty – U.S. retail sales posted steady year-over-year growth across the first half of 2025.
Source: Colliers, Census Bureau
One of the most overlooked trends this year is who is driving the spending. A recent Fed working paper highlighted that when using granular, self-reported income data, the narrative shifts dramatically: much of the consumer "resilience" is being propped up by high-income households, while middle- and lower-income groups are pulling back. Retailers that cater to affluent demographics or can flex their value proposition are faring better than those stuck in the middle.
Retailers should note that underlying volume growth, which strips out inflation and tariff-influenced buying, has been consistently weaker than top-line figures suggest. Analysts warn that this could foreshadow softer performance in the second half of 2025, especially as inflation, interest rates, and tariff impacts start to ripple more clearly through the supply chain.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, the retail sector is expected to remain stable but face growing macroeconomic pressures. Vacancy rates should hold steady, supported by a sharp 45% drop in new construction, though closures in freestanding formats (like pharmacies and discount stores) may cause localized upticks. Asking rents are projected to rise by about 2%, driven by limited supply and steady tenant demand. While net absorption may ease slightly, it is expected to remain positive across malls and open-air centers. Store-based retail sales are forecast to grow 1.5% in 2025, maintaining a 76% share of total retail sales. However, elevated inflation could weigh on consumer volume growth and leasing momentum in more price-sensitive segments.
For more data-driven insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
At Colliers, we’re proud to partner with Placer.ai, an industry-leading foot traffic analytics platform, to deliver more profound insights into the evolving retail landscape. As enterprise users of the tool, we’ve combined location intelligence with market fundamentals to uncover the trends shaping retail real estate in the first half of 2025.
Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumplings, have long been a staple at Chinese restaurants. Kids’ faces would light up as the bamboo steamer was uncovered and the big question swirled around how to eat it: take a small nibble and slowly savor the soup first or let it cool and eat in one big bite? Both options were enormously satisfying, and now the cat is out of the bag and xiao long bao have taken the world by storm.
Din Tai Fung began selling dumplings in 1978 in Taipei, Taiwan. Over the years, one of the Hong Kong branches has become a 5-time Michelin Star winner, and the chain has now expanded to 13 countries with 180 locations around the world. A recent Restaurant Business Online article revealed that “Din Tai Fung’s per-restaurant average of $27.4 million is nearly two times higher than the next closest brand, an astounding feat for a casual-dining chain.” The next 4 highest AUV restaurants are all steakhouses. The article continues with saying that “to generate unit volumes of that magnitude, a restaurant generally has to do three things: It has to be big, customers have to spend a decent amount, and it has to be busy. Din Tai Fung checks all three of those boxes.”
Go to any Din Tai Fung and you will often see lines snaking out the door, even in between meal times, like at 2pm. Their enormous popularity also has a great upside for the malls in which they reside. There’s a wait? No problem, one can shop while waiting to be called.
In the past year, malls with a Din Tai Fung consistently outperformed the indoor mall and open-air lifestyle center index. Even in some months where mall traffic was down year-over-year, the malls with a Din Tai Fung were often positive.
There are two likely explanations for these trends: 1) that Din Tai Fung is simply good at choosing its locations, placing its restaurants in centers that are already bustling and with an audience or trade area receptive to its offering, or 2) that Din Tai Fung is helping to drive this mall traffic. It may also be a bit of both, with a symbiotic relationship occurring.
Analyzing a location that has had a recent Din Tai Fung opening, namely Santa Monica Place in Southern California reveals that the addition of the restaurant also helps boost dwell time and evening visits.
This makes sense, as the opening of large restaurants in a shopping center increases one of the “occasions” for visiting, namely dinner. In particular, the timeframe after 7 PM has also expanded in popularity. Concurrently, dwell time at the mall has risen with the opening of this new restaurant, from an average of 45 minutes to now 58 minutes.
Din Tai Fung’s first US location was on Baldwin Ave in Arcadia, CA which opened in 2000. Before its worldwide expansion, it was already a local San Gabriel Valley gem. Looking at Placer data for this stand-alone restaurant in an outdoor center, we see that it was already showing signs of greater visits per square foot than many other peer establishments in the neighborhood, including other Chinese restaurants. After flying a bit under the radar for over a dozen years, a flagship restaurant opened at Santa Anita mall across the way in 2016. The original Arcadia location eventually closed in late July 2020, but since then many others have popped open all over the US.
Din Tai Fung has many things going for it, particularly as Asian food and culture has been exploding in popularity in the United States. One San Francisco Chronicle article talks about how two SF malls, Japantown and Stonestown Galleria, are defying the mall doom loop by “capturing the zeitgeist by offering unique Japanese, Korean, and Chinese pop culture.” In addition to providing tasty food, Din Tai Fung is also in the unique position of featuring a lot of shareables at affordable price points.
While steak dinners might be more for business or special occasion meals, Din Tai Fung is elevated enough to be a treat, but a lesser hit on the wallet. As dining becomes more experiential, diners enjoy being able to try a variety of main and side dishes. Locations allow you to peek in on the action, with the chefs painstakingly pleating the soup dumplings to exacting proportions of 18 folds and 21 grams. As someone who has been frequenting Din Tai Fung since its first US location opened as a stand-alone restaurant in Arcadia, as well as 11 of the US locations and the original in Taiwan, the company also maintains extremely high standards and consistent execution.
Ultimately, Din Tai Fung's success suggests that a combination of operational excellence and experiential dining can create a destination brand that elevates the entire ecosystem around it.
For more data-driven insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Following a period of caution in May and June, U.S. industrial manufacturing facilities saw a significant surge of activity in July 2025. As we've noted previously, many manufacturers experienced an increase in visits during March and April to build inventory ahead of initial tariff implementation dates, followed by a normalization period in May and June as businesses adopted a "wait-and-see" approach. However, with the hard deadline of August 1st for new, widespread tariffs, July was marked by a dramatic uptick in visits from both employees and logistics partners as companies made a last-ditch effort to maximize output and shipments.
This flurry of activity was particularly intense in highly interconnected sectors like auto manufacturing, industrial machinery, and metals processing, all of which are vulnerable to tariffs on imported raw materials and components. Metals processing plants, for example, ramped up operations to convert as much raw steel and aluminum as possible before their costs increased. In turn, auto and industrial machinery manufacturers accelerated their own production lines, pulling in vast quantities of both processed metals and specialized foreign parts to build up inventory before the new duties could disrupt their supply chains.
This final pre-tariff rush was evident in our data: the increase in employee visits to factories signaled that production lines were running at high capacity, while a sharp rise in visits from logistics partners – like truckers and other carriers – indicated a massive push to move finished goods and components through the supply chain before the August 1st implementation date.
For more data-driven consumer insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
In a challenging macroeconomic environment, full-service restaurants (FSRs) face mounting pressure to attract and retain diners. Recent foot traffic data underscores a growing divide among top FSR players:
Brinker International (EAT), parent to Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy, continued its winning streak with double-digit YoY visit growth in Q2.
Texas Roadhouse’s portfolio (TXRH), featuring its flagship steakhouse, Bubba-33, and Jaggers, saw moderate (+4.1%) YoY overall visit gains and slightly increased same-store visits, reflecting steady performance at existing sites amid ongoing expansion.
Bloomin’ Brands (Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar) experienced YoY foot traffic declines. While Bloomin’ narrowed its YoY visit gap in Q2, it remains squeezed between the aggressive value messaging of chains like Chili’s and the focused execution of competitors like Texas Roadhouse.
What lies behind Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse’s standout success in 2025?
Chili’s visits began to surge in Q2 2024 – the result of a turnaround plan executed by CEO Kevin Hochman after he took the helm in 2022. By reducing and refining the menu, boosting efficiency, and focusing on craveable yet affordable dishes, Chili’s cut costs and funneled the savings into compelling promotions. The company also worked to make its brand more fun and buzzworthy, setting the stage for viral TikTok moments amplified by well-coordinated influencer campaigns. Meanwhile, menu innovations – most notably the Big Smash Burger, added to the company’s “3 for Me” value menu in April 2024 – drove a lasting traffic boost that persisted into 2025 as the chain continued updating its value meal.
Texas Roadhouse, by contrast, has pursued steady expansion over the past several years. Like Chili’s, it relies on a focused, core menu to maintain quality and efficiency, but unlike Chili’s it rarely changes up its offerings, sticking instead to consistently excelling at what it does best. The steakhouse chain also famously forgoes nationwide advertising in favor of local engagement and a strong reputation for everyday value. Although per-location visit growth at Texas Roadhouse softened slightly in early 2025 – perhaps reflecting heightened consumer attention to limited-time offers and special promotions – the steakhouse continues to grow its footprint while limiting cannibalization.
Despite following different paths to growth, Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse have both made focused menus a core tenet of their strategies. And with menu simplification proving effective in today’s crowded market, it is no surprise that Bloomin’ Brands has recently outlined its own plans to cut costs and boost consistency by trimming menus – particularly at Outback Steakhouse.
Ultimately, foot traffic translates into market share, and both Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse have grown their portions of the overall FSR visit pie. While Texas Roadhouse has steadily augmented its reach over several years, Chili’s saw a sharp surge in H1 2025, propelled by its aggressive value-driven initiatives.
The varied performances of Brinker, Texas Roadhouse, and Bloomin’ Brands underscore the critical need for a clear, disciplined strategy in today’s competitive casual dining sector. And Chili's and Texas Roadhouse’s successes demonstrate how menu simplicity and operational efficiency can fuel distinct avenues to success.
As these brands head into the second half of 2025, several questions loom large for executives and investors:
The coming months will test whether Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse can maintain their winning formulas – and whether Bloomin’ Brands can course-correct through targeted menu reductions and promotional recalibrations.
For more data-driven dining insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Health and wellness continue to be a major priority for most Americans, and the fitness industry continues to reap the benefits. This segment has ample room for all kinds of gym-goers, from luxury athletic chains like Life Time to more accessible and affordable options like Planet Fitness. We took a look at visitation patterns to these two chains in Q2 2025 to understand their recent performance
Upscale gym chain Life Time has evolved into a wellness powerhouse over the years, offering its members access to fitness classes, luxury amenities, and even co-working and residential spaces.
Though the chain experienced impressive visit growth in 2024, YoY visits slowed slightly in 2025 – perhaps owing in part to the difficult comparison to a particularly strong 2024. Still, visit gaps were fairly minimal – Q2 2025 visits were just -0.6% lower than in Q2 2024, and average visits per location were just -1.5% lower year-over-year.
And while visits may have moderated somewhat in the first half of the year, Life Time seems confident about its market position, with several new locations in the pipeline for 2025 and 2026.
While Life Time caters to gym-goers looking for a luxury wellness experience, Planet Fitness offers easily accessible, judgment-free fitness zones that welcomes all kinds of gym-goers. This model, characterized by its low monthly fees and basic amenities, aims to appeal to a broad consumer base.
And foot traffic trends suggest that this model is not just working, it’s thriving: YoY visits were elevated by 10.1% in Q2 2025, and average visits per location grew by 6.2% in the same period. This growth comes on the heels of its elevated visits throughout H2 2024 – a promising sign for the chain as it begins a major expansion push.
A closer look at visit data highlights that visit frequency at Life Time is consistently higher than at Planet Fitness. Throughout 2025, visitors to Planet Fitness visited an average of 4.1 to 4.4 times a month, while visitors to Life Time visit an average of 5.7 to 6.2 times a month.
This reflects the two brands’ different models: Life Time aims to be a true one-stop-shop for wellness, combining co-working spaces and residential living with its fitness offerings, elements that encourage members to visit more frequently. Meanwhile, Planet Fitness’s focus on affordability and a straightforward gym-going experience attracts budget-conscious gym-goers whose visits, while slightly less frequent, align with their demand for simple, convenient fitness.
Life Time and Planet Fitness occupy two very different ends of the fitness and wellness spectrum – and both are proving that there’s room for variety in the gym segment.
How might the second half of the year look for these two chains?
Visit Placer.ai/anchor for the latest data-driven fitness insights.
The restaurant space has experienced its fair share of challenges in recent years – from pandemic-related closures to rising labor and ingredient costs. Despite these hurdles, the category is holding its own, with total 2024 spending projected to reach $1.1 trillion by the end of the year.
And an analysis of year-over-year (YoY) visitation trends to restaurants nationwide shows that consumers are frequenting dining establishments in growing numbers – despite food-away-from-home prices that remain stubbornly high.
Overall, monthly visits to restaurants were up nearly every month this year compared to the equivalent periods of 2023. Only in January, when inclement weather kept many consumers at home, did restaurants see a significant YoY drop. Throughout the rest of the analyzed period, YoY visits either held steady or grew – showing that Americans are finding room in their budgets to treat themselves to tasty, hassle-free meals.
Still, costs remain elevated and dining preferences have shifted, with consumers prioritizing value and convenience – and restaurants across segments are looking for ways to meet these changing needs. This white paper dives into the data to explore the trends impacting quick-service restaurants (QSR), full-service restaurants (FSR), and fast-casual dining venues – and strategies all three categories are using to stay ahead of the pack.
Overall, the dining sector has performed well in 2024, but a closer look at specific segments within the industry shows that fast-casual restaurants are outperforming both QSR and FSR chains.
Between January and August 2024, visits to fast-casual establishments were up 3.3% YoY, while QSR visits grew by just 0.7%, and FSR visits fell by 0.3% YoY. As eating out becomes more expensive, consumers are gravitating toward dining options that offer better perceived value without compromising on quality. Fast-casual chains, which balance affordability with higher-quality ingredients and experiences, have increasingly become the go-to choice for value-conscious diners.
Fast-casual restaurants also tend to attract a higher-income demographic. Between January and August 2024, fast-casual restaurants drew visitors from Census Block Groups (CBGs) with a weighted median household income of $78.2K – higher than the nationwide median of $76.1K. (The CBGs feeding visits to these restaurants, weighted to reflect the share of visits from each CBG, are collectively referred to as their captured market).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, quick-service restaurants drew visitors from much less affluent areas. But interestingly, despite their pricier offerings, full-service restaurants also drew visitors from CBGs with a median HHI below the nationwide baseline. While fast-casual restaurants likely attract office-goers and other routine diners that can afford to eat out on a more regular basis, FSR chains may serve as special occasion destinations for those with more moderate means.
Though QSR, FSR, and fast-casual spots all seek to provide strong value propositions, dining chains across segments have been forced to raise prices over the past year to offset rising food and labor costs. This next section takes a look at several chains that have succeeded in raising prices without sacrificing visit growth – to explore some of the strategies that have enabled them to thrive.
The fast-casual restaurant space attracts diners that are on the wealthier side – but some establishments cater to even higher earners. One chain of note is NYC-based burger chain Shake Shack, which features a captured market median HHI of $94.3K. In comparison, the typical fast-casual diner comes from areas with a median HHI of $78.2K.
Shake Shack emphasizes high-quality ingredients and prices its offerings accordingly. The chain, which has been expanding its footprint, strategically places its locations in affluent, upscale, and high-traffic neighborhoods – driving foot traffic that consistently surpasses other fast-casual chains. And this elevated foot traffic has continued to impress, even as Shake Shack has raised its prices by 2.5% over the past year.
Steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse has enjoyed a positive few years, weathering the pandemic with aplomb before moving into an expansion phase. And this year, the chain ranked in the top five for service, food quality, and overall experience by the 2024 Datassential Top 500 Restaurant Chain.
Like Shake Shack, Texas Roadhouse has raised its prices over the past year – three times – while maintaining impressive visit metrics. Between January and August 2024, foot traffic to the steakhouse grew by 9.7% YoY, outpacing visits to the overall FSR segment by wide margins.
This foot traffic growth is fueled not only by expansion but also by the chain's ability to draw traffic during quieter dayparts like weekday afternoons, while at the same time capitalizing on high-traffic times like weekends. Some 27.7% of weekday visits to Texas Roadhouse take place between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM – compared to just 18.9% for the broader FSR segment – thanks to the chain’s happy hour offerings early dining specials. And 43.3% of visits to the popular steakhouse take place on Saturdays and Sundays, when many diners are increasingly choosing to splurge on restaurant meals, compared to 38.4% for the wider category.
Though rising costs have been on everybody’s minds, summer 2024 may be best remembered as the summer of value – with many quick-service restaurants seeking to counter higher prices by embracing Limited-Time Offers (LTOs). These LTOs offered diners the opportunity to save at the register and get more bang for their buck – while boosting visits at QSR chains across the country.
Limited time offers such as discounted meals and combo offers can encourage frequent visits, and Hardee’s $5.99 "Original Bag" combo, launched in August 2024, did just that. The combo allowed diners to mix and match popular items like the Double Cheeseburger and Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender Wraps, offering both variety and affordability. And visits to the chain during the month of August 2024 were 4.9% higher than Hardee’s year-to-date (YTD) monthly visit average.
August’s LTO also drove up Hardee’s already-impressive loyalty rates. Between May and July 2024, 40.1% to 43.4% of visits came from customers who visited Hardee’s at least three times during the month, likely encouraged by Hardee’s top-ranking loyalty program. But in August, Hardee’s share of loyal visits jumped to 51.5%, highlighting just how receptive many diners are to eating out – as long as they feel they are getting their money’s worth.
McDonald’s launched its own limited-time offer in late June 2024, aimed at providing value to budget-conscious consumers. And the LTO – McDonald’s foray into this summer’s QSR value wars – was such a resounding success that the fast-food leader decided to extend the deal into December.
McDonald’s LTO drove foot traffic to restaurants nationwide. But a closer look at the chain’s regional captured markets shows that the offer resonated particularly well with “Young Urban Singles” – a segment group defined by Spatial.ai's PersonaLive dataset as young singles beginning their careers in trade jobs. McDonald's locations in states where the captured market shares of this demographic surpassed statewide averages by wider margins saw bigger visit boosts in July 2024 – and the correlation was a strong one.
For example, the share of “Young Urban Singles” in McDonald’s Massachusetts captured market was 56.0% higher than the Massachusetts statewide baseline – and the chain saw a 10.6% visit boost in July 2024, compared to the chain's statewide H1 2024 monthly average. But in Florida, where McDonald’s captured markets were over-indexed for “Young Urban Singles” by just 13% compared to the statewide average, foot traffic jumped in July 2024 by a relatively modest 7.3%.
These young, price-conscious consumers, who are receptive to spending their discretionary income on dining out, are not the sole driver of McDonald’s LTO foot traffic success. Still, the promotion’s outsize performance in areas where McDonald’s attracts higher-than-average shares of Young Urban Singles shows that the offering was well-tailored to meet the particular needs and preferences of this key demographic.
While QSR, fast-casual, and FSR chains have largely boosted foot traffic through deals and specials, reputation is another powerful way to attract diners. Restaurants that earn a coveted Michelin Star often see a surge in visits, as was the case for Causa – a Peruvian dining destination in Washington, D.C. The restaurant received its first Michelin Star in November 2023, a major milestone for Chef Carlos Delgado.
The Michelin Star elevated the restaurant's profile, drawing in affluent diners who prioritize exclusivity and are less sensitive to price increases. Since the award, Causa saw its share of the "Power Elite" segment group in its captured market increase from 24.7% to 26.6%. Diners were also more willing to travel for the opportunity to partake in the Causa experience: In the six months following the award, some 40.3% of visitors to the restaurant came from more than ten miles away, compared to just 30.3% in the six months prior.
These data points highlight the power of a Michelin Star to increase a restaurant’s draw and attract more affluent audiences – allowing it to raise prices without losing its core clientele. Wealthier diners often seek unique culinary experiences, where price is less of a concern, making these establishments more resilient to inflation than more venues that serve more price-sensitive customers.
Dining preferences continue to evolve as restaurants adapt to a rapidly changing culinary landscape. From the rise in fast-casual dining to the benefits of limited-time offers, the analyzed restaurant categories are determining how to best reach their target audiences. By staying up-to-date with what people are eating, these restaurant categories can hope to continue bringing customers through the door.
The COVID-19 pandemic – and the subsequent shift to remote work – has fundamentally redefined where and how people live and work, creating new opportunities for smaller cities to thrive.
But where are relocators going in 2024 – and what are they looking for? This post dives into the data for several CBSAs with populations ranging from 500K to 2.5 million that have seen positive net domestic migration over the past several years – where population inflow outpaces outflow. Who is moving to these hubs, and what is drawing them?
The past few years have seen a shift in where people are moving. While major metropolitan areas like New York still attract newcomers, smaller cities, which offer a balance of affordability, livability, and career opportunities, are becoming attractive alternatives for those looking to relocate.
Between July 2020 and July 2024, for example, the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX CBSA, saw net domestic migration of 3.6% – not surprising, given the city of Austin’s ranking among U.S. News and World Report’s top places to live in 2024-5. Raleigh-Cary, NC, which also made the list, experienced net population inflow of 2.6%. And other metro areas, including Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR (3.3%), Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA (1.4%), Oklahoma City, OK (1.1%), and Madison, WI (0.6%) have seen more domestic relocators moving in than out over the past four years.
All of these CBSAs have also continued to see positive net migration over the past 12 months – highlighting their continued appeal into 2024.
What is driving domestic migration to these hubs? While these metropolitan areas span various regions of the country, they share a common characteristic: They all attract residents coming, on average, from CBSAs with younger and less affluent populations.
Between July 2020 and July 2024, for example, relocators to high-income Raleigh, NC – where the median household income (HHI) stands at $84K – tended to hail from CBSAs with a significantly lower weighted median HHI ($66.9K). Similarly, those moving to Austin, TX – where the median HHI is $85.4K – tended to come from regions with a median HHI of $69.9K. This pattern suggests that these cities offer newcomers an aspirational leap in both career and financial prospects.
Moreover, most of these CBSAs are drawing residents with a younger weighted median age than that of their existing residents, reinforcing their appeal as destinations for those still establishing and growing their careers. Des Moines and Oklahoma City, in particular, saw the largest gaps between the median age of newcomers and that of the existing population.
Career opportunities and affordable housing are major drivers of migration, and data from Niche’s Neighborhood Grades suggests that these CBSAs attract newcomers due to their strong performance in both areas. All of the analyzed CBSAs had better "Jobs" and "Housing" grades compared to the regions from which people migrated. For example, Austin, Texas received the highest "Jobs" rating with an A-, while most new arrivals came from areas where the "Jobs" grade was a B.
While the other analyzed CBSAs showed smaller improvements in job ratings, the combination of improvements in both “Jobs” and “Housing” make them appealing destinations for those seeking better economic opportunities and affordability.
Young professionals may be more open than ever to living in smaller metro areas, offering opportunities for cities like Austin and Raleigh to thrive. And the demographic analysis of newcomers to these CBSAs underscores their appeal to individuals seeking job opportunities and upward mobility.
Will these CBSAs continue to attract newcomers and cement their status as vibrant, opportunity-rich hubs for young professionals? And how will this new mix of population impact these growing markets?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up with the latest data-driven civic news.
Convenience stores, or c-stores, have been one of the more exciting retail categories to watch over the past few years. The segment has undergone significant shifts, embracing more diverse offerings like fresh food and expanded dining options, while also exploring new markets and adapting to changing consumer needs. We looked at the recent foot traffic data to see what this category's successes reveal about the current state of brick-and-mortar retail.
Convenience stores are increasingly viewed not only as places to fuel up, but as affordable destinations for quick meals, snacks, and other necessities. And analyzing monthly visits to the category shows that it is continuing to benefit from its positioning as a stop for food, fuel, and in some cases, tourism.
Despite lapping a strong H1 2023, visits to the category either exceeded last year’s levels or held steady during all but one of the first eight months of 2024 – highlighting the segment’s ongoing strength. Only in January 2024 did C-stores see a slight YoY dip, likely reflecting a weather-induced exaggeration of the segment’s normal seasonality.
Indeed, examining monthly fluctuations in visits to c-stores (compared to a January 2021 baseline) shows that foot traffic to the category tends to peak in summer months – perhaps driven by summer road trips and vacations – and slow down significantly in winter. Given summer’s importance for convenience stores, the category’s August YoY visit bump is a particularly promising indication of c-stores’ robust positioning this year.
While some C-store chains, like 7-Eleven, have a nationwide presence, others are concentrated in specific areas of the country. But as the popularity of C-stores continues to grow, regional chains like Wawa, Buc-ee’s, and Sheetz are expanding into new territories, broadening their reach.
Wawa, a beloved brand with roots in Pennsylvania, has become synonymous with its fresh sandwiches, coffee, and a highly loyal customer base. Wawa has been a major player in the c-store space in recent years, with a revamped menu driving ever-stronger foot traffic to its Mid-Atlantic region stores. Between January and August 2024, YoY visits to the chain were mostly elevated. And the chain is now venturing into states like Florida – where its store count has grown significantly over the past few years – as well as Georgia and Alabama.
Meanwhile, Texas favorite Buc-ee’s, though known for its enormous stores and mind boggling array of dining options, has a relatively small footprint – but that might be changing. The chain, which also outpaced its already-strong 2023 performance this year, is opening locations in Arkansas and North Carolina, further building on its reputation as a destination for travelers. And Sheetz, another regional chain with a strong presence in Pennsylvania, is also expanding, with plans to open locations in Southern states like North Carolina and Tennessee.
This trend toward regional expansion offers significant opportunities for growth, not only by increasing store count, but also by reaching new consumer bases and target audiences. Customer behavior differs between markets – and by expanding into new areas, c-stores can tap into unique local visitation patterns.
One metric that highlights local differences in consumer behavior is dwell time, or the amount of time a customer spends inside a convenience store per visit. In some regions, visitors tend to move in and out quickly, while in others, customers linger for longer periods of time.
Analyzing convenience store dwell times by state highlights substantial differences in visitor behavior. During the first eight months of 2024, coastal states (with the exception of Oregon) tended to see shorter average dwell times (between 7.5 and 11.8 minutes). On the other hand, in states like Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, average dwell times ranged between 21.2 and 28.2 minutes.
Interestingly, the states with the longest dwell times also have some of the highest percentages of truck traffic on interstate highways – suggesting that these longer stops are perhaps made by long-haul truckers looking for a place to shower, relax, and grab a bite to eat.
Even as regional favorites expand their reach, nationwide classic 7-Eleven is taking steps to further cement its growing role as a prime grab-and-go food and beverage destination. And like other dining destinations, the chain relies on limited-time offers (LTOs) to fuel excitement – and visits.
One of the most iconic, and beloved c-store LTOs is 7-Eleven’s Slurpee Day, which falls each year on July 11th. The event, during which all 7-Eleven locations hand out free slurpees, tends to drive significant upticks in foot traffic – and this year was no exception. Visits to the convenience store jumped by a whopping 127.3% on July 11th, 2024 relative to the YTD daily visit average – proving that good deals will bring customers in the door.
The convenience store sector continues building on the impressive growth seen in 2023. As many chains double down on expanding both their regional presence and their offerings, will they continue to drive growth in the coming years?
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