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The world of work remains in flux as companies and employees keep redefining the new “normal”. On the one hand, hybrid work has become ubiquitous – and remote-driven concepts like “microshifting” are reshaping how we think about maximizing productivity. At the same time, growing awareness of co-location’s role in sustaining the social infrastructure that fuels innovation and success is prompting more companies to call employees back to the office. In 2025 alone, employers from Toyota to JP Morgan Chase, the Washington Post, Paramount/Skydance, and even the federal government joined the wave with five-day-a-week in-office mandates.
But how are these countervailing currents playing out on the ground? Is office foot traffic reaching a plateau or is the return to office (RTO) still gaining momentum?
In October 2025, visits to Placer.ai’s Nationwide Office Index were 30.8% below October 2019 levels. While this represents a larger year-over-six-year (Yo6Y) visit gap than in September, it still signals meaningful progress: September 2025 included one extra working day compared to 2019, whereas October had one fewer. And when controlling for the number of business days, October actually saw 1.2% more traffic than September.
Year over year (YoY), too, nationwide office visits grew 4.7% in October 2025 (see second graph below) – showing that even amid entrenched hybrid norms and ongoing pushback against in-person requirements, office visit numbers continue to trend steadily upwards.
Turning to regional RTO trends, Miami and New York continued to lead the post-pandemic recovery pack. In another sign of San Francisco’s emerging turnaround, the city once again outpaced Chicago for Yo6Y growth and recorded the fastest YoY visit growth of any analyzed city. Southern hubs Dallas and Houston also outperformed the nationwide Yo6Y benchmark of -30.8%, while Houston just slightly lagged at 34.9%.
And in another indication of on-the-ground resistance to five-day mandates, location analytics suggests that employees really are quiet-quitting Fridays – at least when it comes to in-office work. Between January and October 2025, just 12.4% of weekday visits to office buildings took place on Fridays, compared to 24.3% on Tuesdays, 23.7% on Wednesdays, and 21.8% on Thursdays.
The extent of the phenomenon varies by market – employees were most likely to make the end-of-week trek to the office in Miami and Dallas and least likely to do so in Boston and Chicago – though no analyzed city saw a share of Friday visits above 15.0%. And despite New York City’s strong overall RTO, the Big Apple trailed the national baseline in Friday attendance.
October 2025’s Office Index data shows that the RTO story is still far from settled. Hybrid habits remain deeply ingrained, yet steady progress suggests a gradual rebalancing between flexibility and presence – one that will continue to shape the workplace landscape in the months ahead.
For more data-driven office visit insights, follow Placer.ai/anchor.
Retailers nationwide are entering a holiday season defined by tight budgets. Still, demand persists, and consumers are juggling inflation fatigue with a willingness to splurge selectively. Department stores – historically strong holiday performers – are navigating uneven results, with some brands showing surprising strength, while others face continued headwinds.
Department store visits in Q3 2025 remained mostly below last year’s level, although performance varied by brand – Bloomingdale’s (5.4%), Nordstrom (2.0%) and Dillard’s (0.3%) posting YoY visit growth while other major department store chains saw visit declines.
While Q3 2025 saw broad visit declines, October offered meaningful room for optimism ahead of what is sure to be a closely-watched holiday shopping season.
Visits improved across the board, with all but three analyzed chains experiencing YoY visit growth. While successful early holiday promotions likely played a role, much of the momentum reflects retailers’ refreshed campaigns and in-store strategies – a sign that their efforts to reenergize foot traffic are paying off.
Bloomingdale’s has leaned into its luxury positioning with high-impact experiential campaigns like its “Just Imagine” activation and new personalization initiatives, while Nordstrom has strengthened its omnichannel experience while tapping into AI-powered capabilities to predict demand. And both brands effectively balance an appeal to affluent customer segments less acutely affected by inflation with the broad reach necessary to support frequent visitation.
Despite recent challenges, mid-tier department stores are the ones that shine most during the holidays – and as the holiday season approaches, last year’s trends offer insight into what to expect in 2025.
In 2024, JCPenney and Belk posted the largest visit spikes during key holiday shopping days. Black Friday gains were especially pronounced, though Super Saturday also delivered substantial lifts. Macy’s visit boosts came in third – likely reflecting its enduring holiday association, from flagship displays and Santa tours to national promotions that keep the brand top-of-mind.
These peaks highlight just how important the holiday season is for mid-tier department stores, while also revealing opportunities for the rest of the year: Targeted promotions, limited-time offers, and event-driven campaigns can still draw major in-store surges, even outside traditional holiday periods. And should typical trends hold, 2025’s fast-approaching holiday season will provide a welcome boost across the board for all brands.
While October’s momentum offers room for optimism, the broader foot traffic declines seen in Q3 underscore the challenges department stores face amid a bifurcated retail landscape increasingly split between luxury and off-price competitors. Still, holiday season success remains within reach – particularly for brands like Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom willing to rework existing strategies and adapt to reach ever more discerning shoppers.
For the latest data-driven department store trends, check out Placer.ai’s free tools.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
Thanksgiving may be this month’s biggest Thursday milestone – but for coffee lovers, Thursdays in November are also about Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, when eager fans line up to snag a limited-edition reusable cup, free with any handcrafted holiday beverage.
How did this year’s Red Cup Day stack up? Did the recent Bearista frenzy steal some of the spotlight, or did the two events build on one another to create an even bigger buzz?
On November 13th, 2025, visits to Starbucks surged 44.5% above the year-to-date daily average, reaching an even higher traffic peak than that seen on the day of the Bearista launch. Though November 6th was reportedly Starbucks’ biggest sales day ever in North America, according to CEO Brian Niccol, Red Cup Day drove even higher U.S. visit volumes, as customers turned out in droves to participate in the holiday tradition.
Niccol also noted that November 13th, 2025 marked the strongest Red Cup Day in company history – a claim supported by the data. Foot traffic during the event surged 8.2% higher than in 2023 and 3.1% higher than in 2024.
These results suggest that far from cannibalizing Red Cup Day, the Bearista Cup’s release just days earlier amplified the excitement, creating a sustained wave of engagement across Starbucks’ holiday calendar.
The strong response to these discretionary, purchase-based promotions also shows that when done right, exclusivity, excitement, and brand magic can still bring in the crowds – even in an economic climate marked by uncertainty and waning consumer confidence.
In addition to visit volumes, in-store behavior also shifts on major launch days. Unsurprisingly, longer lines lead to longer dwell times, as customers who might normally be in and out quickly wait patiently for their turn. On both November 6th and November 13th, the share of Starbucks visitors staying between 10 and 30 minutes increased substantially compared to an average Thursday, while the share staying under ten minutes declined.
Interestingly, though, the share of visitors who lingered even longer (30+ minutes) to work, study, or relax dropped slightly on the big days – likely because the festive crowds deterred those looking for a quieter place to settle in.
With the holiday season just getting underway, Starbucks still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve – including the return of its beloved Eggnog and Chestnut Praline Lattes, along with a new wave of festive merchandise launching on December 2nd. Will the coffee leader be able to sustain its winning streak through the end of the year?
Follow Placer.ai/anchor to find out.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
After a slow start to 2025, both Gap and Urban Outfitters are seeing visits pick up again ahead of the holidays. Traffic gains in Q3 signal improving consumer appetite, positioning both brands for a stronger finish to the year.
Visits to Gap showed a sluggish start in Q1 2025, with traffic down 2.7% year-over-year, likely influenced by a tough February (a leap day and inclement weather keeping shoppers at home). But momentum turned in Q2 (1.4%) and Q3 (also 1.4%), indicating that the retailer is regaining traction heading into the holiday season.
Monthly traffic trends reinforce that this improvement was driven by improved visit trends in most months, with August seeing the strongest visit growth of 5.1%. September visits took a slight downturn before climbing to a respectable 4.8% in October, likely the result of new campaigns and improved merchandising.
Gap has spent the past few years focusing on a turnaround strategy that saw the apparel brand reintroduce classic styles, bring in new creative directors, and collaborate with brands like Dôen and celebrities such as Katseye and Tyla. And these efforts seem to be paying off, both in terms of elevated foot traffic and in Gap’s earnings: net sales increased 5% in the first quarter (ending on May 31, 2025) and 1% in Q2 2025.
Gen-Z focused Urban Outfitters experienced a similar recovery arc. Visits to the chain were down in both Q1 and Q2 2025, but rebounded in Q3, with foot traffic elevated by 2.4% YoY. and diving into the monthly visits highlights that, for the most part, visit declines were modest, with a marked pickup from August onward, ending October with a 5.8% increase in foot traffic. This foot traffic pull-up also aligned with Urban Outfitter’s robust financials, with Q2 net sales up 4.2%.
This increase in visits aligns closely with back-to-school shopping, and Urban Outfitters’ focus on college-age consumers likely helped reenergize in-store activity after a softer first half.
Diving into the demographic data for both brands provides additional context for recent foot traffic trends. Gap’s captured audience earns well above the nationwide median – $99.0 versus $79.6 – while its potential market skews lower, at $84.1K. This indicates that Gap's recent gains are being driven primarily by higher-income households, who may be more insulated from inflation fatigue and attracted to the brand’s premium collaborations. It also highlights an opportunity for Gap to broaden its appeal among mid-income shoppers who remain part of its potential audience.
Urban Outfitters, by contrast, saw a captured median HHI that trailed its potential market ($89.9 compared to $92.0), perhaps owing to its popularity among “Young Professionals” – a segment which is overrepresented in its captured market. The strength in this segment also may help contextualize the Q3 lift, given that the Young Professional category includes college students – a cohort that Urban Outfitters is particularly invested in, both through its product mix and its experiential initiatives.
Looking forward, Gap and Urban Outfitters seem primed to succeed this holiday season. For Gap, a combination of successful renewal efforts, increasing foot traffic, and a wealthier customer base position it to continue driving visits. For Urban Outfitters, continued focus on core engagement and higher-value customer acquisition will determine how strongly it closes out 2025.
For more data-driven retail insights follow Placer.ai/anchor.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
As the retail calendar approaches its most pivotal stretch, we took a closer look at foot traffic trends across superstores and warehouse clubs to see how these key players are performing.
Warehouse clubs – Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale – continued to post visit gains in recent months, extending the momentum that has defined the segment for much of the past year. Their consistent performance reinforces the appeal of the wholesale model among value-driven shoppers navigating inflationary pressures and tighter budgets.
However, within the broader mass merchandise sector, October marked a clear turning point. Walmart saw its strongest year-over-year (YoY) visit gains of the last six months, while Target’s traffic shifted from negative to positive growth for the first time during the same period. The October surge coincided with the superstores' early early holiday sales events, signaling that the early holiday season has evolved into a pivotal retail moment.
Costco led foot traffic growth among mass merchants in September and October 2025. And some of that momentum may stem from the chain’s new early opening hours for Executive Members, which appears to have eased peak-hour congestion and enhanced the overall shopping experience.
As a reminder, Costco Executive Members pay almost twice as much as standard Gold Star members and account for over 74% of the chain’s sales, so it makes sense that Costco would look to add value and additional perks to its premium memberships.
But since extending its hours to open an hour early for Executive Members, Costco has likely enhanced the overall shopping experience for all visitors.
The graph below shows that between July and October 2025, after the introduction of early openings, the extended morning hours reduced Costco’s traffic at peak times compared to 2024, spreading visits more evenly throughout the day – which means less crowding for everyone.
Earlier openings also affect how Costco shoppers shop. Since the new hours took effect, the share of Costco visits lasting 30 to 45 minutes has increased, while the share of 45- to 60-minute visits has declined. This shift suggests that with lighter crowds and easier navigation, Costco shoppers are more purposeful and efficient.
Meanwhile, the share of Costco visits lasting less than 30 minutes also fell during the July to October period, suggesting that in a more streamlined environment, some shoppers feel comfortable taking extra time to browse – and perhaps add a few more items to their baskets – rather than rushing through a crowded store.
As the main holiday season approaches and consumer sentiment reaches new lows, value-forward warehouse clubs appear to remain in a strong position. Meanwhile, superstores’ success with early sales events demonstrates that shoppers remain highly responsive to promotions, an encouraging sign heading into the peak shopping period.
By offering early access to Executive Members, Costco is both recognizing its most valuable shoppers and alleviating crowding for everyone during typical rush periods – a move that could give the retailer an edge during the busy holiday season.
How will these retailers close out the holiday season? Visit Placer.ai/anchor to find out.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
The home improvement sector continues to face challenges in 2025, and category leaders Lowe’s and The Home Depot continue to navigate shifting demand. Yet signs of resilience are beginning to emerge as both brands report strength across key mid-range categories and identify opportunities to drive the next phase of growth.
We dove into the data for The Home Depot and Lowe’s to find out what location analytics reveals about their performance and evolving strategy.
In their recent Q2 2025 reportings, both Lowe’s and The Home Depot underscored an important dynamic – while comparable sales and average ticket size increased, comparable transactions declined. Both retailers attributed this pattern to a shift in the mix of projects. Although the quarter saw notable strength in seasonal items, repair and maintenance supplies, and some bigger-ticket items, consumers continued to defer large discretionary renovation projects that typically require financing. This aligns with both retailer’s modest YoY traffic declines during most months since November 2024, since larger projects tend to require more store visits than smaller upgrades or repair projects.
Yet, both companies remain cautiously optimistic. Since July 2025, YoY visits to The Home Depot and Lowe’s have remained near, and in some cases exceeded, 2024 levels – which should bode well for the companies’ upcoming reportings. The nation’s housing stock is older than ever and underlying demand for new construction remains strong. Meanwhile, many homeowners have deferred larger discretionary renovations in recent years, creating a buildup of latent demand. Once economic conditions improve and financing becomes more accessible, that pipeline of major projects is poised to reopen, driving a new wave of growth for the home improvement sector.
Another source of future home improvement demand may come from Gen Z, a cohort that is quickly growing within the renter and homeowner populations. As this generation enters new life stages – moving into first apartments, buying starter homes, and taking on their own improvement projects – its influence on the category will expand.
Both Lowe’s and The Home Depot are already positioning for this shift. Each recently launched creator programs designed to highlight how their brands can empower the next generation of DIYers and design enthusiasts, while tapping into the reach and authenticity of influencers’ online communities.
As shown in the chart below, both the Home Depot and Lowe’s currently see smaller shares of visits from the Spatial.ai: PersonaLive segments “Adulting” and “College” within their captured markets, compared to national benchmarks. This suggests a significant opportunity for both retailers to capture untapped demand from younger consumers living independently. If the brands’ creator initiatives succeed in driving greater engagement with Gen Z, their shares of these segments could grow in the years ahead.
The home improvement sector remains in transition in 2025, as Lowe’s and The Home Depot adapt to shifting consumer priorities. Still, both retailers are finding bright spots – from solid performance in mid-range categories to fresh opportunities that could drive the next phase of growth.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai/anchor.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
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.
