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Stanford Stadium has hosted numerous major sporting events over the years – from Super Bowl XIX to soccer matches at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and both the 1994 Men’s and 1999 Women’s World Cup. But on May 31st and June 1st, 2025, Coldplay played the first live music event ever held at the venue – part of the band’s “Music of the Spheres” tour – and what a debut it was.
We examined the data to see how attendance spiked during this landmark concert and how the audience compared to the stadium’s usual visitor base.
During the week of May 26th, 2025, when Coldplay took the stage, visits to Stanford Stadium surged by an astonishing 1425.9% compared to the venue’s weekly average since June 2024. Other recent major events – including Stanford commencement (June 16th, 2024), the big Earthquakes vs. Galaxy MLS match (June 29th, 2024), and the Stanford Cardinal’s own home opener against TCU on August 30th, 2024 – all drew much smaller crowds than the Coldplay concert.
Concertgoers came from far and wide to see Coldplay in action. Plenty of locals attended, including 15.1% who came from less than five miles away. But nearly one-fifth of visitors journeyed more than 100 miles to enjoy the music – a testament to the band’s strong draw.
To understand how the Coldplay concert impacted Stanford Stadium’s visitor profile, we compared the psychographics of Stanford Stadium’s captured market during the 2024 football season (August 24th to December 1st, 2024) to those during the Coldplay concert.
Across both analyzed periods, Stanford Stadium attracted higher-than-average shares of Spatial.ai: PersonaLive’s “Ultra Wealthy Families,” “Educated Urbanites,” and “Young Professionals” segment groups. However, the concert’s audience skewed more toward “Ultra Wealthy Families,” whereas football fans were nearly twice as likely to be “Young Professionals” and slightly more likely to be “Educated Urbanites”. “Near-Urban Diverse Families” and “Wealthy Suburban Families” were underrepresented in the stadium’s market during both periods, though they both constituted a slightly higher share during the Coldplay concert – further underscoring the event’s power to attract different audiences than usual.
As universities navigate the changing nature of college athletics, NIL rights, and shifting revenue streams, using a football stadium as a concert venue is a creative way to utilize the space and bring in some dollars – as well as joy to both students and other visitors. Is this milestone event a precursor to more major cultural happenings at the Bay Area stadium?
For more data-driven live event analyses, follow The Anchor.
Nike has recently pivoted away from its "Consumer Direct Acceleration" strategy in favor of a more multi-channel distribution approach. What does the data say about this shift? We dove into traffic numbers and audience composition metrics to find out.
In 2020, Nike introduced its "Consumer Direct Acceleration" strategy that had aimed to expedite the company's DTC pivot in an effort to regain control of the brand and own the customer relationship directly. But the emphasis on owned channels did not yield the desired results – in fact, the move away from wholesale may have helped smaller sneaker companies take over shelf space and market share from the legacy sportswear brand.
In mid-2023, Nike shifted to a more balanced, multi-channel approach, and by late 2023, Nike was once again selling its products through retail partners such as DSW and Macy's. More recently, in May 2025, Nike announced that it would be resuming direct sales on Amazon – a channel the brand exited in 2019 – in an effort to reach customers where they shop.
Diving into year-over-year monthly traffic numbers for Nike stores nationwide underscores the merits of the recent strategic shift. Visits to Nike stores have been trending negative for eight months straight, validating the recent company-wide pivot back towards a more holistic, multi-channel approach.
Using Spatial.ai PersonaLive data to compare the audience composition in Nike's captured market with the audience composition in some captured markets of some of its largest retail partners further highlights the advantages of Nike's new multi-channel approach.
The data shows that Nike already does a great job of reaching "Ultra Wealthy Families," "Young Professionals," and "Educated Urbanites" through its owned stores – the share of these segments in Nike's trade area is larger than in the trade areas of any of its main partners. But both DSW and DICK's Sporting Goods reach more suburban families than Nike, with a larger share of "Wealthy Suburban Families" and "Upper Suburban Diverse Families" in their trade areas than in Nike's. And Macy's and Foot Locker seem to be better positioned to reach "Near-Urban Diverse Families" and "Young Urban Singles".
The distinct audience composition of each retail partner suggests that a varied wholesale approach is necessary to achieve comprehensive market coverage, allowing Nike to reach a far broader spectrum of consumers than its own stores can capture alone.
Nike's return to a multi-channel approach suggests that achieving comprehensive market coverage requires a balanced strategy, leveraging partners to engage with a broader spectrum of consumers in addition to building out owned DTC channels.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
In today’s challenging dining market, restaurants are battling for consumer attention through special deals, limited time offers (LTOs), and pop-culture collaborations. We dove into the data to see how several special recent events at Chipotle, IHOP, and Jack in the Box helped drive visits to these chains.
Earlier this year, Chipotle leaned into the Stanley Cup excitement with an LTO designed especially for hockey fans. On Monday, April 21st, 2025 – just two days after the start of Round 1 playoffs – Chipotle offered one of its classic BOGO (buy one get one free) deals for anyone wearing a hockey jersey who dined at a participating location after 3:00 PM.
Nationwide, the promotion sparked a substantial 34.4% visit boost during the hours of the offer compared to an average Monday. But in Minneapolis-St. Paul, at the heart of the so-called “State of Hockey”, visits surged by an astonishing 77.3% – the most seen in any metro area throughout the U.S. – underscoring just how impactful relevant LTOs can be in the right market.
It’s no secret that everybody loves free stuff. But another recent LTO shows that people also embrace the chance to do good. On March 4th, 2025, hungry diners flocked to IHOP restaurants nationwide to snag free pancakes – no purchase required! – at participating locations. The promotion, part of the chain’s month-long charitable drive, encouraged guests to donate to Feeding America.
IHOP’s promotion spurred visit increases across the country. But it struck a particular chord in certain northeastern markets – especially in New Jersey, where a local franchise owner’s interviews about the event’s charitable aspect helped motivate a remarkable 142.5% visit spike. And on the West Coast, particularly in California, the promotion’s success was supported by the chain’s “20k for Pancake Day” event in Santa Monica, held on March 1, 2025 to raise money for Feeding America, which garnered substantial media coverage.
But freebies aren’t the only way to drive traffic. On May 29th, 2025, Jack in the Box created plenty of buzz with the launch of its late-night T-Pain Munchie Meal, available after 9:00 PM. By the week of June 2nd, hungry night owls were flocking to Jack in the Box in droves, driving substantial increases in late-night traffic.
The late-night offer increased the proportion of nighttime visits to 25.1% during the week of June 2nd, compared to a 12-month average of 23.0%. The largest nighttime visit increase came on Thursday, June 5th, likely due to excitement for T-Pain’s June 6 debut in “Jack Zone Wars,” a custom in-game Fortnite world built specifically for this collaboration. And with T-Pain’s June 26th live-stream Fortnite event still ahead, momentum will likely continue to build as the month wears on.
These recent promotions at Chipotle, IHOP, and Jack in the Box highlight the power of well-timed, relevant LTOs to create excitement and boost traffic. By tapping into local cultural trends, charitable causes, and pop-culture collaborations, restaurants can stay top of mind – even in a crowded dining market.
For more data-driven dining insights follow The Anchor.
Since its emergence from bankruptcy in late 2020, JCPenney has been on a slow and steady comeback trajectory. Last year, the company continued closing underperforming stores and revamped its loyalty program, which helped it achieve a year-over-year (YoY) visit gap of just 3.0% and a YoY gap in average visits per location of just 1.8% in Q4 2024.
Part of last year's success was likely also due to the company's investments in major promotional efforts – and now JCPenney is back in the advertising game with its new "Yes, JCPenney" national ad campaign. We dove into the data to see how these marketing efforts are bearing fruit.
Although JCPenney has been gradually improving its metrics, the chain generally underperformed the department store category for most of 2024 – until traffic turned around in October and November 2024, at the height of the brand's "Really Big Deals Reveals" campaign. Visits to JCPenney then declined below the category average again, with the chain underperforming the category between December 2024 and March 2025 – with the exception of February, when the chain's "Petite Power List" campaign may have temporarily boosted visits.
But recently, the company launched a major nationwide campaign titled "Yes, JCPenney," with the goal of challenging and overcoming outdated consumer perceptions of the brand. The ads started running in April 2025, and traffic to the chain picked up significantly – with year-over-year (YoY) visits to JCPenney up 0.7% and 3.0% in April and May 2025, respectively.
Diving into May 2025 YoY traffic to the chain by DMA indicates that the "Yes, JCPenney" has been met with broad success, with the chain seeing visit strength across the country. The visit increases were especially notable in the South and Midwest – with DMAs in South Dakota, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Texas seeing major lifts – suggesting that the focus on style and value connected deeply with consumers in these regions.
Diving into the recent audience shifts at JCPenney suggests that part of the campaign's success may be attributed to its resonance with single shoppers. Using the Experian: Mosaic dataset reveals that nationwide, the share of "Singles and Starters" in JCPenney's captured market edged up slightly from 11.2% in May 2024 to 11.3% in May 2025, while the share of "Significant Singles" rose from 4.4% to 4.7%.
And though these nationwide shifts are relatively small ones, in some DMAs where JCPenney saw a particularly notable YoY visit increase, the share of singles in the chain’s trade area increased more significantly. For example, May YoY data shows that JCPenney visits in New York, NY, increased by 9.8%, while the share of "Significant Singles" grew from 22.7% to 26.1%. And in Tyler-Longview, TX, visits increased 18.0% YoY in May 2025 while the share of "Singles and Starters" rose from 12.8% to 14.0% in the same period.
JCPenney's success in increasing its resonance with single consumers – who are likely younger, and who may be less familiar with the legacy brand – suggests that the "Yes, JCPenney" campaign may be attracting a new generation of shoppers to the chain.
The initial surge in May 2025 foot traffic, particularly among younger, single shoppers, is quite promising. Will the company succeed in converting shoppers brought in through the "Yes, JCPenney" campaign into sustained visitors and loyal customers?
Keep up with The Anchor to find out.
Apparel retail has experienced significant setbacks in recent years, from the COVID-19 pandemic to supply chain disruptions to inflation – and now the emerging threat of tariffs. Yet, the sector continues to adapt. We took a look at the overall performance of the luxury apparel segment to see how things are holding up as the year's first half draws to a close.
The current economic climate has posed significant challenges to the apparel retail segment, and luxury retail has not been immune. The category saw its visits slow year-over-year throughout 2024, likely owing to the accumulated strain of inflation and rising prices. Yet, a surprising opportunity is now emerging, stemming from an unexpected catalyst: tariff concerns.
While apparel visits (excluding the off-price segment) generally slowed year-over-year, luxury apparel experienced only a single month of visit declines – in February '25 – likely owing to the comparison to a leap year and a longer February 2024. And more recently, luxury apparel has been performing especially well, with the segment seeing year-over-year (YoY) increases of 4.7% and 4.4% in April and May 2024, respectively – perhaps driven by the risk of price hikes and the uncertainty around the current tariff landscape.
Diving into the audience composition for nationwide luxury brands reveals that the category's current strength is likely driven in part by a more affluent and more suburban consumer base. Over the past four years, the median household income (HHI) in luxury chains' captured market has increased – rising from $101.9K in May 2025 to $108.0K in May 2025. During this period, the share of suburban consumers in the category's trade area also grew, from 39.1% in May 2022 to 41.9% in May 2025.
This suggests that the luxury sector's current resilience is being powered by an increasingly affluent and suburban clientele who are likely better insulated from broader economic pressures.
Despite operating in a challenging environment, luxury retail is finding ways to keep its visits up. Will the segment continue to rally?
Visit Placer.ai/anchor for the latest data-driven retail insights.
Despite the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, overall retail traffic this year has remained generally on par with 2024 levels. Between January and May 2025, retail visits were 0.4% higher than for the equivalent period in 2024, with April and May 2025 visits up 2.3% and 1.3%, respectively.
Some of the recent strength may be attributed to a pull-forward of consumer demand as a response to potential price hikes and limited product availability. But the strongest year-over-year (YoY) visit increase in 2025 so far was actually in January – when visits were up 3.4% compared to January 2024 – highlighting the resilience of retail consumers in 2025 and boding well for the upcoming back to school season.
Diving into YoY May 2025 retail visit data by state suggests that back to school performance may be particularly strong in the West: Retail traffic in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana was 3.0% to 5.1% higher than in May 2024, while Utah's retail chains received a 5.0% YoY boost in traffic. Consumers in these states may be particularly primed to spend this summer.
Meanwhile, several Eastern states (Ohio, New York, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) saw YoY declines in May 2025 retail visits, perhaps suggesting that consumer confidence in those states is slightly more muted. This may indicate that back to school retail traffic will be slightly weaker in these markets.
Last year, sportswear & athleisure and footwear retailers saw the largest back to school visit jumps, followed by office supplies and traditional apparel (excluding off-price, department stores, and sportswear & athleisure). These segments all saw slight visit increases in May 2025 and are likely to continue seeing sizable traffic spikes for back to school season this year.
But looking at the visit data from April and March reveals that the retail categories seeing the strongest visit trends currently are the segments that get a slightly smaller boost from back to school – including furniture & home furnishings, off-price retailers, and thrift stores. Some of this strength may be attributed to pull-forward of demand (as consumers could have bought larger ticket items like furniture in anticipation of price hikes) or to shoppers' value-orientation (driving visits up for off-price and thrift stores). But these categories' recent success may also suggest that home furnishings, off-price apparel, and thrift stores could see higher volumes of consumer traffic this year compared to 2024.
Ahead of the 2025 back to school season, retail traffic data paints the picture of a generally resilient consumer, despite the regional variability. And while last year's big back to school winners will likely perform well again in 2025, more secondary back to school categories – including home furnishings, off-price, and thrift stores – may be the ones to come out on top this year.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
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.
This report includes data from Placer.ai Data Version 2.0, which implements improvements to our extrapolation capabilities, adds short visit monitoring, and enhances visit detection.
Grabbing a coffee or snack at a convenience store is a time-honored road trip tradition – but increasingly, Convenience Stores (C-Stores) have also emerged as places people go out of their way to visit.
Convenience stores have thrived in recent years, making inroads into the discretionary dining space and growing both their audiences and their sales. Between April 2023 and March 2024, C-Stores experienced consistent year-over-year (YoY) visit growth, generally outperforming Overall Retail. Unsurprisingly, C-Stores fell behind Overall Retail in November and December 2023, when holiday shoppers flocked to malls and superstores to buy gifts for loved ones. But in January 2024, the segment regained its lead, growing YoY visits even as Overall Retail languished in the face of an Arctic blast that had many consumers hunkering down at home.
C-Stores’ current strength is partially due to the significant innovation by leading players in the space: Chains like Casey’s, Maverik, Buc-ee’s, and Rutter’s are investing in both in their product offerings and in their physical venues to transform the humble C-Store from a stop along the way into a bona fide destination. Dive into the data to explore some of the key strategies helping C-Stores drive consumer engagement and stay ahead of the pack.
While chain expansion may explain some of the C-Store segment growth, a look at visit-per-location trends shows that demand is growing at the store level as well. Over the past year (April 2023 to March 2024), average visits per location on an industry-wide basis grew by 1.8%, compared to the year prior (April 2022 to 2023).
And within this growing segment, some brands are distinguishing themselves and outperforming category averages. Casey’s, for example, saw the average number of visits to each of its locations increase by 2.3% over the same time frame – while Maverik, Buc-ee’s and Rutter’s saw visits per location increase by 3.2%, 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively.
Each in its own way, Casey’s, Maverik, Buc-ee’s, and Rutter’s, are helping to transform C-Stores from pit stops where people can stretch their legs and grab a cup of coffee to destinations in and of themselves.
Midwestern gas and c-store chain Casey’s – famous for its breakfast pizza and other grab-and-go breakfast items – has emerged as a prime spot for fast food pizza lovers to grab a slice first thing in the morning. And Salt Lake City, Utah-based Maverik – which recently acquired Kum & Go and its 400-plus stores – is also establishing itself as a breakfast destination thanks to its specialty burritos and other chef-inspired creations.
Casey’s and Maverik’s popular breakfast options are likely helping the chains receive its larger-than-average share of morning visits: In Q1 2024, 16.3% of visits to Maverik and 17.5% of visits to Casey’s took place during the 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM daypart, compared to just 14.9% of visits to the wider C-Store category.
Psychographic data from the Spatial.ai’s FollowGraph dataset – which looks at the social media activity of a given audience – also suggests that Casey’s and Maverik’s have opened stores in locations that allow them to reach their target audience. Compared to the average consumer, residents of Casey’s potential market are 7% more likely to be “Fast Food Pizza Lovers” than both the average consumer and the average C-Store trade area resident. Residents of Maverik’s potential market are 16% more likely than the average consumer to be “Mexican Food Enthusiasts,” compared to residents of the average C-Store’s trade area who are only 1% more likely to fall into that category.
With both chains expanding, Casey’s and Maverik can hope to introduce new audiences to their unique breakfast options and solidify their hold over the morning daypart within the C-Store space over the next few years.
Everything is said to be bigger in the Lone Star State, and Texas-based convenience store chain Buc-ee’s – holder of the record for the worlds’ largest C-Store – is no exception. With a unique array of specialty food items and award-winning bathrooms, Buc-ee’s has emerged as a well-known tourist attraction. And the popular chain’s status as a visitor hotspot is reflected in two key metrics.
First, Buc-ee’s attracts a much greater share of weekend visits than other convenience store chains. In Q1 2024, 39.6% of visits to Buc-ee’s took place on the weekends, compared to just 28.3% for the wider C-Store industry. And second, Buc-ee’s captured markets feature higher-than-average shares of family-centric households – including those belonging to Experian: Mosaic’s Suburban Style, Flourishing Families, and Promising Families segments.
Rather than merely a place to stop on the way to work, Buc-ee’s has emerged as a favored destination for families and for people looking for something fun to do on their days off.
Buc-ee’s isn’t the only C-Store chain that believes bigger is better. Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s is increasing visits and customer dwell time by expanding its footprint – both in terms of store count and venue size. New stores will be 10,000 to 12,000 square feet – significantly larger than the industry average of around 3,100 square feet. And in more urban areas, where space is at a premium, the company is building upwards.
Rutter’s added a second floor to one of its existing locations in York, PA in December 2023. The remodel, which was met with enthusiasm by customers, provided additional seating for up to 30 diners, a beer cave, and an expanded wine selection. And in Q1 2024, the location experienced 15.6% YoY visit growth – compared to a chainwide average of 7.6%. Visitors to the newly remodeled Rutter’s also stayed significantly longer than they did pre-renovation. The share of extended visits to the store (longer than ten minutes) grew from 20.8% in Q1 2023 to 27.0% in Q1 2024 – likely from people browsing the chain’s selection of beers or grabbing a bite to eat.
Convenience stores are flourishing, transforming into some of the most exciting dining and tourist destinations in the country. Today, C-Store customers can expect to find brisket sandwiches, gourmet coffees, or craft beers, rather than the stale cups of coffee of old. And the data shows that customers are receptive to these innovations, helping drive the segment’s success.
The first quarter of 2024 was generally a good one for retailers. Though unusually cold and stormy weather left its mark on the sector’s January performance, February and March saw steady year-over-year (YoY) weekly visit growth that grew more robust as the quarter wore on.
March ended on a high note, with the week of March 25th – including Easter Sunday – seeing a 6.1% YoY visit boost, driven in part by increased retail activity in the run-up to the holiday. (Last year, Easter fell on April 9th, 2023, so the week of March 25th is being compared to a regular week.)
Though prices remain high and consumer confidence has yet to fully regain its footing, retail’s healthy Q1 showing may be a sign of good things to come in 2024.
Drilling down into the data for leading retail segments demonstrates the continued success of value-priced, essential, and wellness-related categories.
Discount & Dollar Stores led the pack with 11.2% YoY quarterly visit growth, followed by Grocery Stores, Fitness, and Superstores – all of which outperformed Overall Retail. Dining also enjoyed a YoY quarterly visit bump, despite the segment’s largely discretionary nature. And despite the high interest rates continuing to weigh on the housing and home renovation markets, Home Improvement & Furnishings maintained just a minor YoY visit gap.
Discount & Dollar Stores experienced strong YoY visit growth throughout most of Q1 – and as go-to destinations for groceries and other other essential goods, they held their own even during mid-January’s Arctic blast. In the last week of March, shoppers flocked to leading discount chains for everything from chocolate Easter bunnies to basket-making supplies – driving a remarkable 21.5% YoY visit spike.
Dollar General continued to dominate the Discount & Dollar Store space in Q1, with visits to its locations accounting for nearly half of the segment’s quarterly foot traffic (44.7%). Next in line was Dollar Tree, followed by Family Dollar and Five Below. Together, the four chains – all of which experienced positive YoY quarterly visit growth – drew a whopping 91.6% of quarterly visits to the category.
Rain or shine, people have to eat. And like Discount & Dollar Stores, traditional Grocery Stores were relatively busy through January as shoppers braved the storms to stock up on needed items. Momentum continued to build throughout the quarter, culminating in a 10.5% foot traffic increase in the week ending with Easter Sunday.
Like in other categories, it was budget-friendly Grocery banners that took the lead. No-frills Aldi drove a chain-wide 24.4% foot traffic increase in Q1, by expanding its fleet – while also growing the average number of visits per location. Other value-oriented chains, including Trader Joe’s and Food Lion, experienced significant foot traffic increases of their own. And though conventional grocery leaders like H-E-B, Kroger, and Albertsons saw smaller visit bumps, they too outperformed Q1 2023 by meaningful margins.
January is New Year’s resolution season – when people famously pick themselves up off the couch, dust off their trainers, and vow to go to the gym more often. And with wellness still top of mind for many consumers, the Fitness category enjoyed robust YoY visit growth throughout most of Q1 – despite lapping a strong Q1 2023.
Predictably, Fitness’s visit growth slowed during the last week of March, when many Americans likely indulged in Easter treats rather than work out. But given the category’s strength over the past several years, there is every reason to believe it will continue to flourish.
For Fitness chains, too, cost was key to success in Q1 – with value gyms experiencing the biggest visit jumps. EōS Fitness and Crunch Fitness, both of which offer low-cost membership options, saw their Q1 visits skyrocket 28.9% and 22.0% YoY, respectively – helped in part by aggressive expansions. At the same time, premium and mid-range gyms like Life Time and LA Fitness are also finding success – showing that when it comes to Fitness, there’s plenty of room for a variety of models to thrive.
Superstores – including wholesale clubs – are prime destinations for big, planned shopping expeditions – during which customers can load up on a month’s supply of food items or stock up on home goods. And perhaps for this reason, the category felt the impact of January’s inclement weather more than either dollar chains or supermarkets – which are more likely to see shoppers pop in as needed for daily essentials.
But like Grocery Stores and Discount & Dollar Stores, Superstores ended the quarter with an impressive YoY visit spike, likely fueled by Easter holiday shoppers.
As in Q4 2023, membership warehouse chains – Costco Wholesale, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Sam’s Club – drove much of the Superstore category’s positive visit growth, as shoppers likely engaged in mission-driven shopping in an effort to stretch their budgets. Still, segment mainstays Walmart and Target also enjoyed positive foot traffic growth, with YoY visits up 3.9% and 3.5%, respectively.
Moving into more discretionary territory, Dining experienced a marked January slump, as hunkered-down consumers likely opted for delivery. But the segment rallied in February and March, even though foot traffic dipped slightly during the last week of March, when many families gathered to enjoy home-cooked holiday meals.
Coffee Chains and Fast-Casual Restaurants saw the largest YoY visit increases, followed by QSR – highlighting the enduring power of lower-cost, quick-serve dining options. But Full-Service Restaurants (FSR) also saw a slight segment-wide YoY visit uptick in Q1 – good news for a sector that has yet to bounce back from the one-two punch of COVID and inflation. Within each Dining category, however, some chains experienced outsize visit growth – including favorites like Dutch Bros. Coffee, Slim Chickens, In-N-Out Burger, and Texas Roadhouse.
Since the shelter-in-place days of COVID – when everybody had their sourdough starter and DIY was all the rage – Home Improvement & Furnishings chains have faced a tough environment. Many deferred or abandoned home improvement projects in the wake of inflation, and elevated interest rates coupled with a sluggish housing market put a further damper on the category.
Against this backdrop, Home Improvement & Furnishings’ relatively lackluster Q1 visit performance should come as no surprise. But the narrowing of the visit gap in March – which also saw one week of positive visit growth – may serve as a promising sign for the segment. (The abrupt foot traffic drop during the week of March 25th, 2024 is likely a just reflection of Easter holiday shopping pattern.)
Within the Home Improvement & Furnishings space, some bright spots stood out in Q1 – including Harbor Freight Tools, which saw visits increase by 10.0%, partly due to the brand’s growing store count. Tractor Supply Co., Menards, and Ace Hardware also registered visit increases.
January 2024’s stormy weather left its mark on the Q1 retail environment, especially for discretionary categories. But as the quarter progressed, retailers rallied, with healthy YoY foot traffic growth that peaked during the last week of March – the week of Easter Sunday. All in all, retail’s positive Q1 performance leaves plenty of room for optimism about what’s in store for the rest of 2024.
