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Best Buy has long been a go-to destination for consumers looking for the latest tech – but like many retailers, it has faced challenges in recent years. We dove into the data to explore the latest visitation trends for Best Buy and the demographics of visitors that are driving traffic to the chain.
Best Buy’s visits lagged in 2024 (7.0% below 2023 levels), but the company continues to invest in a real estate strategy aimed at improving consumer engagement. To leverage its store fleet most efficiently, Best Buy is closing traditional large-format stores while opening smaller-format ones to provide a tailored experience to consumers – often in small and midsized markets previously untapped by the retailer.
And Best Buy may already be reaping the benefits of this strategy; in January 2025, the retailer received a 0.4% YoY boost in foot traffic. As the chain continues to optimize its real estate footprint, it could be on track to drive more visit growth in the near future – particularly as more shoppers replace consumer electronics purchased during the pandemic.
Drilling down to daily visitation over the holiday season further highlights Best Buy’s momentum going into 2025. Best Buy consistently drives traffic during critical retail moments, and 2024 was no exception.
On Black Friday 2024, the retailer saw a 473.1% visit boost compared to the daily average for 2024. And the foot traffic surge continued the following day (Black Saturday, 162.4%) as consumers likely continued to take advantage of the weekend’s discounts.
And as was the case in previous years, Best Buy’s traffic picked up as Christmas 2024 neared, with significant visit spikes on Super Saturday (199.0%), Panic Sunday (151.3%), and Christmas Eve Eve (171.7%). Best Buy also saw elevated traffic post-Christmas traffic on Boxing Day (128.0%), when consumers likely looked to exchange gifts or set up their new tech with the help of the renowned Geek Squad.
Of course, Best Buy is more than just a holiday shopping destination. And analysis of audience segmentation for the retailer reveals that families are overrepresented in the chain’s captured* market relative to its potential* market – indicating that this segment in particular drives significant traffic year-round.
According to the AGS: Demographic Dimensions dataset, in 2024, the average household size in Best Buy’s potential market was 2.49 people compared to 2.64 people in the chain’s captured market. Married couples with children were also more heavily represented in the chain’s captured market (33.4%) compared to its potential market (32.0%), suggesting a relatively larger share of visitors from family households among Best Buy’s visitors.
Further analysis of audience segments within the chain’s captured and potential markets indicates that visitors from a variety of family types are drawn to Best Buy. According to the Spatial.ai: PersonaLive dataset, residents belonging to the “Wealthy Suburban Families”, “Upper Suburban Diverse Families”, “Near-Urban Diverse Families”, and “Blue Collar Suburbs” segments were all over-represented in Best Buy’s captured market compared to its potential market. This suggests that visitors from different types of family households – working-class, wealthy, urban, and suburban – are driving traffic to Best Buy.
Perhaps families are drawn to Best Buy’s expanding experiential format, where visitors of all ages can get hands-on with LEGO and explore home theater set ups worthy of a family movie night.
*A chain or venue’s potential market is derived by the census block groups (CBGs) from which the retailer draws its visitors weighted by the population size of each, whereas a captured market is derived from the same CBGs weighted by the share of visits from each, and thus reflects the population that actually visits the chain or venue.
Best Buy’s ability to drive traffic through strategic store formats, holiday shopping surges, and family households highlights the company’s ongoing relevance in the evolving consumer electronics landscape. With early signs of a foot traffic resurgence, Best Buy appears to have positioned itself for continued success in 2025.
Want more data-driven retail insights? Visit Placer.ai.
Our hearts go out to all those affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Many Angelenos, in search of a sense of normalcy and diversion, have turned to a familiar and comforting place—the mall.
On the west side of Los Angeles, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica experienced a significant surge in weekly visitation compared to a baseline of January 6th-12th 2025. This increase is not surprising, as many Palisadians fled south to Santa Monica hotels and rentals, allowing them to stay close to their neighborhoods, children’s schools, and social circles.
Westfield Century City and The Grove also saw increased foot traffic, as both malls serve as key gathering spots in their communities and feature state-of-the-art movie theaters, providing a few hours of escape. Additionally, their upgraded HVAC systems—enhanced post-pandemic—may offer an added layer of comfort for visitors. Similarly, Westfield Topanga, a familiar shopping destination for residents of the San Fernando Valley, saw an uptick in visits during the second half of January. And traffic at these shopping destinations was still elevated as of mid-February, suggesting that at least some displaced residents are likely staying in the area in the more medium-term.
Some Palisadians have opted to relocate much farther south, though this migration appears to have had a more dispersed effect on shopping patterns. As a result, we do not see a significant impact on visitation to South Bay shopping centers like Manhattan Village and Del Amo Fashion Center.
While reports have mentioned some Palisadians moving to Newport Beach—a community that shares similar demographics with the Palisades—the influx does not appear to be large enough to meaningfully shift mall visitation patterns in January. Additionally, given the circumstances, it is unlikely that many displaced residents would be making frequent trips to Fashion Island or South Coast Plaza. Instead, those who have temporarily relocated to the area are likely settling in as newly arrived locals.
If we examine the year-over-year (YoY) change in visits from specific ZIP codes, Placer data reveals a significant surge in visitation to Third Street Promenade from the Pacific Palisades during January 2025, with visits increasing by 20.4% compared to the same period last year.
Demographic analysis of the Third Street Promenade’s trade area also indicates that the shopping corridor drew a higher proportion of family households and more affluent audience segments – perhaps thanks to the influx of visitors from the Palisades.
Amid the disruption caused by the wildfires, shopping centers have stepped in as steady community spaces rather than just retail venues. The uptick in foot traffic at locations like Third Street Promenade and Westfield Century City shows that these malls are serving as reliable hubs for daily routines and social connection, offering residents practical support as they navigate uncertain times.
In the wake of the devastating wildfires across the greater Los Angeles area, retailers—both local and national—have played a crucial role in providing relief, comfort, and a sense of community for those impacted. Retail is an industry that touches consumers’ lives daily, often more frequently than most other businesses. Because retailers fulfill a wide range of needs, they have become essential partners in supporting communities facing unimaginable crises.
In the immediate aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton Fires, retailers transformed their stores into donation hubs, offering displaced individuals essential items such as clothing and N95 masks. Major brands, including J.Crew, Gap Inc., and Free People, quickly repurposed their stores to serve as distribution centers. Free People even opened an entirely new shop in Santa Monica—Free Shop by Free People and FP Movement—where affected residents could book time slots to browse and collect necessary items. Beyond national retailers, Los Angeles-based brands also stepped up to support fire victims. Babyletto, a juvenile furniture brand, donated cribs to displaced families, while apparel company Big Bud Press launched new collections with proceeds benefiting the Pasadena Jobs Center.
While retail depends on consumerism, its role over the past month has extended beyond sales, making a profound impact on the local community. Many retailers in the discretionary sector opened their doors to directly assist affected families, demonstrating that physical retail spaces can be used for more than just commerce. By taking action on the ground rather than simply offering monetary donations, retailers provided immediate, tangible support to those in need.
Three specific retail locations in Los Angeles exemplified this effort, with Placer’s data revealing just how meaningful their initiatives were. Gap’s Santa Monica store was among the first to pivot toward relief efforts, distributing new Gap merchandise and PPE to community members beginning on January 11th. Alo Yoga’s Beverly Hills location provided care kits to impacted residents between January 14th and 16th. Meanwhile, Babylist, an online registry service with a physical showroom in Beverly Hills, hosted donation days on January 21st and 28th, allowing displaced families to shop for free and replace lost items.
Placer’s foot traffic estimates suggest that these relief efforts were well-received and widely utilized. Each of these locations saw an increase in visits during the weeks their relief initiatives took place, surpassing the average January baseline. The data underscores how critical these retailer-driven efforts were in supporting Los Angeles families and providing much-needed aid during a difficult time.
During Alo Yoga’s donation event from January 14th to 16th, there was a noticeable increase in visitation from across the greater Los Angeles area, drawing new traffic beyond the Beverly Hills neighborhood. Compared to January baseline trends, the week of January 13th saw a higher share of visits originating from 3 to 10 miles away. More significantly, visits also increased from 10 to 30 miles away, likely including individuals affected by the Eaton Fire. In contrast, visits from over 250 miles away declined, underscoring the sharp drop in tourism to Los Angeles during the peak of the wildfire crisis.
Babylist’s LA showroom opened its doors to families in need, offering a space to replace essential baby items lost in the fires. These relief events attracted a different visitor mix than the store typically sees, providing immediate support for young families and grandparents. According to PersonaLive’s visitor segmentation, during the weeks Babylist hosted its relief events, there was a higher distribution of visits from Educated Urbanites, Young Professionals, and Sunset Boomers. In contrast, the full-month January data showed a greater share of visits from Ultra Wealthy Families. This shift highlights how retailer-led relief efforts were actively utilized by those in need, reinforcing the critical role local businesses can play in supporting communities during crises.
Retailers play a vital role in the communities they serve, and their ability to provide immediate support in Los Angeles through physical stores allowed for faster distribution of donations and aid. The best-in-class relief strategies implemented by these retailers should serve as a blueprint for others to follow, reinforcing the importance of brick-and-mortar stores as essential community assets during times of crisis and recovery.
2024 was a challenging year for the restaurant industry, marked by increased competition from other food retail channels, intensified value wars, and rising operational costs, all of which contributed to a surge in bankruptcies. The start of 2025 has been equally difficult.
Despite these challenges, our data continues to show strong consumer demand for dining out. However, the way consumers interact with restaurants is evolving more than ever before. Below, we highlight several key shifts in consumer behavior that restaurant operators, suppliers, and investors should consider in the year ahead.
With Starbucks' renewed focus on its coffeehouse roots under CEO Brian Niccol, an important question emerges: have today’s restaurants become too complex? Starbucks originally built its brand as a “third place” away from home and work – an inviting space for customers to gather. However, this focus began shifting about a decade ago with the rollout of Mobile Order and Pay. As e-commerce surged in the early 2010s, consumers became accustomed to making purchases online or via mobile apps, making digital ordering a necessity for most retailers and restaurants. Yet, prioritizing convenience through mobile ordering and pickup created a disconnect with Starbucks’ experience-driven identity, leading to friction between its convenience-oriented and experience-focused customers.
This tension between experience and convenience has been a challenge for many restaurant operators in recent years. It explains why QSR chains have reduced store footprints while expanding drive-thru capacity, why fast-casual and casual-dining restaurants have increasingly adopted pickup and drive-thru windows, and why many chains now allocate dedicated space for delivery orders. Even Darden, long resistant to third-party delivery, ultimately embraced it to adapt to changing consumer behavior.
Visitation trends in 2024 reinforced the difficulty of balancing experience and convenience within the same restaurant model. Among chains with more than 100 locations, those with the highest year-over-year (YoY) growth in visits per location were largely drive-thru specialists, such as Raising Cane’s, In-N-Out Burger, 7 Brew Coffee, and PJ’s Coffee. Meanwhile, non-drive-thru leaders like CAVA and Chipotle thrived by focusing on customization, underscoring that consumers are willing to pay a premium for personalized experiences that align with their preferences.
The rise of convenience-based restaurants does not signal the end of experiential dining – far from it. Below, we’ve outlined monthly year-over-year (YoY) visit trends for major restaurant categories in 2024. While QSR value wars dominated industry headlines throughout the year, casual- and fine-dining chains actually outperformed the QSR segment in YoY visit growth.
Some of this success can be attributed to well-executed promotions, such as Chili’s "3 for Me" deal – which helped the chain finish just behind Raising Cane’s in visit-per-location growth for 2024 – and Buffalo Wild Wings’ "All You Can Eat Wings" promotion. However, the strong YoY performance of fine-dining chains further underscores that experience-driven dining remained highly in demand throughout the year.
We also see this trend reflected in dwell time across the restaurant industry. With the rise of drive-thru and takeout orders during and after the pandemic, combined with advancements in mobile ordering technology, it’s no surprise that dwell times for limited-service restaurants have remained below pre-pandemic levels (below). However, the opposite is happening in full-service restaurant categories, where dwell times are on par with or even exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
While many casual dining chains have seen an increase in takeout and delivery orders over the past few years, the growth of experiential dining concepts like Kura Sushi and GEN Korean BBQ, along with the continued expansion of eatertainment venues such as Topgolf, Puttshack, and Pinstripes—where dwell times often exceed 90 minutes—has helped maintain overall category dwell times. Meanwhile, the increase in dwell time for fine-dining establishments suggests that guests are making the most of their time when dining out, reinforcing the growing consumer preference for experience over convenience.
We've previously highlighted the importance of familiarity in consumer dining decisions, particularly in a challenging macroeconomic environment. With years of elevated inflation across food, rent, healthcare, and insurance, consumers have fewer discretionary dollars to spend. As a result, when they choose to dine out, they gravitate toward brands they know and trust.
In collaboration with the team at Bloomberg Second Measure, we analyzed data on the percentage of revenue generated from new customers at both full-service and limited-service restaurants. Our findings revealed a noticeable decline in new customer revenue during the second half of 2024, further reinforcing the idea that consumers are prioritizing familiarity when making dining choices.
This preference for familiar brands may be creating challenges for restaurant chains expanding into new markets. Traditionally, a new restaurant location in an unfamiliar market could expect to generate around 75% of the sales/visits seen in an established market—after an initial “honeymoon” phase when consumers try the brand for the first time. However, our data suggests that visit trends for restaurants entering new markets are now significantly lower than historical averages. Unsurprisingly, many operators have told us that their 2025 expansion plans will prioritize in-filling existing markets rather than expanding into new ones.
Portillo’s—the Chicago-based chain known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and char-grilled burgers—has experienced mixed visit trends when entering new markets. Below, we present visit per location trends for Portillo’s nationwide, in its home market of Chicago, and in several states where it has expanded in recent years. In its latest investor presentation, Portillo’s acknowledged that its average unit volumes are highest in its home market ($11.3 million in sales per location), compared to other Midwest markets ($6.0 million) and Sunbelt locations ($6.6 million). While these figures are still strong, they reflect the broader challenge that many restaurant brands face when expanding beyond their core markets.
Conclusion
As the restaurant industry navigates 2025, operators must strike a delicate balance between convenience and experience while adapting to shifting consumer preferences. The demand for dining out remains strong, but consumers are making more intentional choices, favoring trusted brands and prioritizing either speed and efficiency or immersive, experiential dining. At the same time, new market expansion presents growing challenges, with visit trends suggesting a preference for familiarity over novelty. As brands refine their strategies, those that successfully integrate innovation with operational excellence—whether through streamlined digital convenience, compelling promotions, or differentiated in-store experiences—will be best positioned for long-term success in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Sprouts Farmers Market and Dutch Bros. have seen impressive foot traffic growth over the past few years. We analyzed their visitation metrics for 2024 to understand what’s driving their continued success.
Both Sprouts and Dutch Bros. posted impressive visitation numbers throughout 2024, with visits for the full year elevated by 7.3% and 15.8%, respectively, compared to 2023. This momentum caps off several years of sustained growth – particularly for Dutch Bros. – which has expanded rapidly while maintaining consistent foot traffic increases. And though average visits per location at Dutch Bros. were slightly down YoY in 2024, the visit gaps were relatively modest – indicating that the chain is succeeding in expanding with minimal cannibalization to its existing venues.
Sprouts also expanded with dozens of new stores over the past year – and the chain’s foot traffic metrics suggest strong shopper interest in these openings. The health-forward grocer saw visits per location rise in the second half of the year, capping off Q4 2024 with a 5.0% YoY increase.
The two chains have kept their visit growth going into the new year. Weekly visits to both Sprouts and Dutch Bros. grew all weeks analyzed, a promising sign as 2025 gets underway.
Smoothies are having a major moment, fueled by the growing nationwide focus on health and wellness – an area where Sprouts has successfully positioned itself as a leader. Now, the chain is doubling down on its wellness-focused strategy by introducing smoothies at select locations.
Many Sprouts locations offer smoothies to go – but the chain has also been investing in in-store smoothie bars, allowing shoppers to enjoy a fresh, healthy drink while browsing or take one on the go. Visits to a Cerritos, California location jumped following the introduction of a smoothie bar in January 2025, with YoY monthly visits exceeding the Sprouts nationwide average for the first time in the analyzed period – perhaps thanks to excited reviews posted on social media.
By offering smoothies that are more affordable than some of the viral options trending online, Sprouts is solidifying itself as a go-to destination for shoppers seeking wellness-driven choices without breaking the bank.
While Sprouts is expanding into new beverage categories, Dutch Bros is focusing on building out its food offerings. The chain has traditionally been strongest in the afternoon and evening, bucking the usual trends for caffeine-focused brands. To that end, Dutch Bros. has focused on attracting more morning visitors, both by expanding its mobile ordering capabilities and by testing a new food menu in select locations.
The data suggests that the company’s focus on the morning daypart may amplify changes in Dutch Bros. consumer behavior that are already underway. Between January 2024 and January 2025, the share of visits during morning hours saw a small but meaningful uptick. The share of visits during the 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM daypart grew from 28.4% to 29.5% of daily visits, while the share of evening visits (4:00 PM to 9:00 PM) decreased. While the brand still maintains a strong presence later in the day, this shift could be a sign that Dutch Bros is successfully nudging consumers toward earlier-day coffee runs.
Sprouts and Dutch Bros. are thriving by gearing their offerings to their customer bases. By leaning into health-forward beverages and early-morning visits, the two chains are driving visits and interest.
For more data-driven insights, visit Placer.ai.
The off-price apparel space remains well-positioned as consumers continue to favor budget-friendly retailers. We dive into the latest location intelligence for the space – and category leaders Burlington, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and T.J. Maxx – to explore how the segment closed out 2024 and started off in 2025.
The leaders of the off-price apparel space – Burlington, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and T.J. Maxx – drove the success of the category last year. In 2024, Burlington’s visits increased (7.9%), as did visits to Marshalls (5.3%), Ross (0.7%) and T.J. Maxx (4.9%).
Zooming into H2 2024 reveals that Burlington, Marshalls, and T.J. Maxx saw consistent YoY visit growth. And although Ross Dress for Less saw mild visit gaps for some of the period, all four off-price apparel chains analyzed started the new year on a high note with January 2025 visits up across the board compared to the previous year.
Marmaxx, Ross, and Burlington expanded their real estate footprints in 2024 – likely contributing to the chains’ YoY visit increases. And all four retailers’ have plans to continue their expansion strategies in the coming years – putting them on a foot traffic growth trajectory for 2025.
The foot traffic growth of Burlington, Marmaxx, and Ross plays a significant role in the success of the off-price category, which has steadily increased its share of total apparel visits.
In Q4 2024, the off-price apparel category claimed a majority of the combined off-price and our traditional apparel category visits (51.9%) for the first time since at least 2019. This demonstrates the segment’s strong holiday performance and continued resilience in the face of economic headwinds for both consumers and retailers.
Diving deeper into the foot traffic for Burlington, Ross, Marshalls, and T.J. Maxx highlights robust nationwide visits as well as several regional preferences among consumers.
Nationwide, Ross claimed the lion’s share of visits between the four chains in Q4 2024 (31.0%), followed by T.J. Maxx (28.0%), Marshalls (23.1%), and Burlington (17.9%).
Analysis of the chains’ share of visits by CBSA reveals that Ross claimed the greatest share of visits in a majority of the West and Southwest, as well as in many large metropolises. Meanwhile, T.J. Maxx appeared to be the most-visited brand in many CBSAs throughout the Eastern United States, while Marshalls appeared to be the preferred brand in the Mid-Atlantic.
And despite claiming 17.9% of combined visits to the four off-price apparel chains, Burlington received the largest share of visits in only two CBSAs – Midland, TX and Anchorage, AK, which could be due to the brand’s long-term smaller-format strategy. While a smaller-format store may have less physical real estate (and therefore visitor potential) than the typical Marmaxx and Ross location, it affords Burlington the flexibility to source locations with strong economics that can drive productivity for the brand in markets nationwide.
All four brands have a robust presence nationwide, yet regional preferences and variations in real estate footprints highlight the different paths to success in the off-price space.
The off-price apparel segment is thriving in 2025, with Burlington, Marshalls, Ross, and T.J. Maxx leading the charge. Consumers continue to prioritize value, fueling steady foot traffic growth and cementing off-price retailers as key players in the apparel space. Each brand is carving out its own regional strongholds while expanding its footprint, setting the stage for even greater success in the year ahead.
Want more data-driven insights? Visit Placer.ai.
The pandemic and economic headwinds that marked the past few years presented the multi-billion dollar hotel industry with significant challenges. But five years later, the industry is rallying – and some hotel segments are showing significant growth.
This white paper delves into location analytics across six major hotel categories – Luxury Hotels, Upper Upscale Hotels, Upscale Hotels, Upper Midscale Hotels, Midscale Hotels, and Economy Hotels – to explore the current state of the American hospitality market. The report examines changes in guest behavior, personas, and characteristics and looks at factors driving current visitation trends.
Overall, visits to hotels were 4.3% lower in Q2 2024 than in Q2 2019 (pre-pandemic). But this metric only tells part of the story. A deeper dive into the data shows that each hotel tier has been on a more nuanced recovery trajectory.
Economy chains – those offering the most basic accommodations at the lowest prices – saw visits down 24.6% in Q2 2024 compared to pre-pandemic – likely due in part to hotel closures that have plagued the tier in recent years. Though these chains were initially less impacted by the pandemic, they were dealt a significant blow by inflation – and have seen visits decline over the past three years. As hotels that cater to the most price-sensitive guests, these chains are particularly vulnerable to rising costs, and the first to suffer when consumer confidence takes a hit.
Luxury Hotels, on the other hand, have seen accelerated visit growth over the past year – and have succeeded in closing their pre-pandemic visit gap. Upscale chains, too, saw Q2 2024 visits on par with Q2 2019 levels. As tiers that serve wealthier guests with more disposable income, Luxury and Upscale Hotels are continuing to thrive in the face of headwinds.
But it is the Upper Midscale level – a tier that includes brands like Trademark Collection by Wyndham, Fairfield by Marriott, Holiday Inn Express by IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Hampton by Hilton – that has experienced the most robust visit growth compared to pre-pandemic. In Q2 2024, Upper Midscale Hotels drew 3.5% more visits than in Q2 2019. And during last year’s peak season (Q3 2023), Upper Midscale hotels saw the biggest visit boost of any analyzed tier.
As mid-range hotels that still offer a broad range of amenities, Upper Midscale chains strike a balance between indulgence and affordability. And perhaps unsurprisingly, hotel operators have been investing in this tier: In Q4 2023, Upper Midscale Hotels had the highest project count of any tier in the U.S. hotel construction and renovation pipeline.
The shift in favor of Upper Midscale Hotels and away from Economy chains is also evident when analyzing changes in relative visit share among the six hotel categories.
Upper Midscale hotels have always been major players: In H1 2019 they drew 28.7% of overall hotel visits – the most of any tier. But by H1 2024, their share of visits increased to 31.2%. Upscale Hotels – the second-largest tier – also saw their visit share increase, from 24.8% to 26.1%.
Meanwhile, Economy, Midscale, and Upper Upscale Hotels saw drops in visit share – with Economy chains, unsurprisingly, seeing the biggest decline. Luxury Hotels, for their parts, held firmly onto their piece of the pie, drawing 2.8% of visits in H1 2024.
Who are the visitors fueling the Upper Midscale visit revival? This next section explores shifts in visitor demographics to four Upper Midscale chains that are outperforming pre-pandemic visit levels: Trademark Collection by Wyndham, Holiday Inn Express by IHG Hotels & Resorts, Fairfield by Marriott, and Hampton by Hilton.
Analyzing the captured markets* of the four chains with demographics from STI: Popstats (2023) shows variance in the relative affluence of their visitor bases.
Fairfield by Marriott drew visitors from areas with a median household income (HHI) of $84.0K in H1 2024, well above the nationwide average of $76.1K. Hampton by Hilton and Trademark Collection by Wyndham, for their parts, drew guests from areas with respective HHIs of $79.6K and $78.5K – just above the nationwide average. Meanwhile, Holiday Inn Express by IHG Hotels & Resorts drew visitors from areas below the nationwide average.
But all four brands saw increases in the median HHIs of their captured markets over the past five years. This provides a further indication that it is wealthier consumers – those who have had to cut back less in the face of inflation – who are driving hotel recovery in 2024.
(*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.)
Much of the Upper Midscale visit growth is being driven by chain expansion. But in some areas of the country, the average number of visits to individual hotel locations is also on the rise – highlighting especially robust growth potential.
Analyzing visits to existing Upper Midscale chains in four metropolitan areas with booming tourism industries – Salt Lake City, UT, Palm Bay, FL, San Diego, CA, and Richmond, VA – shows that these markets feature robust untapped demand.
Utah, for example, has emerged as a tourist hotspot in recent years – with millions of visitors flocking each year to local destinations like Salt Lake City to see the sights and take in the great outdoors. And Upper Midscale hotels in the region are reaping the benefits. In H1 2024, the overall number of visits to Upper Midscale chains in Salt Lake City was 69.4% higher than in H1 2019. Though some of this increase can be attributed to local chain expansion, the average number of visits to each individual Upper Midscale location in the area also rose by 12.5% over the same period.
Palm Bay, FL (the Space Coast) – another tourist favorite – is experiencing a similar trend. Between H1 2019 and H1 2024, overall visits to local Upper Midscale hotel chains grew by 36.4% – while the average number of visits per location increased a substantial 16.9%. Given this strong demand, it may come as no surprise that the area is undergoing a hotel construction boom. Upper Midscale hotels in other areas with flourishing tourism sectors, like San Diego, CA and Richmond, VA, are seeing similar trends, with increases in both overall visits and and in the average number of visits per location.
Though Economy chains have underperformed versus other categories in recent years, the tier does feature some bright spots. Some extended-stay brands in the Economy tier – hotels with perks and amenities that cater to the needs of longer-stay travelers – are succeeding despite category headwinds.
Choice Hotels’ portfolio, for example, includes WoodSpring Suites, an Economy chain offering affordable extended-stay accommodations in 35 states. In H1 2024, the chain drew 7.7% more visits than in the first half of 2019 – even as the wider Economy sector continued to languish. InTown Suites, another Economy extended stay chain, saw visits increase by 8.9% over the same period.
And location intelligence shows that the success of these two chains is likely being driven, in part, by their growing appeal to young, well-educated professionals. In H1 2019, households belonging to Spatial.ai: PersonaLive’s “Young Professionals” segment made up 9.6% of WoodSpring Suites’ captured market. But by H1 2024, the share of this group jumped dramatically to 13.3%. At the same time, InTown Suites saw its share of Young Professionals increase from 12.0% to 13.4%.
Whether due to an affinity for prolonged “workcations” (so-called “bleisure” excursions) or an embrace of super-commuting, younger guests have emerged as key drivers of growth for the extended stay segment. And by offering low–cost accommodations that meet the needs of these travelers, Economy chains can continue to grow their share of the pie.
The hospitality industry recovery continues – led by Upper Midscale Hotels, which offer elevated experiences that don’t break the bank. But today’s market has room for other tiers as well. By keeping abreast of local visitation patterns and changing consumer profiles, hotels across chain scales can personalize the visitor experience and drive customer satisfaction.
The past few years have provided the tourism sector with a multitude of headwinds, from pandemic-induced lockdowns to persistent inflation and a rise in extreme weather events. But despite these challenges, people are more excited than ever to travel – more than half of respondents to a recent survey are planning on increasing their travel budgets in the coming months.
And while revenge travel to overseas destinations is still very much alive and well, the often high costs associated with traveling abroad are shaping the way people choose to travel. Domestic travel and tourism are seeing significant growth as more affordable alternatives.
This white paper takes a closer look at two of the most popular domestic tourism destinations in the country – New York City and Los Angeles. Over the past year, both cities have continued to be leading tourism hotspots, offering a wealth of attractions for visitors. What does tourism to these two cities look like in 2024, and what has changed since before the pandemic? How have inflation and rising airfare prices affected the demographics and psychographics of visitors to these major hubs?
Analyzing the distribution of domestic tourists across CBSAs nationwide from May 2023 to April 2024 reveals New York and Los Angeles to be two of the nation’s most popular destinations. (Tourists include overnight visitors staying in a given CBSA for up to 31 days).
The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro area drew the largest share of domestic tourists of any CBSA during the analyzed period (2.7%), followed closely by the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA CBSA (2.5%). Other domestic tourism hotspots included Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (tied for second place with 2.5% of visitors), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (1.9%), Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV (1.8%), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL (1.8%), and Chicago-Naperville, Elgin, IL-IN-WI (1.6%).
The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. Empire City. Whatever it’s called, New York City remains one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the world. And for many Americans, New York is the perfect place for an extended weekend getaway – or for a multi-day excursion to see the sights.
But where do these NYC-bound vacationers come from? Diving into the data on the origin of visitors making medium-length trips to New York City (three to seven nights) reveals that increasingly, these domestic tourists are coming from nearby metro areas.
Between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024, for example, the number of tourists visiting New York City from the Philadelphia metro area increased by 19.2%.
The number of tourists coming from the Boston and Washington, D.C metro areas, and from the New York CBSA itself (New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA) also increased over the same period.
Meanwhile, further-away CBSAs like San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL fed fewer tourists to NYC in 2023-2024 than they did pre-pandemic. It seems that residents of these more distant metro areas are opting for vacation destinations closer to home to avoid the high costs of air travel.
Diving even deeper into the characteristics of visitors taking medium-length trips to New York City reveals another demographic shift: Tourists staying between three and seven nights in the Big Apple are skewing younger.
Between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024, the share of visitors to New York City from areas with median ages under 30 grew from 2.1% to 4.5%. Meanwhile, the share of visitors from areas with median ages between 31 and 40 increased from 34.3% to 37.7%.
The impact of this trend is already being felt in the Big Apple, with The Broadway League reporting that the average age of audiences to its shows during the 2022- 2023 season was the youngest it had been in 20 seasons.
The shift towards younger tourists can also be seen when examining the psychographic makeup of visitors to popular attractions in New York City. Analyzing the captured markets of major NYC landmarks with data from Spatial.ai’s PersonaLive dataset reveals an increase in households belonging to the “Educated Urbanites” segment between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024.
These well-educated, young singles are increasingly visiting iconic NYC venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Museum of Natural History, and the Statue of Liberty. This shift highlights the growing popularity of these attractions among young, educated singles, reflecting a broader trend of increased domestic tourism among this demographic.
New York City’s tourism sector is adapting to meet the changing needs of travelers, fueled increasingly by younger visitors who may be unable to take a costly international vacation. How have travel patterns to Los Angeles changed in response to increasing travel costs?
While New York City is the East Coast’s tourism hotspot, Los Angeles takes center stage on the West Coast. And as overseas travel has become increasingly out of reach for Americans with less discretionary income, the share of domestic tourists originating from areas with lower HHIs has risen.
Before the pandemic, 57.6% of visitors to LA came from affluent areas with median household incomes (HHIs) of over $90K/year. But by 2023-2024, this share decreased to 50.7%. Over the same period, the share of visitors from areas with median HHIs between $41K and $60K increased from 9.7% to 12.5%, while the share of visitors from areas with HHIs between $61K and $90K rose from 32.1% to 35.8%.
Diving into the psychographic makeup of visitors to popular Los Angeles attractions – Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland California, the Santa Monica Pier, and Griffith Observatory – also reflects the above-mentioned shift in HHI. The captured markets of these attractions had higher shares of middle-income households belonging to the “Family Union” psychographic segment in 2023-2024 than in 2018-2019.
Experian: Mosaic defines this segment as “middle income, middle-aged families living in homes supported by solid blue-collar occupations.” Pre-pandemic, 16.0% of visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood came from trade areas with high shares of “Family Union” households. This number jumped to 18.8% over the past year. A similar trend occurred at Disneyland, Santa Monica Pier, and Griffith Observatory.
And like in New York City, growing numbers of visitors to Los Angeles appear to be coming from nearby areas. Between 2018-2019 and 2023-2024, the share of in-state visitors to major Los Angeles attractions increased substantially – as people likely sought to cut costs by keeping things local.
Pre-pandemic, for example, 68.9% of visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood came from within California – a share that increased to 72.0% over the past year. Similarly, 59.7% of Griffith Observatory visitors in 2018-2019 came from within the state – and by 2023-2024, that number grew to 64.7%.
Even when times are tight, people love to travel – and New York and Los Angeles are two of their favorite destinations. With prices for airfare, hotels, and dining out increasing across the board, younger and more price-conscious households are adapting, choosing to visit nearby cities and enjoy attractions closer to home. And as the tourism industry continues its recovery, understanding emerging visitation trends can help stakeholders meet travelers where they are.
The positive retail momentum observed in Q1 2024 continued into Q2 – as stabilizing prices and a strong job market fostered cautious optimism among consumers. Year-over-year (YoY) retail foot traffic remained elevated throughout the quarter, with June in particular seeing significant weekly visit boosts ranging from 4.7% to 8.5%.
The robustness of the retail sector in Q2 was also highlighted by positive visit growth during the quarter’s special calendar occasions, including Mother’s Day (the week of May 6th) and Memorial Day (the week of May 27th). And though consumer spending may moderate as the year wears on, retail’s strong Q2 showing offers plenty of room for optimism ahead of back-to-school sales and other summer milestones.
On a quarterly basis, overall retail visits rose 4.2% in Q2. And diving into specific categories shows that value continued to reign supreme, with discount and dollar stores seeing the most robust YoY visit growth (11.2%) of any analyzed category.
Other essential goods purveyors, such as grocery store chains (7.6%) and superstores (4.6%), also outperformed the overall retail baseline. And fitness – a category deemed essential by many health-conscious consumers – outpaced overall retail with a substantial 6.0% YoY foot traffic increase.
The decidedly more discretionary home improvement industry performed less well than overall retail in Q2 – but in another sign of consumer resilience, it too experienced a YoY visit uptick. And overall restaurant foot traffic increased 2.6% YoY.
Discount and dollar stores enjoyed a strong Q2 2024, maintaining YoY visit growth above 10.0% for six out of the quarter’s 13 weeks. Only during the week of April 1st did the category see a temporary decline, likely the result of an Easter calendar shift. (The week of April 1st 2024 is being compared to the week of April 3rd, 2023, which included the run-up to Easter)
Some of this growth can be attributed to the continued expansion of segment leaders like Dollar General. But the category has also been bolstered by the emphasis consumers continue to place on value in the face of still-high prices and economic uncertainty.
Dollar General, which has been expanding both its store count and its grocery offerings, saw YoY visits increase between 9.1% and 15.9% throughout the quarter. Affordable-indulgence-oriented Five Below, which has also been adding locations at a brisk clip, saw YoY visits increase between 4.9% and 18.8%.
And though Dollar Tree has taken steps to rightsize its Family Dollar brand, the company’s eponymous banner – which caters to middle-income consumers in suburban areas – continued to grow both its store count and its visits in Q2.
Grocery store chains also performed well in Q2 2024 – experiencing strongly positive foot traffic growth throughout the quarter. Though the sector continues to face its share of challenges, stabilizing food-at-home prices and improvements in employee retention and supply chain management have helped propel the industry forward.
Diving into the performance of specific chains shows that within the grocery segment, too, price was paramount in Q2 2024 – with limited-assortment value grocery stores like Aldi and Trader Joe’s leading the way.
Traditional chains H-E-B and Food Lion (owned by Ahold Delhaize) – both of which are known for relatively low prices – outperformed the wider grocery sector with respective YoY foot traffic boosts of 11.4% and 8.7%. But ShopRite, Safeway (owned by Albertsons), Kroger, and Albertsons also drew more visits in Q2 2024 than in the equivalent period of last year.
Fitness has proven to be relatively inflation-proof in recent years – thriving even in the face of reduced discretionary spending and consumer cutbacks. Indeed, rising prices may have actually helped boost gym attendance, as people sought to squeeze the most value out of their monthly fees and replace pricy outings with already-paid-for gym excursions.
And despite lapping a remarkably strong 2023, visits to gyms nationwide remained elevated YoY in Q2 2024.
Diving into the data for some of the nation’s leading gyms shows that today’s fitness market has plenty of room at the top. Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, Life Time Fitness, Orangetheory Fitness, and LA Fitness all experienced YoY visit growth in Q2 2024 – reflecting consumers’ enduring interest in all things wellness-related.
But it was EōS Fitness and Crunch Fitness – two value gyms that have been pursuing aggressive expansion strategies – that really hit it out of the park, with respective YoY foot traffic increases of 23.4% and 21.4%.
The week of April 1st saw a decline in YoY visits to superstores – likely attributable to the Easter calendar shift noted above. But the category quickly rallied, and with back-to-school shopping and major superstore sales events coming up this July, the category appears poised to enjoy continued success throughout the summer.
Within the superstore category, wholesale clubs continued to stand out – with Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club enjoying YoY foot traffic growth ranging from 12.0% to 7.4%. But Target and Walmart also impressed with 4.6% and 4.0% YoY visit increases.
Inflation, elevated interest rates, and a sluggish real estate market have created a perfect storm for the home improvement industry, with spending on renovations in decline. The accelerated return to office has likely also taken its toll on the category, as people spend more time outside the home and have less availability to immerse themselves in DIY projects.
But despite these challenges, weekly YoY foot traffic to home improvement and furnishing chains remained elevated throughout much of the Q2 – with June and April seeing mostly positive YoY visit growth, and May hovering just below 2023 levels. This (modest) visit growth may be driven by consumers loading up on supplies for necessary home repairs, or by shoppers seeking materials for smaller projects. And given the importance of Q2 for the home improvement sector, this largely positive snapshot may offer some promise of good things to come.
Some chains within the home improvement category continued to perform especially well in Q2 2024 – with rapidly expanding, budget-oriented Harbor Freight Tools leading the pack. But Ace Hardware, Menards, The Home Depot, and Lowe’s also saw foot traffic increases in Q2, showcasing the category’s resilience in the face of headwinds.
Restaurants – including full-service restaurants (FSR), quick-service restaurants (QSR), fast-casual chains, and coffee chains – lagged behind grocery stores and other essential goods retailers in Q2 2024, as price-sensitive consumers prioritized needs over wants and ate at home more often.
Still, YoY restaurant foot traffic remained up throughout most of the quarter. And impressively, the sector saw a YoY visit uptick during the week of Mother’s Day (the week of May 6th, 2024, compared to the week of May 8th, 2023) – an important milestone for FSR.
The restaurant industry’s YoY visit growth was felt across segments – though fast-casual and coffee chains experienced the biggest visit boosts. Like in Q1 2024, fast-casual restaurants hit the sweet spot between indulgence and affordability, outpacing QSR in the wake of fast food price hikes. And building on the positive YoY trendline that began to emerge last quarter, full-service restaurants finished Q2 2024 with a 1.4% YoY visit uptick.
Chain expansion was the name of the restaurant game in Q2 2024, with several chains that have been growing their footprints outperforming segment averages – including CAVA, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ziggi’s Coffee, California-based Philz Coffee, Raising Cane’s, Whataburger, and First Watch. Chili’s Grill and Bar also outpaced the full-service category average, aided by the revamping of its “3 for Me” menu.
Retailers and restaurants in Q2 2024 continued to face plenty of challenges, from inflation to rising labor costs and volatile consumer confidence. But foot traffic trends across industries – including both essential goods purveyors like grocery stores and more discretionary categories like home improvement and restaurants – suggest plenty of room for cautious optimism as 2024 wears on.
