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The past couple of years have been challenging ones for the dining industry as high food prices and economic headwinds led many consumers to cut back on unnecessary indulgences. Still, people can’t eat at home all the time, and there’s always demand for restaurants that serve up good food and a welcoming ambiance – without breaking the bank.
So with Q4 2023 under our belts, we dove into the data to check in with two dining chains that are especially good at giving customers what they want: Shake Shack and Wingstop. How did they perform during the final quarter of 2023? And what lies ahead for them in the new year?
Shake Shack, curiously named after an amusement park ride from 70’s hit movie Grease, continues to impress. Following a robust third quarter, the gourmet burger joint maintained strong positive year-over-year (YoY) visit growth throughout Q4 2023 – finishing out the year with a remarkable 24.3% foot traffic jump in December 2023.
Wingstop, another darling of the dining industry, also ended 2023 with a bang. Whether celebrating the New York Knicks with a special lemon garlic flavor, or jumping on the dry January bandwagon with its own “dry rub January”, the popular chicken restaurant draws crowds by staying up-to-date with popular trends. And throughout Q4 2023, Wingstop saw positive visit growth ranging from 12.8% to 16.3%.
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The ongoing success of these two chains in a difficult overall environment shows that there’s more than one way to win at the dining game. With limited-time offerings like White Truffle Burgers, and sandwiches that feature Kimchi slaw, Shake Shack’s relatively upscale offerings have traditionally drawn affluent audiences. But as the chain has continued to expand, its customer base has diversified – with the median household income (HHI) of its captured market dropping by 8.6% over the past four years. Over the same period, the share of ultra-wealthy families and educated urbanites in the restaurant’s captured market declined, while the share of young professionals and urban low income consumers increased. Wider audiences, of course, means broader appeal – and more people getting addicted to Shake Shack’s delicious offerings.
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Wingstop, for its part, has pursued a somewhat different strategy. Positioned as an affordable eatery straddling the space between fast food and fast-casual, Wingstop draws less well-to-do consumers. Combining foot traffic data with demographics from STI’s PopStats shows that the median HHI of Wingstop’s captured market came in at $62.1K in Q4 2023, well below the nationwide baseline of $69.5K.
But despite targeting a demographic with less discretionary income, Wingstop has carved out a niche for itself as a to-go dining destination for people seeking the perfect place to sit down to a nice, big meal with the family. In Wingstop’s four biggest markets – Texas, California, Florida, and Illinois – the chain’s trade areas featured more persons per household than the statewide averages in Q4 2023. And Wingstop’s captured markets were also over-indexed for families with children – showing that parents are particularly likely to pay the restaurant a visit.
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Though food prices have stabilized and consumer confidence has begun to recover, last year ended on a tough note for restaurants. But while the category as a whole has yet to fully regain its footing, chains like Shake Shack and Wingstop are finding success by leaning into evolving consumer demand.
Will cooling inflation kickstart a dining revival? And what does the rest of 2024 have in store for Shake Shack and Wingstop?
Follow Placer.ai to find out.
Few things are more beloved by Americans than a steak – and two of the most popular steakhouse chains in the U.S. are Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse. Who is visiting these chains, and what characteristics do they share? We take a closer look.
Food-away-from-home prices remained high for much of 2023, presenting challenges for dining establishments as would-be restaurant patrons reconsidered going for a meal out. Outback Steakhouse in particular felt the impact of the dining downturn, with year-over-year (YoY) visits falling in 2023 – although the dip may also be due to the chain’s downsizing its store fleet. And the chain seems to have offset at least some of the drop thanks to its price increases, which increased the value of every visit.
Texas Roadhouse, meanwhile, continued its expansion and benefited from growing YoY foot traffic every quarter of 2023.
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Texas Roadhouse’s success is particularly notable given its trade area median HHI. Both Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse tend to have a lower median household income (median HH) in their trade areas when compared to the average fast-casual chain, despite having higher price points. The steakhouse leaders also have a trade area median HHI that is significantly lower than the overall fine-dining segment.
The lower median HHI of Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse visitors suggests that these diners may be avoiding the purchase of more casual, on-the-go meals and instead choosing to direct their more limited funds toward special occasion dining. And Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse may be seen as an affordable luxury for those seeking a more elevated dining experience than might be found at a local fast-casual joint.
By understanding the types of diners who visit the restaurant, dining chains can make sure to deliver the type of experience their customers are seeking – in this case, a special-occasion dining destination that won't break the bank.
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Outback Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse Popular Among Suburban Segments
A deeper exploration of the psychographic compositions of each chains’ trade area reveals that suburban families are particularly drawn to Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse. For both chains, the share of households in Spatial.ai’s PersonaLive “Upper Suburban Diverse Families,” “Suburban Boomers,” and “Wealthy Suburban Families” segments exceeded the statewide average in several major states.
As suburban markets continue gaining momentum, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse’s popularity with suburban audiences can help the chains stay ahead of the pack in 2024.
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The State Of Steak
The enduring appeal of a well-made steak (or Blooming Onion, or honey butter) is indisputable. Will customers continue to visit these chains for a special occasion? Or will 2024 bring with it a new shift in diner preferences?
Follow Placer.ai’s data-driven analyses to find out.
The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index: The office building index analyzes foot traffic data from some 1,000 office buildings across the country. It only includes commercial office buildings, and commercial office buildings with retail offerings on the first floor (like an office building that might include a national coffee chain on the ground floor). It does NOT include mixed-use buildings that are both residential and commercial.
Remote work may not be bad for companies’ bottom lines – but it does appear to have drawbacks for employees. Fully remote workers were 35% more likely to be laid off in 2023 than those who came into the office at least part of the week. And full-time WFH personnel also got fewer promotions.
Still, reaping the benefits of in-person office work doesn’t require a full-time return to office. (Five days a week? Seriously?) And for many participants in the remote work wars, 2023 was a year for compromise. But what did the hybrid model look like in 2023? And who were last year’s office visitors?
We dove into the data to find out.
Analyzing office visit trends over the past several years suggests that some variation of the hybrid model is indeed here to stay – though the jury’s still out on whether we’ve found the sweet spot. Since Q2 2023, quarterly visits to office buildings have remained about 34.0%-38.0% below pre-COVID levels. But Q4 2023 office foot traffic was 12.9% higher than the equivalent period of 2022, suggesting that additional office recovery may still be in the cards.
Regionally speaking, Miami and New York closed out 2023 at the head of the pack, with visits about 20% below the pre-pandemic baseline. Dallas and Chicago finished the year with respective quarterly visit gaps of 31.8% and 43.0%. And San Francisco continued to bring up the rear, with office foot traffic 53.8% below pre-COVID levels.
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These general trends continued into January 2024. Nationwide, office buildings experienced a 42.1% year-over-four-year (Yo4Y) visit gap, potentially indicating stalling recovery. But at the same time, major markets across the country – most impressively San Francisco – saw sustained YoY visit growth, showing that the return to office (RTO) story is still being written.
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Whether office recovery has run its course, or whether 2024 promises a renewed upward trajectory – a more granular picture of the specific habits and characteristics of office-goers can help stakeholders adapt to evolving trends.
And while foot traffic remains substantially below 2019 levels, the affluence of office buildings’ visitor base has very nearly rebounded to what it was before COVID. In Q1 2019, the median household income (HHI) of the Nationwide Office Index’s captured market stood at $91.9K, a metric which plummeted in early 2020 as more affluent employees rode out lockdowns from home. But since then, the median HHI has slowly risen – reaching $90.1K - $91.6K in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, remote and hybrid work opportunities aren’t distributed equally – and wealthier, more-educated workers are better positioned than others to take advantage of them. But visitors to major office buildings tend to have significantly higher-than-average HHIs to begin with (STI’s PopStats puts the nationwide baseline at $69.5K). So even if the median HHI of office visitors is once again close to what it was before COVID, it is these relatively affluent employees that are coming in less frequently and helping to shape the new hybrid normal.
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At the same time, there has been a subtle but distinct decline in the share of parental households in offices’ captured markets – indicating that parents of children accounted for a smaller proportion of office visits in 2023 than in 2019. This change varied by region, with Chicago seeing the smallest shift and tech-heavy San Francisco seeing the largest one.
For many working parents, flexibility is the name of the game – and employees juggling parental responsibilities along with their work loads may be particularly eager to embrace working from home.
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Another data point that’s particularly important for stakeholders to understand is the daily breakdown of office visits throughout the week. And foot traffic data for 2023 shows that the TGIF work week that we first observed in 2022 remains more firmly entrenched than ever. People continue to concentrate office visits mid-week and log on from home on Mondays and especially Fridays – an effect that is most pronounced in San Francisco, and least pronounced in Miami. And for municipalities, CRE companies, and local businesses that rely on office foot traffic, recognizing the persistence of this pattern can be key to making the most of those days when offices are abuzz with activity.
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The new hybrid model remains a work in progress – and it’s too soon to tell whether offices will indeed see further attendance increases in 2024. But either way, the behaviors and attributes of office-goers will continue to evolve, presenting stakeholders with opportunities and challenges alike.
What does 2024 have in store for RTO? And how will the profile of visitors to America’s offices change in the new year?
Follow placer.ai/blog to find out.
Just as the dining space was beginning to recover from the COVID pandemic, the ongoing inflation brought a fresh set of challenges to the sector in 2022 and 2023. How did the headwinds impact Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Taco Bell, KFC, and other leading brands from the RBI and Yum! Portfolio? We dove into the data to find out.
Restaurant Brands International (RBI) and Yum! Brands each own three QSR banners along with one fast-casual chain. RBI owns the Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Tim Hortons brands as well as fast-casual sub chain Firehouse Subs. Yum! Brands operates the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell fast-food banners and the fast-casual The Habit Burger Grill.
Both companies’ banners saw year-over-year (YoY) growth in Q1 2023, likely aided by favorable comparisons to an Omicron-plagued Q1 2022. And although traffic dropped off as the year went on – perhaps due to consumers cutting back on dining out – the dip was subdued, with visits staying relatively close to 2022 levels.
RBI’s banners ended the year with just a 2.5% YoY dip in Q4 2023, although Firehouse Subs, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Tim Hortons all saw positive visit growth for three out of four quarters of 2023.
Following three quarters of YoY visit growth for the Pizza Hut banner and for the company as a whole, Yum! Brands also began feeling the impact of the consumer spending contraction, with the company’s Q4 2023 foot traffic performance 3.7% lower, on average, than in 2022.
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The wider QSR space tends to serve trade areas composed of Census Block Groups with an overall median household income (HHI) that is lower than the median HHI nationwide ($63.2K for QSR compared with $69.5K nationwide). And the median HHI in the trade areas of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes is even lower than the median HHI in the wider QSR space.
The relatively low median HHI in the trade areas of RBI and Yum! Brands’ QSR banners means that visitors to these chains may be feeling particularly frugal, which could explain the slight dips in foot traffic towards the end of 2023.
But some of these brands are already implementing changes to woo back their budget-conscious customers. Taco Bell recently unveiled a new value menu that includes some items priced at $1.99, and several other chains in the Yum! and RBI portfolio have launched national campaigns advertising wallet-friendly promotions – which may well bring foot traffic back up in 2024.
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QSR chains seem particularly attractive to singles, with the trade area of the average QSR brand containing a larger share of one-person and non-family (roommate) households compared to the nationwide average (33.8% to 33.2%). And analyzing the household composition of the QSR banners of RBI and Yum! reveals that the trade areas of these brands tend to include an even larger share of one-person and non-family households than the wider QSR industry. (Pizza Hut is the sole exception, with one-person and non-family households making up 33.6% of households in its trade area – slightly less than the QSR industry average of 33.8%, but still more than the nationwide average of 33.2%.)
The trade areas of QSR brands also tend to include a greater share of large households (households of four or more people) compared to the percentage of 4+ person households nationwide. But Yum! And RBI banners (with the exception of Popeyes) seem to serve fewer 4+ person households compared to the QSR average (although Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, and Tim Hortons still have more 4+ person households in the trade areas compared to the nationwide average.)
This trade area demographic data could help Yum! and RBI plan their 2024 promotions – discounts on larger orders could be particularly appealing to Popeyes diners, but may not necessarily drive demand among the visitor base of the other QSR banners. At the same time, all brands analyzed may benefit from offering value-priced individual items that can help singles living alone or with roommates budget smartly.
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With food-away-from-home prices expected to increase in 2024, chains that offer low-cost options are likely to see a resurgence – and RBI and Yum! may well benefit from consumers’ continued thriftiness.
Who wouldn’t want weekends to last seven days? That’s the thinking behind Marine Layer’s eco-friendly and “absurdly soft” tees. This San Francisco-based company, founded in 2009, has its beginnings in a shirt thrown away by a girlfriend. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and from that action sprouted the seeds for founder Mike Natenshon as he set on his quest to create the ultimate soft-on-day-1 shirt. Forty-five stores later, Marine Layer has spread across the nation, timed perfectly with our desire for coziness after extended time at home made comfy clothing a must.
One of the higher-trafficked outdoor Marine Layer locations is at Ponce City Market in Atlanta. This shopping center boasts other in-demand brands like Lululemon, Reformation, and Buck Mason. Another popular location resides at 12South, a Nashville neighborhood spanning a half mile that includes walkable local businesses, bars, and bakeries. White Bison Coffee and Five Daughters Bakery are places to stop in for a bite while shopping. And in Boulder, Pearl St is another pedestrian-friendly venue for shoppers.
It’s clear that certain segments are attracted to Marine Layer’s offer - most notably Young Professionals in Atlanta and Boulder, who make up a quarter of the customers, as well as Ultra Wealthy Families across the board, particularly in Nashville where they comprise a fifth. There are a few clientele differences, such as the fact that Marine Layer draws Urban Low Income in Atlanta and more Sunset Boomers in Boulder.
Looking at the potential market for these three areas, we see some interesting patterns arise via Spatial.ai Followgraph. For instance, all three markets overindex in following the musical Hamilton, fitness brand Peloton, outdoor sporting goods store REI, and the confection Moon Pie. Regarding fashion brands, Tory Burch, J. Crew, Lululemon, Vineyard Vines, and Patagonia are popular too.
Faherty is a brand that has been around for 10 years but that we’ve seen accelerating its physical store footprint in the last few years. Evoking chill surf trips, family bonfires, and hikes in the great outdoors, this American brand invites you to cozy up in its sweaters, spend a Saturday riding the waves, or just all-out enjoy family time and making memories. Its locations span from east coast to west coast, with popular locations in Panama City Beach, New York City, Austin, Manhattan Beach, among others.
The appeal of this brand is such that it finds itself on the beach, in urban high streets, and suburban locations, indicating that it’s really more about the vibe. Not only that, the segments are quite varied in terms of who is shopping at Faherty (using PersonaLive segments). In Panama City Beach, we see largely Ultra Wealthy Families, Sunset Boomers, and Young Professionals. Meanwhile, in SoHo, Educated Urbanites and Young Urban Singles make up the lion’s share of the trade area. The Austin shopper profile is more similar to the Panama City Beach one, with the addition of Educated Urbanites as well. This intergenerational appeal is possibly rooted in the ethos of the brand with its focus on family, friends, and enjoying life’s moments.
One thing that these shoppers do have in common? High household incomes. Most of these shoppers come from households earning $150K+, with particularly high earners hailing from Greenwich, CT.
While the customers from Florida, New York, and Texas are geographically dispersed, they do share some commonalities: an above average propensity to be bubbly drinkers and wine drinkers, clearly in line with the brand’s positioning of celebratory moments. Customers in these three markets also consider themselves “Pilates People”, “Joggers,” and “Fitness Fans.” You will find Faherty devotees from all three of these markets at the spa, at the museum, or enjoying book clubs. And largely in keeping with Faherty’s sustainability promise, many of their customers consider themselves Environmental Activists.
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.
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.
