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The apparel landscape is constantly adapting to changing consumer preferences and behavior. And in Q1 2025, top sportswear and athleisure brands DICK’s Sporting Goods and lululemon athletica showed that partnering with star athletes and making bold statements at major competitions is one way to build success in the long term. What did location analytics reveal about this strategy? We dove into the data to find out.
Visits to DICK’s and lululemon declined in Q1 2025 compared to 2024, perhaps due in part to the continued emphasis on value-first apparel segments.
Still, diving deeper reveals several reasons for optimism. First, a closer look at YoY monthly visits reveals that February’s performance weighed heavily on the brands’ quarterly performance, as YoY visits dipped significantly due to the comparison to 2024’s leap year and inclement weather that kept many consumers at home. In January, March and April 2025, visits remained closer or even exceeded 2024 levels – more indicative of the brands’ overall performance.
Second, these visit gaps may have been partially offset by success through other channels: Both lululemon and DICK’s recently cited digital revenue gains and omnichannel growth, which could pave the way for other long-term growth opportunities in retail media.
And despite the slower quarter, DICK’s still demonstrated its ability to leverage partnerships and sporting events to drive in-store traffic.
Saturday is typically DICK’s busiest day of the week, and during all five Saturdays in March 2025, visits to DICK’s significantly outperformed the Q1 2025 Saturday average. This is likely due to DICK’s NCAA partnership and media investments during “March Madness”, which saw fans flock to DICK’s to stock up on college basketball gear leading up to and during The Big Dance. DICK’s also capitalized on its March Madness traction by launching a timely celebrity athlete campaign that may also have contributed to elevated Saturday traffic.
Lululemon has also adopted a bold strategy of star-athlete partnerships and high visibility at events to grow brand awareness.
At the WM Phoenix Open at the TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale, AZ in February 2025, lululemon orchestrated an attention-grabbing crew of identically-dressed fans to accompany brand ambassador and pro-golfer Min Woo Lee. And at the BNP Paribas Open played in Indian Wells, CA, lululemon celebrated its professional tennis ambassadors Frances Tiafoe and Leylah Fernandez with an immersive installation on the tournament grounds and nearby lululemon store.
Diving into the psychographic characteristics of the regions from which lululemon and the two sports venues – TPC Stadium Course and Indian Wells Tennis Garden – receive visits reveals how making a statement during professional contests aligned with lululemon’s goal to grow brand awareness among its target audience.
Perhaps as would be expected, in 2024, lululemon’s potential trade area had more “Athleisure Enthusiasts” – Spatial.ai: FollowGraph segment for likely followers of lululemon and other athleisure brands on social media – than the nationwide average. However, the potential trade areas of Indian Well Tennis Garden and TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course had even higher concentrations of “Athleisure Enthusiasts”. This suggests that by investing in high visibility at these venues, lululemon was likely to build brand awareness among more of its potential visitor base.
Although visits to DICK’s and lululemon lagged in Q1 2025, there is still reason for optimism surrounding these brands. Seasonal sporting events like March Madness, in which DICK’s is an integral part, can play a role in driving traffic to stores. Meanwhile, lululemon appears to have found a formula to reach more of its target audience by making a statement at athletic events.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
Like many e-commerce retailers, Wayfair jumped on the brick-and-mortar bandwagon last year with a large-format flagship store at Edens Plaza in Wilmette, IL – giving customers a physical space to explore its products. To mark the store’s one year anniversary (it opened to great fanfare on May 23rd, 2024 – just a few days before Memorial Day), we dove into the data to examine the profile and behavior of its visitors – and see how they compare to the wider home furnishings space.
Location analytics show that Wayfair has emerged as a go-to furniture destination, drawing visitors from farther away than the industry standard. Wayfair’s large-format store also attracts an above-average share of weekend foot traffic, with most visits occurring on Saturdays and Sundays. During these peak times, customers can leisurely browse Wayfair’s extensive offerings, enjoy the onsite café, and take advantage of free design and home improvement consulting services. The store also attracts an affluent audience – from areas with a higher median HHI than either the nationwide baseline or the broader home furnishings segment.
Given Wayfair’s popularity – the Wilmette location has emerged as a major traffic driver to the mall – it may come as no surprise that plans are already in the works to open two more large-format Wayfair locations. How will the retailer continue to fare as it expands its footprint?
Follow Placer.ai’s data-driven retail analyses to find out.
Overall visits to Gap Banners declined 3.8% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with average visits per location falling 4.2%. The company’s performance appears to have been impacted by a particularly challenging February, when the absence of a leap year day and severe weather events led to a 10.2% drop in overall visits and an 11.0% decrease in average visits per venue compared to February 2024.
The company’s traffic was also somewhat weighed down by Banana Republic’s performance, which posted the largest year-over-year (YoY) declines of all Gap banners during the analyzed period. Meanwhile, the Athleta banner – which struggled somewhat in 2024 – returned to modest growth in Q1 2025, with overall visits up 0.4% and average visits per location up 1.1% YoY.
Gap’s performance improved significantly in April, with the Gap and Old Navy banners seeing YoY increases in both overall visits and average visits per venue. Old Navy in particular saw its overall traffic jump 10.2% and average visits per location increase by 9.1% compared to April 2024 – likely boosted by a tariff-driven pull-forward in consumer demand.
Average visits per venue also increased at Banana Republic and Athleta – although both banners saw minor YoY declines in overall traffic. The positive April data may indicate that the company is gaining traction and could suggest a more robust year ahead.
Ulta saw YoY declines of 3.7% in total visits and 7.1% in average visits per venue in Q1 2025, driven in part by difficult comparisons to a strong Q1 2024. Like Gap, the company’s February performance likely hurt its Q1 performance, with February traffic down 7.4% and average visits per venue down 10.7% compared to February 2024. But Ulta’s visit metrics improved in March 2025, with visits just 1.0% lower than in March 2024, and average visits per venue metrics narrowing to a 4.3% decline.
By April 2025, overall visits were up 0.4% YoY, and visits per venue down just 2.8% – suggesting that Ulta, like Gap, is now on a potential upward trajectory.
While Q1 2025 presented challenges for both Gap and Ulta, the rebound in April traffic offers a hopeful indication of strengthening consumer engagement. Will the companies maintain their momentum, or was the April rally the result of a temporary pull-forward of demand?
Keep up with The Anchor to find out.
In early May 2025, horse racing fans were treated to the 151st Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, with thoroughbred Sovereignty coming out the winner. And while all eyes were on the horses, (and maybe the hats,) we dove into the location analytics and psychographic characteristics of visitors to find out who attends the Kentucky Derby.
Analysis of Churchill Downs’ captured trade area over the last twelve months reveals that the racetrack tends to drive traffic from an affluent visitor base. Between May 2024 and April 2025 the dominant trade area audience segment was “Ultra Wealthy Families” (13.2%) – the Spatial.ai: Personalive grouping for the nation’s wealthiest households. This share of this segment within the racetrack’s trade area was well above the nationwide benchmark, more so than any other leading segment.
But digging deeper reveals Churchill Downs’ trade area contained significant shares of several suburban and rural segments as well, highlighting the non-urban quality of the racetrack’s visitors. The presence of large shares of “Wealthy Suburban Families” (12.1%) and “Upper Suburban Diverse Families” (11.4%) segments reflects a significant affluent suburban audience, while above-average shares of the “Rural Average Income” (8.6%) and “Rural High Income” (7.4%) segments indicates robust visitation from rural households with a range of incomes.
But on Kentucky Derby raceday in 2025, Churchill Downs’ audience changed significantly. The share of “Ultra Wealthy Families” within the venue’s trade area jumped to 20.1%, indicating that the race drove traffic from an even more affluent audience than usual, likely due to the many celebrities and other affluent guests descending on the event. Meanwhile, the share of the “Young Professionals” segment – singles still in school or starting their careers in white-collar and technical jobs – also increased (from 6.0% to 10.3%), perhaps indicating that the Kentucky Derby succeeded in attracting younger urban audiences looking for recreation and a cultural experience.
Still, non-urbanized audience segments remained well-represented within the race’s trade area (only the share of “Rural Average Income” households slipped below the segment’s nationwide benchmark), indicating that the event maintained much of Churchill Down’s typical spectator base.
Analysis of the 2025 Kentucky Derby’s physical trade area, which reflects the regions from which Churchill Downs Racetrack received visitors on the day, provides further insight into the event’s attendees.
The map below shows that the event drew spectators from the country’s major metro areas – and from some of the wealthiest – including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami. And some of these visitors may have come to Louisville for an extended stay – taking advantage of multiple Derby Week events and parties – contributing to a significant economic boost for the region.
Analyzing visitors’ area of origin also revealed robust visitation from Louisville and Lexington, KY, and both urban and non-urban areas in the East North Central region as a whole, as diverse local racing fans appeared to take advantage of their proximity to the most exciting two minutes in sports.
The Kentucky Derby is just the first event of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, which continues with the fast approaching Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
What will audiences to these high-stakes races and other upcoming sporting events look like?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
In a year marked by shifting consumer habits and mounting challenges across the restaurant industry, Chili’s emerged as one of the breakout success stories of 2024 – and early signs suggest the momentum could continue into 2025.
Although many casual dining chains have struggled in recent years, Chili’s is standing out with strong year-over-year visitation growth, boosted by compelling value promotions, operational improvements, and a renewed focus on customer loyalty. The brand’s ability to balance affordability with innovation has resonated with price-conscious diners, helping it outperform both its casual dining peers and broader industry benchmarks. As economic uncertainty persists, Chili’s strategic approach may serve as a blueprint for how full-service restaurants can thrive in today’s competitive landscape.
According to our visitation data, Chili's share of the overall category has increased from approximately 6% to around 8%, a substantial jump. This growth is especially notable given that Chili’s U.S. restaurant count actually declined over the past year, from 1,230 locations in December 2023 to 1,209 as of December 2024.
Who is Chili’s taking visit share from? Essentially, everyone. Our data indicates that in Q1 2025, a meaningfully larger percentage of visitors from most leading quick-service and full-service chains also visited Chili’s, compared to Q1 2024. Admittedly, this increase in cross-visitation is partly because there are more Chili’s visitors than ever before – but the data also highlights Chili’s growing momentum, as the chain has succeeded in pulling traffic from both casual and quick-service competitors.
Chili's undeniably carved out a remarkable success story in 2024, and the compelling early 2025 data suggests the brand is strongly positioned to continue its impressive trajectory. The ability to significantly grow its market share and draw customers from a wide array of competitors speaks volumes about the effectiveness of its value promotions, operational improvements, and customer loyalty strategies.
Chili’s continues to demonstrate a potent combination of broad appeal and deepening customer engagement. While the full narrative of 2025 for the restaurant industry continues to unfold, Chili's appears to be on track to replicate its 2024 success and could very well solidify its status as the restaurant industry's standout performer for a second consecutive year.
For more data-driven dining insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Dollar Tree and Dollar General have been major foot traffic winners in recent years, attracting an ever-increasing customer base to their dramatically expanded store counts. And while this growth hasn’t been without its setbacks – like the sale of Family Dollar and recently announced store closures – the segment’s overall strength suggests that there is still room for these chains to continue growing.
We take a closer look at the foot traffic to the two biggest players in the space – Dollar General and Dollar Tree – to understand where the two brands stand.
Dollar General, one of the largest retailers in the United States, demonstrated a robust start to the year. Overall visits were up by 1.9% YoY in Q1 2025, while average visits per location held steady.
Diving into the monthly visit data offers insight into the slight dips in per-location visits – and potential trends for the chain heading into the second quarter. Dollar General got a strong start to the year, with both overall visits and visits per location elevated in January 2025. However, February’s inclement weather along with the comparison to last year’s leap year drove YoY visits down in February – but by March, foot traffic to the chain had mostly recovered.
By April 2025, YoY visits and visits per location were up 6.5% and 5.4%, respectively – perhaps due to pull-forward of demand ahead of tariffs, but also suggesting a strong start to Q2 2025. Indeed, the company has announced plans to open an additional 725 stores in 2025 – an ambitious goal for a company in a solid position.
Dollar General also operates pOpshelf, a smaller chain offering items at a slightly elevated price point compared to the company’s flagship Dollar General banner. And while pOpshelf will be rightsizing in 2025, with 45 store closures planned, Dollar General continues to build out this higher-priced brand concept, expanding its product offerings to reach a wider range of customers.
This investment in both the pOpshelf and Dollar General concepts suggests that the company is well-positioned to capture a wider customer base across a range of discount retail styles.
Dollar Tree, the second-largest discount retailer in the country, has experienced similar visitation patterns to Dollar General. The company, which recently announced the sale of its Family Dollar banner, saw Q1 2025 visits to the Dollar Tree banner increase by 4.8% YoY, while visits per location dipped slightly.
But, like Dollar General, Dollar Tree experienced strong monthly visit growth in April 2025, with visits and visits per location elevated year-over-year by a significant 21.2% and 16.1%, respectively, likely due in part to the pull-forward of demand but also highlighting Dollar Tree’s fundamental strength.
Dollar Tree is aiming to continue this momentum, with a goal of opening around 300 stores by the end of the year and actively expanding its “3.0 Model.” This new store format is designed to offer shoppers a more comfortable experience and includes the addition of extended freezer and refrigerator offerings – suggesting that Dollar Tree may be looking to more directly compete with Dollar General’s grocery offerings.
Discount and dollar stores definitively proved their staying power over the past few years. The segment continues to adapt to a rapidly changing economic environment and the shifting needs of consumers – whether by building out extended grocery options or offering discount products across a wider price range.
Will discount stores continue to hold onto their dominance in Q2 and beyond?
Visit Placer.ai/anchor for the latest data-driven retail insights.
Note: This report is based on an analysis of visitation patterns for regional and nationwide grocery chains and does not include single-location stores.
Grocery stores, superstores, and dollar stores all carry food products – and American consumers buy groceries at all three. But even in today’s crowded food retail environment, traditional grocery chains have a special role to play. With their primary focus on stocking a wide variety of fresh foods, these chains serve a critical function in offering consumers access to healthy options.
But visualizing the footprints of major grocery chains across the continental U.S. – alongside those of discount & dollar stores – shows that the geographical distribution of grocery chains remains uneven.
In some areas, including parts of the Northeast, Midwest, South Atlantic, and Pacific regions, grocery chains are plentiful. But in others – some with population centers large enough to feature a robust dollar store presence – they remain in short supply.
And though many superstore locations also provide a full array of grocery offerings, they, too, are often sparsely represented in areas with low concentrations of grocery chains.
For grocery chain operators seeking to expand, these underserved grocery markets can present a significant opportunity. And for civic stakeholders looking to broaden access to healthy food across communities, these areas highlight a policy challenge. For both groups, identifying underserved markets with significant untapped demand can be a critical first step in deciding where to focus grocery development initiatives.
This white paper dives into the location analytics to examine grocery store availability across the United States – and harnesses these insights to explore potential demand in some underserved markets. The report focuses on locations belonging to regional or nationwide grocery chains, rather than single-location stores.
Last year, grocery chains accounted for 43.4% of nationwide visits to food retailers – including grocery chains, superstores, and discount & dollar stores. But drilling down into the data for different areas of the country reveals striking regional variation – offering a glimpse into the variability of grocery store access throughout the U.S. In some states, grocery stores attract the majority of visit share to food retailers, while in others, dollar stores or superstores dominate the scene.
The ten states where residents were most likely to visit grocery chains in early 2024 – Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, California, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Rhode Island – were all on the East or West Coasts. In these states, as well as in Nevada and New York, grocery chain visits accounted for 50.0% or more of food retail visits between January and April 2024.
Meanwhile, residents of many West North Central and South Central states were much less likely to do their food shopping at grocery chains. In North Dakota, for example, grocery chain visits accounted for just 11.7% of visits to food retailers over the analyzed period. And in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, too, grocery stores drew less than 20.0% of the overall food retail foot traffic.
But low grocery store visit share does not necessarily indicate a lack of consumer interest or ability to support such stores. And in some of these underserved regions, existing grocery chains are seeing outsize visit growth – indicating growing demand for their offerings.
North Dakota, the state with the smallest share of visits going to grocery chains in early 2024, experienced a 9.1% year-over-year (YoY) increase in grocery visits during the same period – nearly double the nationwide baseline of 5.7%. Other states with low grocery visit share, including Nebraska, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and New Mexico, also experienced higher-than-average YoY grocery chain visit growth. This suggests significant untapped potential for grocery stores and a market that is hungry for more.
Alabama is one state where grocery chains accounted for a relatively small share of overall food retail foot traffic in early 2024 (just 28.9%) – but where YoY visit growth outperformed the nationwide average. And digging down even further into local grocery store visitation trends provides further evidence that at least in some places, low grocery visit share may be due to inadequate supply, rather than insufficient demand.
In Central Alabama, for example, many residents drive at least 10 miles to reach a local grocery chain. And several parts of the state, both rural and urban, feature clusters of grocery stores that draw customers from relatively far away.
But zooming in on YoY visitation data for local grocery chain locations shows that at least some of these areas likely harbor untapped demand. Take for example the Camden, Butler, Thomasville, and Gilbertown areas (circled in the map above). The Piggly Wiggly location in Butler, AL, drew 40.1% of visits from 10 or more miles away. The same store experienced a 23.3% YoY increase in visits in early 2024 – far above the statewide baseline of 6.6%. Meanwhile, the Super Foods location in Thomasville, AL, which drew 52.8% of visits from at least 10 miles away – experienced YoY visit growth of 12.3%. The Piggly Wiggly locations in Camden, AL and Gilbertown, AL saw similar trends.
At the same time, trade area analysis of the four locations reveals that the grocery stores had little to no trade area overlap during the analyzed period. Each store served specific areas, with minimal cannibalization among customer bases.
These metrics appear to highlight robust demand for grocery stores in the region – grocery visits are growing at a stronger rate than those in the overall state, people are willing to make the drive to these stores, and each one has little to no competition from the others.
While significant opportunity exists across the country, many communities still face considerable challenges in supporting large grocery stores. Though South Carolina has a significant number of grocery chain locations, for example, certain areas within the state have low access to food shopping opportunities. And one local government – Greenville County – is considering offering tax breaks to grocery stores that set up shop in the area, to improve local fresh food accessibility.
Placer.ai migration and visitation data shows that Greenville County is ripe for such initiatives: the county’s population grew by 4.8% over the past four years – with much of that increase a result of positive net migration. And YoY visits to Greenville County Grocery Stores have consistently outperformed state averages: In April 2024, grocery visits in the county grew by 6.1% YoY, while overall visits to grocery stores in South Carolina grew by 4.2%. This growth – both in terms of grocery visits and population – points to rising demand for grocery stores in Greenville County.
Analyzing the Greenville County grocery store trade areas with Spatial.ai’s FollowGraph dataset – which looks at the social media activity of a given audience – offers further insight into local grocery shoppers’ particular demand and preferences.
Consumers in Greenville-area grocery store trade areas, for example, are more likely to be interested in “Mid-Range Grocery Stores” (including brands like Aldi, Kroger, and Lidl) than residents of grocery store trade areas in the state as a whole. This metric provides further evidence of local demand for grocery chains – and offers a glimpse into the kinds of specific grocery offerings likely to succeed in the area.
Grocery stores remain essential services for many consumers, providing a place to pick up fresh produce, meat, and other healthy food options. And many areas in the country are ripe for expansion, with eager customer bases and growing demand. Identifying such areas with location analytics can help both grocery store operators and municipal stakeholders provide their communities and customer bases with an enhanced grocery shopping experience that caters to local preferences.
Following COVID-era highs, domestic migration levels have begun to taper off – with the number of Americans moving within the U.S. hitting an all-time low, according to some sources, in 2023.
To be sure, some popular COVID-era destinations – including Idaho, the Carolinas, and Utah – saw their net domestic migration continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace. But other states which had been relocation hotspots between February 2020 and February 2023, such as Wyoming and Texas, experienced negative net migration between February 2023 and February 2024.
Analyzing CBSA-level migration data reveals differences and similarities between last year’s migration patterns and COVID-era trends.
Between February 2020 and February 2023, seven out of the ten CBSAs posting the largest population increases due to inbound domestic migration were located in Florida. But between February 2023 and February 2024, the top 10 CBSAs with the largest net migrated percent of the population were significantly more diverse. Only four out of the ten CBSAs were located in Florida, and several new metro areas – including Provo-Orem, UT, Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA, and Boulder, CO – joined the list.
This white paper leverages a variety of location intelligence tools – including Placer.ai’s Migration Report, Niche Neighborhood Grades, and ACS Census Data location intelligence – to analyze two migration hotspots. Specifically, the report focuses on Daytona Beach, FL, which already appeared on the February 2020 to February 2023 list and has continued to see steady growth, and Boulder, CO, which has emerged as a new top destination. The data highlights the potential of CBSAs with unique value propositions to continue to attract newcomers despite ongoing housing headwinds.
The Boulder, CO CBSA has emerged as a domestic migration hotspot: The net influx of population between February 2023 and February 2024 (i.e. the total number of people that moved to Boulder from elsewhere in the U.S., minus those that left) constituted 3.1% of the CBSA’s February 2024 population.
The strong migration is partially due to the University of Colorado, Boulder’s growing popularity. But the metro area has also emerged as a flourishing tech hub, with Google, Apple, and Amazon all setting up shop in town, along with a wealth of smaller start ups.
Most domestic relocators tend to remain within state lines – so unsurprisingly, many of the recent newcomers to Boulder moved from other CBSAs in Colorado. But perhaps due to Boulder’s robust tech ecosystem, many of the new residents also came from Los Angeles, CA (6.6%) and San Francisco, CA (3.4%) – other CBSAs known for their thriving tech scenes.
At the same time, looking at the other CBSAs feeding migration to the area indicates that tech is likely not the only draw attracting people to Boulder: A significant share of relocators came from the CBSAs of Chicago, IL (6.1%), Dallas , TX (4.9%), and New York, NY (3.9%). The move from these relatively urbanized CBSAs to scenic Boulder indicates that some of the domestic migration to the area is likely driven by people looking for better access to nature or a general lifestyle change.
According to the U.S. News & World Report, Boulder ranked in second place in terms of U.S. cities with the best quality of life. Using Niche Neighborhood Grades to compare quality of life attributes in the Boulder CBSA and in the areas of origin dataset highlights some of the draw factors attracting newcomers to Boulder beyond the thriving tech scene.
The Boulder CBSA ranked higher than the metro areas of origin for “Public Schools,” “Health & Fitness,” “Fit for Families,” and “Access to Outdoor Activities.” These migration draw factors are likely helping Boulder attract more senior executives alongside younger tech workers – and can also explain why relocators from more urban metro areas may be choosing to make Boulder their home.
Boulder’s strong inbound migration numbers over the past year – likely driven by its flourishing tech scene and beautiful natural surroundings – reveal the growth potential of certain CBSAs regardless of wider housing market headwinds.
Florida experienced a population boom during the pandemic, and several CBSAs in the state – including the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL CBSA – have continued to welcome domestic relocators in high numbers. The CBSA’s anchor city, Daytona Beach – known for its Bike Week and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 – has also seen positive net migration between February 2023 and February 2024.
Americans planning for retirement or retirees operating on a fixed income are likely particularly interested in optimizing their living expenses. And given Daytona’s relative affordability, it’s no surprise that the median age in the areas of origin feeding migration to Daytona Beach tends to be on the older side.
According to the 2021 Census ACS 5-Year Projection data, the median age in Daytona Beach was 39.0. Meanwhile, the weighted median age in the areas of migration origin was 42.6, indicating that those moving to Daytona Beach may be older than the current residents of the city.
Zooming into the migration data on a zip code level also highlights Daytona Beach’s appeal to older Americans: The zip code welcoming the highest rates of domestic migration was 32124, home to both Jimmy Buffet’s Latitude Margaritaville’s 55+ community and the LPGA International Golf Club, host of the LPGA Tour. The median age in this zip code is also older than in Daytona Beach as a whole, and the weighted age in the zip codes of origin was even higher – suggesting that older Americans and retirees may be driving much of the migration to the area.
Looking at the migration draw factors for Daytona Beach also suggests that the city is particularly appealing to retirees, with the city scoring an A grade for its “Fit for Retirees.” But the city of Daytona Beach is also an attractive destination for anyone looking to elevate their leisure time, with the city scoring higher than Daytona Beach’s cities of migration origin for “Weather,” “Access to Restaurants,” or “Access to Nightlife.”
Like Boulder, Daytona’s scenery – including its famous beaches – is likely attracting newcomers looking to spend more time outdoors and improve their work-life balance. And like Boulder and its tech scene, Daytona Beach also has an extra pull factor – its affordability and fit for older Americans – that is likely helping the area continue to attract new residents, even as domestic migration slows down nationwide.
Although the overall pace of domestic migration has slowed, analyzing location intelligence data reveals several migration hotspots amidst the overall cooldown. Boulder and Daytona Beach each have a set of unique draw factors that seem to attract different populations – and the success of these regions highlights the many paths to migration growth in 2024.
The Fitness industry was a major post-pandemic winner. Visits to gyms across the country surged as stay-at-home orders ended and people returned to their in-person workout routines. And even as consumers reduced discretionary spending in the face of inflation, they kept going to the gym – finding room in their budgets for the chance to embrace wellness and get in shape while interacting with other people.
But no category can sustain such unabated growth forever – and as the segment inevitably stabilizes, gyms will need to stay nimble on their feet to maintain their competitive edge.
This white paper takes a closer look at the state of Fitness as the category transitions into a more stable growth phase following two years of outsize post-pandemic demand. The report digs into the location analytics to reveal how the Fitness space has changed – and what strategies gyms can adopt to stay ahead of the pack.
*This report excludes locations within Washington state due to local legislation.
Monthly visits to the Fitness category have grown consistently year over year (YoY) since early 2022, when COVID subsided and gyms returned to full capacity. And the segment is still doing remarkably well. Even in January and March 2024 – when visits were curtailed by an Arctic blast and by the Easter holiday weekend – YoY Fitness visits remained positive, despite the comparison to an already strong 2023.
Still, recent months have seen smaller YoY increases than last year, indicating that the Fitness category is entering a more normalized growth phase.
By keeping a close watch on evolving consumer preferences, fitness chains can uncover new opportunities for growth and adaptation within a stabilizing market – including leaning into increasingly popular dayparts.
Examining the evolving distribution of gym visits by daypart over the past six years shows that major shifts were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Q1 2019 and Q1 2021, as remote work took hold, gyms saw their share of 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM visits increase from 15.8% to 18.6%. Though this trend partially reversed as the pandemic receded, afternoon visits remained elevated in Q1 2024 compared to pre-COVID – likely a reflection of hybrid work patterns that leave people free to take an exercise break during their workdays.
At the same time, the share of morning visits to fitness chains (between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM) dropped from 20.5% in Q1 2019 to 17.2% in Q1 2024, while evening visits (between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM) increased from 11.3% to 13.2%.
Gyms that recognize this changing behavior can adapt to new workout preferences – whether by incentivizing morning visits, scheduling popular classes mid-afternoon, or offering extended evening hours.
In fact, the data indicates that gyms that are leaning into the evening workout trend are already finding success: Of the top 12 most-visited gym chains in the country, those that saw bigger increases in their shares of evening visits also tended to see greater YoY visit growth.
EōS Fitness and Crunch Fitness, for example, have seen their shares of evening visits grow by 5.5% and 3.4%, respectively, since COVID – and in Q1 2024, their YoY visits grew by 29.0% and 21.8%, respectively. Other chains, including 24 Hour Fitness and Chuze Fitness, experienced similar shifts in visit patterns. At the same time, LA Fitness saw just a minor increase in its share of evening visits between Q1 2019 and Q1 2024, and a correspondingly small increase in YoY visits.
As the evening workout slot gains popularity, gym operators that can adapt to these new trends and encourage evening visits may see significant benefits in the years to come.
Diving into demographic data for the analyzed gym chains sheds light on some factors that may be driving this heightened preference for evening workouts at top-performing gyms.
The four fitness chains that experienced the greatest YoY visit boosts in Q1 – Crunch Fitness, EōS Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, and Chuze Fitness – all featured trade areas with significantly higher-than-average shares of Young Professionals and Non-Family Households. (STI: PopStat’s Non-Family Household segment includes households with more than one person not defined as family members. Spatial.ai: PersonaLive’s Young Professional consumer segment includes young professionals starting their careers in white collar or technical jobs.)
In plainer terms, these consumer segments – typically young, well-educated, and without children – and therefore more likely to be flexible in their workout times – are driving visits to some of the best-performing gyms across the country. And these audiences seem to be displaying a preference for nighttime sweat sessions – a factor that gyms can take into account when planning programming and marketing efforts.
Leaning into emerging gym visitation patterns is one way for fitness chains to thrive in 2024 – but it isn’t the only marker of success for the segment. Even after years of visit growth, the market remains open to new opportunities and innovations that meet health-conscious consumers where they are.
STRIDE Fitness, a gym that offers treadmill-based interval training, has sparked a trend among running enthusiasts. This niche player is finding success, particularly among a specific demographic: runners and endurance training enthusiasts.
Between January and April 2024, monthly YoY visits to STRIDE Fitness consistently outperformed the wider Fitness space. A standout month was January, when STRIDE Fitness’s visits soared by an impressive 33.6% YoY, surpassing the industry average of 5.7% for the same period.
Psychographic data from the Spatial.ai’s FollowGraph dataset – which looks at the social media activity of a given audience – suggests that STRIDE Fitness’ trade areas are well-positioned to attract those visitors most open to its offerings. Residents of STRIDE Fitness’s potential market are 24% more likely to be, or to be interested in, Endurance Athletes than the nationwide average – compared to just 3% for the Fitness industry as a whole. Similar patterns emerge for Marathon Runners and Triathlon Participants. This indicates that the chain is well-situated near consumers with a passion for endurance sports and long distance running, helping it maintain a competitive edge in the crowded gym market.
Pickleball, a game that blends elements of tennis, ping pong, and badminton, is the fastest-growing sport in the country. And recognizing its broad appeal, some fitness chains have begun incorporating pickleball courts into their facilities.
Arizona-based EōS Fitness added a pickleball court at a Phoenix, AZ location – and early 2024 data highlights the impact of this addition. Between January and April 2024, the location drew between 9.1% and 33.3% more monthly visits than the chain’s Arizona visit-per-location average.
And analyzing the demographic profile of the chain’s location with a pickleball court reinforces the game’s increasingly wide appeal. Young consumer segments have been embracing the game in large numbers – and the Phoenix EōS Fitness location’s potential market includes a significantly higher share of 18 to 34-year-olds than the chain’s overall Arizona potential market. Residents of the pickleball location’s trade area are also less affluent than the chain’s Arizona average.
Pickleball has typically been associated with more affluent consumer segments, and it seems like this may be shifting. With more people than ever embracing the game, gyms that choose to add courts to their facilities may reap the foot traffic benefits.
The Fitness industry has undergone a significant transformation since COVID-19. The category’s outsize post-pandemic visit growth has begun to stabilize, and gyms are staying ahead by adapting to changing consumer preferences. Evenings are emerging as crucial dayparts for gym operators, likely driven by younger consumer segments. And niche fitness chains are seeing visit success, proving that there are plenty of ways for the Fitness segment to succeed.
