.svg)
As consumer spending continues to bifurcate, mid-tier chains face headwinds while off-price and luxury apparel gain ground. Which of the two apparel segments has the greatest growth potential? We dove into the data to find out.
Off-price has led apparel growth in recent years, and continuing economic uncertainty is helping the segment build on that momentum and continue its upward trajectory in 2025. But the luxury apparel segment – which underperformed the wider apparel category for much of 2024 – has also been on the rise lately, as shown in the chart below.
So far in 2025, foot traffic to luxury chains and department stores has increased year-over-year, consistently outpacing the broader apparel category. This trend reflects the increasingly bifurcated retail space: value-oriented chains, including off-price leaders, are winning over budget-conscious shoppers, while premium brands continue to attract affluent customers who remain less sensitive to economic headwinds.
Still, the data also shows that off-price chains continue to show significantly stronger traffic growth, while luxury visits have recently stabilized – traffic between June and August 2025 was roughly flat YoY. This contrast underscores the greater growth potential of value-oriented retailers in the current environment, with middle-income shoppers far more likely to trade down into off-price than to stretch into luxury. So although affluent spending appears to be holding steady, luxury’s room for further expansion may be limited.
Luxury may be more visible than ever, with social media fueling brand awareness. Pandemic-era stimulus checks may also have briefly given middle-income shoppers an opportunity to splurge on coveted labels. But beneath the surface, the data suggests that the audience is actually narrowing, with luxury chains drawing more heavily from affluent areas – even as brands try to broaden their lines and bring prestige to the masses.
Between 2022 and 2025, the median HHI for luxury shoppers climbed from $115K to nearly $118K, while the medians for traditional and off-price apparel shoppers held steady.
This suggests that, as prices rise, luxury increasingly depends on the nation’s wealthiest households, while off-price, with its median HHI of $75K (closely aligned with the national average of $79.6K according to PopStats 2024 data), continues to draw a broad shopper base. Off-price’s income profile may even be buoyed by wealthier shoppers trading down, while mid-range apparel chains feel the pressure of more cost-conscious behavior.
As 2025 progresses, apparel’s bifurcation is likely to deepen, with off-price chains positioned to capture continued traffic gains from value-driven shoppers and even affluent consumers trading down. Luxury is likely to remain resilient among high-income households, but its reliance on a narrowing customer base may limit growth, leaving value-oriented retailers better positioned to capitalize on shifting consumer dynamics in the months ahead.
To see up-to-date retail traffic trends, visit our 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.
%20Thriving%20Amidst%20Downturn.avif)
The arts and crafts sector is undergoing a major shakeup. Party City shuttered all corporate-owned stores early in the year after filing for bankruptcy, and by May, JOANN had closed its doors as well. But what could have been a moment of contraction for the largely discretionary category has instead accelerated growth for its strongest players. The industry is consolidating around two leaders – Hobby Lobby and Michaels.
What explains the continued strength of these two banners? And how are they positioning themselves to capture share in a reshaped retail landscape? We dove into the data to find out.
Despite its discretionary nature, crafting is flourishing in 2025. Screen-fatigued consumers are embracing hands-on, mindful projects like knitting, embroidery, and DIY décor as creative outlets and stress relievers. At the same time, crafting serves a practical role, producing inexpensive gifts and home decorations that help households stretch budgets while delivering creative satisfaction.
And Hobby Lobby and Michaels are making the most of this opportunity. Since April 2025, both chains have posted consistent year-over-year (YoY) visit growth, expanding their footprints while also driving more visits to existing locations. And with JOANN and Party City out of the picture, both retailers appear poised to capture displaced demand and further cement their leadership.
Each retailer is following a different path to success.
Michaels has leaned aggressively into the category's realignment. The company acquired JOANN's intellectual property and private-label brands to broaden its assortment and has moved quickly into Party City's vacated territory with an expanded lineup of balloons and party goods. Michaels is also doubling down on in-store experiences like birthday parties and leaning even more heavily into seasonal products – including for Halloween, Party City’s traditional stronghold.
This latter move could prove especially powerful during the upcoming spooky season. Halloween was historically Party City’s busiest period of the year, with October 2024 visits surging nearly 95% above the chain’s monthly average. With Party City gone – and Michaels already rolling out its “Summerween” offerings – the retailer looks well-positioned to capture some of that seasonal momentum and emerge as one of Halloween’s new retail destinations.
Hobby Lobby, by contrast, has stuck to its proven strategy of steadily expanding a nationwide fleet of large-format stores with broad, affordable selections. And this approach continues to pay dividends.
Though Hobby Lobby doesn’t really do Halloween, it carries plenty of seasonal decorations – which have traditionally driven substantial holiday visit boosts from November (see graph above). Hobby Lobby’s immersive environment also encourages extended browsing sessions, leading to longer visits. Between May and July of this year, shoppers averaged 31.4 minutes per trip to Hobby Lobby compared to 25.5 minutes at Michaels. The chain also leads in loyalty: Over the same period, 21.5% to 23.3% of visitors shopped at Hobby Lobby at least twice per month, a significant increase from last year.
Far from being sidelined as a discretionary indulgence, crafting has become an outlet for creativity, mindfulness, and affordability – and the shakeout of weaker players has only sharpened the advantage of category leaders. With Michaels pushing boundaries through innovation and seasonal dominance, and Hobby Lobby deepening loyalty through scale and consistency, both banners are positioned to ride the craft retail wave well into the future.
For more data-driven consumer 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.
Black Rock Coffee Bar ended its NASDAQ debut in September 2025 at a market valuation of $1.32 billion – a remarkable showing for the relatively young coffee chain.
We took a closer look at the data to see what sets Black Rock apart from its competitors – and what might be fueling its remarkable valuation and early surge in share price.
Black Rock Coffee Bar, which was founded in Oregon and is currently based in Arizona, has been on an impressive growth trajectory– between 2020 and 2025, the chain doubled its unit count, and the company is now targeting 1,000 locations by 2035.
Fueled by its aggressive expansion, Black Rock’s traffic has surged since 2019, with Q2 2025 visits up 226.5% compared to Q3 2019. These trends echo the trajectory of Dutch Bros – another rapidly growing coffee chain founded in Oregon – whose growth path since 2019 closely mirrors Black Rock’s, as shown in the graph below.
Despite their shared origins and similar growth trajectories, the two chains draw distinct audiences. Dutch Bros tends to attract visitors from less affluent neighborhoods, both nationally and within Oregon – due in large part to its typically younger audience – whereas Black Rock Coffee’s customer base skews more affluent than the median in both contexts.
This contrast suggests that the coffee space has ample room for two Oregon-founded chains to scale quickly, as each taps into a distinct segment of the market with complementary growth potential. Dutch Bros can lean into accessibility and mass-market appeal, while Black Rock is positioned to build loyalty with higher-income consumers, potentially supporting premium offerings, differentiated experiences, and stronger long-term margins.
Focusing on recent months shows that – although Black Rock Coffee is maintaining overall positive visit growth – average visits per location have slipped slightly, as seen in the chart below. What does this mean for Black Rock Coffee's future?
Overall traffic is still climbing and new stores are expanding the brand's customer base, so the slowdown appears to be a short-term adjustment rather than a hard ceiling. But the dip in visits per venue may indicate that the chain is beginning to saturate its traditional western and southern markets – signaling that further growth may depend on expansion into new states and DMAs.
Black Rock Coffee's growth is reminiscent of that of Dutch Bros, and demographic differences between their audiences create room for both chains to continue expanding – though Black Rock's softer per-location trends bear watching as it expands. Still, the chain’s affluent customer base provides resilience and supports long-term growth, helping explain Black Rock Coffee's premium valuation and early market enthusiasm.
For the most up-to-date dining data, 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.
East and South Asian grocery chains continue to perform well, with YoY visits outperforming the broader grocery segment in most cases, as seen in the chart below.
One factor behind the success of specialty grocery chains is their ability to serve as true destinations rather than just another place to pick up groceries, as visitor behavior data suggests that these grocers engage their visitors more deeply than traditional grocery chains.
Shoppers spend more time in these specialty grocery stores (27 to 41 minutes per visit on average compared to 23 minutes at traditional supermarkets). Consumers are also more likely to visit on weekends – the grocery category as a whole receives less than 33% of its visits on weekends, compared to H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, Mitsuwa Marketplace, and Patel Brothers where 39.3% to 42.4% of visits take place over the weekend. Together, these patterns reinforce the positioning of East and South Asian grocers as experiential, destination-driven retailers rather than routine errand stops.
Looking ahead, some chains are working on opening more stores, with H Mart slated to open four new locations in Florida, Texas, and California, while 99 Ranch just opened its first New York City location. These expansions signal continued momentum in both established and new markets.
The success of Southeast and East Asian grocers may highlight a broader consumer shift: shopping trips that feel purposeful, engaging, and even entertaining are increasingly valued in an age where routine purchases can be easily fulfilled online. Traditional grocers looking to tap into this trend may need to rethink their formats, merchandising, and in-store experiences, potentially leaning more into specialty assortments, foodservice options, or community programming. More broadly, for retailers of all types, the success of Asian grocers illustrates the growing importance of creating destination-driven experiences that transform shopping into an outing rather than a chore. Retailers who cultivate environments that invite discovery, linger time, and weekend traffic may find themselves better positioned to capture both customer loyalty and discretionary spending.
For the latest up-to-date grocery trends, check out our free tools.
Costco (COST) has maintained an impressive growth streak since the pandemic, with visits up year-over-year (YoY) every quarter since Q2 2021, as shown in the chart below.
Importantly, although the retailer has expanded significantly during this time, this growth has not been fueled by expansion alone: Same-store visits have also consistently increased during this period – indicating that the retailer is driving more traffic to existing stores and quickly building strong member bases at its new warehouses.
The latest data suggests that Costco has no plans of slowing down. Overall visits continued to grow in 2025 while same-store visits increased or held steady. And even as brick-and-mortar retail traffic softened over the summer, Costco bucked the trend: August 2025 traffic to Costco grew 5.5% YoY while same-store visits rose 4.0% – likely boosted by back-to-school demand.
In-store consumer behavior also highlights Costco's consumer appeal. Visitors to the chain spend considerably more time per visit than visitors to other superstores or grocery chains. This longer dwell time not only increases the likelihood of larger basket sizes, but also highlights the effectiveness of Costco’s curated merchandising strategy that offers consumers an engaging experience while encouraging cross-category shopping.
Macro conditions may help Costco grow even further in the near future. Gas prices have fallen recently, reducing the cost of driving to warehouse clubs often located outside dense residential areas. Grocery inflation has cooled as well, relieving pressure on households that might have pulled back from bulk purchases, while keeping value top of mind. Together, lower fuel costs and moderating food prices reduce friction and reinforce steady trip frequency to value-oriented, drive-to formats like Costco.
Looking ahead, Costco’s combination of consistent traffic growth, favorable macro conditions, and industry-leading in-store engagement underscores its resilience in a challenging retail environment. For investors, these trends point to continued revenue durability supported by membership economics and strong spend-per-visit. For retailers, Costco offers a blueprint: build loyalty through value and elevate engagement with experience. This approach has made Costco not only a standout performer today, but also one of the best-positioned retailers to sustain growth into the next cycle.
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.
The state of the consumer was top of mind during second-quarter 2025 earnings calls, as restaurant executives consistently described a more cautious and discerning customer. Leaders from major brands like McDonald's, Chipotle, and Starbucks noted that lower-income consumers, in particular, are feeling the pressure of a challenging economy and are pulling back on the frequency of their visits.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski framed it as a "two-tier economy," where affluent consumers continue to spend while lower-to-middle income households face significant cost-of-living pressures. This trend is visible in visitation data, which shows quick-service (QSR) and fast-casual restaurants underperforming full-service restaurants and coffee chains in recent months.
This consumer caution has led to a "trade-down" effect, where customers actively seek value-oriented promotions or skip add-ons like a beverage to manage their check size. In response, brands are emphasizing affordable meal bundles – like McDonald’s Extra Value Meals and Taco Bell’s Decades Y2K throwback menu featuring fan-favorites under $3 – and leveraging their loyalty programs to retain these budget-conscious patrons.
As 2025 progresses, QSRs face intense competition not just from each other, but from a growing array of value-oriented retailers. Driven by rising menu prices at fast-food chains, highly price-conscious consumers are actively seeking more affordable meal options. Value-oriented grocery stores, dollar stores, and convenience stores have aggressively expanded their grab-and-go and prepared food offerings, making them direct rivals for lunch and dinner.
As the price gap between dining out and eating at home widens, these channels are successfully capturing a greater "share of stomach," particularly from consumers who now view a trip to the grocery or dollar store as a more economical alternative to a QSR visit. We see this in our visitation data, where the number of McDonald’s and other other QSR visitors are increasingly visiting Aldi and other value-oriented options.
The lunch hour has become a key battleground, with fresh-format and value grocers seeing a notable increase in foot traffic as they expand their high-quality, convenient, and affordable grab-and-go options. This has siphoned off a portion of the traditional lunch crowd from fast-casual restaurants, as consumers – particularly office workers – increasingly opt for a trip to the grocery store.
This pressure contributed to weaker-than-expected results for premium fast-casual chains like Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and CAVA. While these brands were up against tough comparisons from product launches a year ago (Chicken al Pastor for Chipotle, steak options for sweetgreen and CAVA), the slowdown was more significant than anticipated.
What’s to make of this slowdown? In addition to tougher comparisons, the explanation is likely a multi-faceted consumer response to a challenging economic environment and a crowded marketplace. Like QSR chains, many budget-conscious fast-casual customers began trading down, either opting for less expensive fast-food alternatives or simply reducing the frequency of their visits to these pricier lunch spots.
At the same time, a segment of their health-conscious consumer base increasingly turned to specialty grocers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, where they could assemble their own high-quality bowls for a lower cost. Compounding the issue was a growing sentiment of "slop bowl" fatigue, a perception that the once-innovative format had become commoditized, with little differentiation between the chains, leading some consumers to seek out more unique dining experiences.
Chili's continued its significant outperformance of the restaurant industry in the second quarter of 2025 by successfully executing a multi-faceted strategy centered on a compelling value message that resonated with increasingly price-conscious consumers. The brand's success was largely driven by the popularity of its heavily marketed "3 for Me" bundled meal deal and its "Triple Dipper" appetizer promotion, which together attracted a surge of new and repeat customers. This effective value messaging was supported by substantial investments in marketing and crucial back-of-house operational improvements, which enhanced food quality and service consistency, allowing Chili's to capture a significant share of visits while many competitors in the casual dining space struggled with declining traffic.
It’s not just Chili’s however. Applebee's, for instance, managed to drive a 4.9% increase in same-store sales during its most recent quarter, a significant turnaround attributed to its own value-driven promotions and menu innovations that successfully boosted customer traffic. Olive Garden delivered a solid performance in its most recent quarter, achieving a 2.0% increase in same-restaurant sales. This growth was largely fueled by the success of its value promotions and a significant nearly 20% surge in takeout sales, which helped attract a younger, more frequent customer base according to management.
As the restaurant industry moves into the second half of 2025, the second quarter's results paint a clear picture of a market defined by a strategic, value-seeking consumer. The resounding success of casual dining chains like Chili's and Applebee's, which leaned heavily into affordable, bundled meals, demonstrates that a compelling value proposition can still drive significant traffic and sales. Conversely, the fast-casual and QSR segments are facing an identity crisis, squeezed by intense competition from lower-priced grocery and convenience store alternatives and the aggressive promotions from sit-down restaurants.
Ultimately, the brands that will thrive for the remainder of the year will be those that can master the art of delivering a strong, clear value equation – whether through price, experience, or convenience – to a customer who is more discerning with their dining dollars than ever before.
For more data-driven 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.
New year, new retail opportunities. And though 2023 is firmly in the rearview mirror, the economic headwinds that characterized much of the year have yet to fully dissipate. But every challenge also brings with it new opportunities, and many retailers are adapting to meet their customers' changing wants and needs.
This white paper analyzes location intelligence for 10 brands poised to succeed in 2024. Some, like low-cost apparel and home furnishing stores, are benefitting from consumer trade-down. Others are expanding into rural or suburban areas to meet customers where they are. Read on for some of 2024’s retail winners.
Until around four years ago, New Balance sneakers were commonly seen on the feet of suburban dads – not exactly a recipe for high fashion. But all that began to change in 2019 when the company began collaborating with Teddy Santis, who eventually became New Balance’s creative director. Since then, the brand’s popularity has surged among Gen Z and X and is now one of the fastest-growing sneaker companies in the industry, despite the increasing competition in sneaker space. In 2023, foot traffic to New Balance stores grew 3.3% year-over-year (YoY) and the brand has firmly established itself as ultimate retro cool.
Diving into the demographics of New Balance stores’ captured market trade area reveals the success of the chain’s rebranding. In 2023, New Balance’s trade area included larger shares of “Ultra Wealthy Families,” “Young Professionals,” and “Educated Urbanites” than the average shoe store’s trade area – highlighting New Balance’s successful reinvention as a brand for the young and hip.
The home improvement space is dominated by Lowe’s and Home Depot – but Harbor Freight Tools is quickly making a name for itself as a go-to destination for affordable tools and supplies.
Over the past few years, Harbor Freight Tools has expanded rapidly, with many of its new stores opening in smaller towns and cities. And the expansion appears to be paying off, with visits up YoY during every month of 2023. And although the chain is now operating with a significantly larger store fleet, the average number of visits per venue has generally increased – indicating that the company is expanding into markets where it is meeting a ready demand.
Over a decade after Mackelmore dropped his smash hit “Thrift Shop” in 2012, second-hand stores are still enjoying their time in the limelight. Shoppers, driven by a desire to reduce waste, find unique styles, and to save a few dollars at the till, continue to flock to thrift stores. And Winmark Corporation, which operates five secondhand goods chains – including apparel brands Plato’s Closet (young adult clothes), Once Upon a Child (children's clothes and toys), and Style Encore (women's clothing) – has benefited from the strong demand. Visits to the three Winmark clothing banners increased an average of 5.3% YoY in 2023.
The median household income (HHI) in the trade areas of Winmark’s apparel chains tends to be lower than the median HHI in the wider apparel category – so budget-conscious consumers are driving at least some of the company’s growth. With more consumers looking for ways to cut back on spending in 2024, the demand for second-hand clothes is expected to grow even further – and Winmark is likely to continue reaping the benefits.
HomeGoods, a treasure hunter's dream, is the discount home furnishing retailer owned by off-price retail giant TJX Companies. The chain, which operates over 900 brick-and-mortar stores, recently closed its e-commerce platform to focus on its physical locations – where foot traffic grew 6.0% between 2023 and 2022.
HomeGoods carries kitchen and home decor items along with furniture, and may be benefiting from the relative strength of the houseware segment, driven in part by an increase in at-home entertainment. And in a surprising twist, this low-cost retailer attracts more affluent visitors than visitors to the home furnishing segment overall. The median household income (HHI) in HomeGoods’ trade area stood at $84.7K/year compared to a $78.5K median HHI in the trade area of the average home furnishing chain. As economic uncertainty and the resumption of student loan payments impact consumers, wealthier shoppers seeking a budget-friendly home refresh are likely to continue choosing HomeGoods over pricier alternatives.
Florida-based Bealls, Inc., which got its start as a small town five-and-dime in 1915 in Bradenton, Florida, now operates over 600 stores across the country. The company, which saw an impressive 9.0% YoY increase in visits in 2023, recently consolidated its two largest banners – Burkes Outlet and Bealls Outlet – under the Bealls name.
One reason for Bealls’ success could be its appeal to rural consumers. Over the past five years, the share of households falling into Spatial.ai: PersonaLive’s “Rural Average Income” segment has steadily increased, growing from 12.6% in 2019 to 15.1% in 2023. With rural shoppers continuing to command ever-more attention from retailers, the increase in visits from this segment bodes well for Bealls in 2024.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet was built for this economy. The chain saw a 13.0% YoY increase in visits in 2023, thanks in part to its popularity among a wide array of budget-conscious consumers. Ollie’s has found success with rural shoppers while maintaining its appeal among value-oriented suburban segments – and the chain’s diverse audience base seems to be setting it apart from other discount retailers.
A closer look at the chain’s captured market data, layered with the Spatial.ai: Personalive dataset, reveals that Ollie’s trade area includes larger shares of the “Blue Collar Suburbs” and “Suburban Boomer” segments when compared to the wider Discount & Dollar Stores category. As the chain plots its expansion, focusing on suburban and rural areas may help Ollie’s meet its customers where they are.
Trader Joe’s has managed to do what few stores can. The company does not invest in marketing, has no online shopping options, and loyalty programs? Forget about it. But despite this unusual approach to running a business, the California native has enjoyed consistent success over the years, with a 12.4% YoY increase in visits in 2023.
Trader Joe’s is particularly popular among younger shoppers, perhaps thanks to the company’s focus on sustainability and social responsibility – as well as its famously low prices. Analyzing the chain’s trade area using the AGS: Panorama dataset reveals that Trader Joe’s attracts more “Emerging Leaders” and “Young Coastal Technocrats” (segments that describe highly educated young professionals) than the average grocery chain. With Gen Z particularly concerned about putting their money where their mouth is, Trader Joe’s is likely to sustain its momentum in 2024 and beyond.
Convenience stores are growing up and evolving into bona-fide dining destinations. And Foxtrot, a Chicago-based chain with 29 stores across Texas, Illinois, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia, is one c-store redefining what a convenience store can be. The chain, which announced a merger with Dom’s Kitchen in November 2023, offers an upscale convenience store experience and is particularly known for including local brands in its product assortment as well as its excellent wine curation and dining options.
Visitors to the chain were significantly more likely to fall into AGS: Behavior & Attitudes dataset’s “Wine Drinker” or “Nutritionally Aware” segments than visitors to nearby convenience stores. The company plans to ramp up store openings, particularly in the suburbs, where convenience and a good bottle of wine might just find the perfect home as a welcome distraction from the daily grind.
Jersey Mike’s is one of the fastest-growing franchise dining chains in the country, operating over 2,500 locations in all 50 states. The sandwich chain has seen its popularity take off over the past few years, with 2023 visits up 14.1% YoY and plans to open 350 new stores in 2024.
The company has long prioritized affluent class suburban customers – and visitation data layered with the Experian: Mosaic dataset reveals that Jersey Mike’s has indeed succeeded in attracting this audience. The percentage of “Booming with Confidence” and “Flourishing Families” (both affluent segments) in Jersey Mike’s trade area was larger than in the trade areas of the average sub sandwich chain. As Jersey Mike’s continues its expansion, focusing on suburban areas may continue to serve the chain well.
The East Coast may not be the first region that pops to mind when thinking about tropical smoothies – but New Jersey-based Playa Bowls is making it work. The company was founded by avid surf enthusiasts determined to bring the flavors of their favorite surfing towns stateside.
Playa Bowls has enjoyed strong visit numbers in 2023, with overall visits up 23.0% and average visits per venue up 17.1% YoY – and part of the chain’s success may be driven by its ability to draw wealthier customers to its stores. The Experian: Mosaic dataset reveals that the “Power Elite” segment is overrepresented in the company’s trade areas: The share of households falling into that segment from Playa Bowl’s captured market exceeded their share in the company’s potential market. As the chain continues expanding its domestic footprint, it seems to have found its niche among a wealthy customer base.
The past year saw a wide range of challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers as economic fears continued to shake consumer confidence. But there are plenty of bright spots as the new year gets underway. These ten brands prove that the retail world never stands still, and that the next opportunity is just around the corner.
Sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, and MLB boast billion-dollar revenues – and the venues where these games unfold hold significant commercial potential in their own rights. Many stadiums host concerts and other shows in addition to regularly held sporting matches and can accommodate tens of thousands of spectators at once – creating massive retail, dining, and advertisement opportunities.
This white paper analyzes location intelligence metrics for some of the biggest stadiums across the country to reveal the commercial potential of these venues beyond simple ticketing revenue. Where do visitors of various stadiums like to shop? Do specific sporting and cultural events impact the nearby restaurant scene differently? How can stadium operators, local businesses, and advertisers tailor their offerings to a stadium’s particular audience and make the most of the stadium and the space throughout the year?
We take a closer look below.
The three major sports leagues – the National Basketball League (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Football League (NFL) – play at different points of the year, and the number of games each league holds during the season also varies.
MLB leads in game frequency, with each team playing 162 games during the regular season, which runs approximately from April through September. Basketball season is also around six months – roughly from mid-October to mid-April – but each NBA team plays only 82 games a season. And the NFL has both the shortest season – 18 weeks running from early September to early January (with the pre-season starting in August) – and the fewest number of matches per team. Understanding the monthly visitation patterns for the various types of stadiums can help advertisers, stadium operators, and other stakeholders ensure that they are leveraging the full potential of the venue throughout the year.
Unsurprisingly, the sports arenas serving the different leagues see visit spikes during their leagues’ respective season. But comparing visit numbers throughout the year to the average monthly visit numbers for each category in 2023 reveals that the relative visit increases and decreases during the on- and off-season vary for each type of stadium.
MLB stadiums display the steadiest visit strength during the on-season – perhaps due to MLB’s packed game schedule. MLB tickets also tend to be relatively affordable compared to tickets to pro football or basketball matches, which may also contribute to MLB’s consistently strong visit numbers throughout the season. During the MLB off-season, baseball fields – which tend to be uncovered – are relatively empty.
The seasonal visit spike to NBA arenas is less steady. The beginning and end of the season see strong peaks, and visits slow down slightly during the mid-season months of January and February. Visits then drop during the off-season spring and summer, but the off-season visit dip is not as low as it is for MLB fields – perhaps because the NBA arenas’ indoor nature make them suitable locations for concerts and other non-basketball events.
Meanwhile, NFL stadiums see the least dramatic drop in visits during the NFL off-season, as these venues’ enormous size also make them the ideal location for concerts and other cultural events that draw large crowds. These arenas’ strong almost year-round visitation numbers mean that sponsors and advertisers looking to expand beyond sports fans to reach a diverse audience may have the most success with these venues.
Although MLB offers the most budget-friendly outing, combining STI: Popstats demographic metrics with trade area data reveals that MLB stadium visitors reside in higher-income areas when compared with visitors to NBA or NFL stadiums.
Baseball fans tend to be older than fans of the other sports, which could partially explain MLB stadium visitors’ higher household income (HHI). The combination of lower ticket prices, higher median HHI among fans, and many games per season offers baseball stadiums significant opportunities to engage effectively with their fan bases.
But while NBA and NFL stadium attendees may not come from as high-income areas as do MLB stadium visitors, fans of live basketball and football still reside in trade areas with a higher HHI compared to the nationwide median. So by leveraging stadium space, advertisers and other stakeholders can reach tens of thousands of relatively high-income consumers easily and effectively.
Sports fans are known to be passionate, engaged, and willing to spend money on their team – but stadium visitors also shop for non-sports related goods and services. Retailers and advertisers can draw on location analytics to uncover the consumer preferences of stadium visitors and tailor campaigns, sponsorships, and collaborations accordingly.
Visitation data to the top five most visited MLB stadiums during 2023 showed differences between the apparel and sporting goods shopping preferences of the various stadiums’ attendees. While 39.4% of visitors to Truist Park also visited DICK’s in 2023, only 30.8% of Yankee Stadium visitors stopped by the sporting goods retailer in the same period. Similarly, while 29.9% of visitors to Yankee Stadium frequented Kohl’s, that percentage jumped to 47.3% for Busch Stadium visitors.
Harnessing location intelligence to see the consumer preferences of a stadium’s visitor base can help retailers, stadium operators, and even team managers choose partnerships and merchandising agreements that will yield the most effective results.
Sports and snacks go hand in hand – what would a baseball game be without a hot dog or peanuts? But while every stadium likely provides a similar core of traditional game day eats, each venue also offers a unique set of dining options, both on- and off-premise. And by leveraging location analytics to gain visibility into stadium-goers dining habits, stadium operators and local food businesses can understand how to best serve each arena’s audience.
Mapping where stadium visitors dine before and after games can help stakeholders in the stadium industry reach more fans.
The chart below shows the share of visitors coming to a stadium from a dining venue (on the x-axis) or going to a dining venue after visiting the stadium (on the y-axis). The data reveals a correlation between pre-stadium dining and post-stadium dining – stadiums where many guests visit dining venues before the stadium also tend to have a large share of guests going to dining venues after the event. For example, the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, saw large shares of visitors grabbing a bite to eat on their journey to or from the stadium, while the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland saw low rates of pre- and post stadium dining engagement.
These trends present opportunities for both local businesses and stadium stakeholders. For example, venues with high dining engagement can explore partnerships with local restaurants, while those with lower rates can build out their in-house dining options for hungry sports fans.
Stadiums looking to enhance their food offerings – or local entrepreneurs thinking of opening a restaurant near a stadium – can also get inspired by stadium visitors’ dining preferences. For example, psychographic data taken from the Spatial.ai: FollowGraph dataset reveals that visitors to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey have a much stronger preference for Asian cuisine compared to New Jersey residents overall. With that knowledge, the stadium can enhance the visitor experience by expanding its Asian food offerings.
On the other hand, MetLife Stadium goers seem much less partial to Brewery fare than average New Jerseyans, so the stadium operators and restaurateurs may want to avoid offering too many Brewery-themed dining options. Stadium stakeholders can reserve the craft beers for Caesars Stadium, M&T Bank Stadium, and Soldier Field Stadiums, where visitors seem to enjoy artisanal brews more than the average resident in Louisiana, Maryland, and Illinois, respectively.
All of the stadiums analyzed exhibited unique visitor dining tastes, a reminder that no customer or fan base is alike. Aligning on- or off-site dining options with offerings that align with a given customer base’s preferences can improve overall visitor satisfaction and boost revenues.
Zooming in to look at consumer behavior around individual events reveals further variability in dining preferences even among visitors to the same stadium, with different types of events driving distinct dining behaviors.
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, is home to the Arizona Cardinals. The stadium hosted the 2023 Super Bowl, but the NFL stadium also acts as a concert venue for acts ranging from Taylor Swift to Metallica. And location intelligence reveals that the dining preferences of stadium visitors vary based on the events held at the venue.
During the Super Bowl, sports bars such as Yard House and Buffalo Wild Wings saw the largest increase in visits compared to the chains’ daily average. A month later, attendees at Taylor Swift's concert gave fried-chicken leader Raising Cane’s a significant boost.
Local restaurants can leverage location analytics to see what types of events are popular with their visitor base and craft collaborations and advertising campaigns that resonate effectively with their patrons.
Sports stadiums and arenas are not just spaces for sports and music enthusiasts to gather; they also offer significant commercial opportunities for the surrounding communities. Stadium operators and local businesses can fine-tune their offerings by utilizing location analytics to better connect with their visitor bases and uncover new retail opportunities.
The dining industry showcased its agility over the past couple of years as it rapidly adapted to shifts in consumer preference brought on by COVID and rising prices. And with a new year around the corner, the pace of change shows no signs of slowing down.
This white paper harnesses location analytics, including visitation patterns, demographic data, and psychographic insights, to explore the trends that will shape the dining space in 2024. Which dining segments are likely to pull ahead of the pack? How are chains responding to changes in visitor behavior? And where are brands driving dining foot traffic by taking advantage of a new advertising possibility? Read on to find out how dining leaders can tap into emerging trends to stay ahead of the competition in 2024.
Comparing quarterly visits in 2023 and 2022 highlights the impact of the ongoing economic headwinds on the dining industry. The year started off strong, with year-over-year (YoY) dining visits up overall in Q1 2023 – perhaps aided by the comparison to an Omicron-impacted muted Q1 2022. And while overall dining growth stalled in Q2 2023, several segments – including QSR, Fast Casual, and Coffee – continued posting YoY visit increases, likely bolstered by consumers trading down from pricier full-service concepts.
Foot traffic slowed significantly in Q3 2023 as inflation and tighter consumer budgets constrained discretionary spending. Overall dining visits fell 2.4% YoY, and full-service restaurants – with their relatively high price point compared to other dining segments – seemed to be particularly impacted by the wider economic outlook. But the data also revealed some bright spots: Fast Casual still succeeded in maintaining positive YoY visit numbers and Coffee saw its Q3 visit grow an impressive 5.4% YoY. As the return to office continues, a pre-work coffee run or lunchtime foray to a fast-casual chain may continue propelling the two segments forward.
Restaurant visitation patterns have evolved over the past few years. Although an 8 PM seating was once the most coveted slot at fine-dining restaurants, recent visitation data suggests that sitting down to dinner earlier is rising in popularity.
But among the QSR segment, the opposite trend is emerging, with late-night visits rising. Analyzing hourly foot traffic to several major QSR chains reveals that the share of visits between 9 PM and 12 AM increased significantly between Q3 2019 and Q3 2023. Even Taco Bell – already known for its popularity among the late-night crowd – saw a substantial increase in late-night visits YoY – from 15.4% to 20.3%.
Who is driving the late night visit surge? One reason restaurants have been expanding their opening hours is to capture more Gen-Z diners, who tend to seek out nighttime dining options. But location intelligence reveals that younger millennials are also taking advantage of the later QSR closing times.
An analysis of the captured market for trade areas of top locations within one of Taco Bell’s major markets – the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan area – reveals a year-over-four-year (Yo4Y) increase in “Singles & Starters.” The “Singles & Starters” segment is defined by Experian: Mosaic as young singles and starter families living in cities who are typically between 25 and 30 years old. As consumers continue to prioritize experiential entertainment and going out with friends, late-night dining may continue to see increased interest from young city-dwellers.
Millennials and Gen-Z consumers aren’t only heading to their favorite fast food joint for a late-night bite – these audience segments are also helping drive visits on the weekends. Smoothie King is one chain feeling the benefits of young, health-conscious consumers.
The chain, which opened in New Orleans, LA, in 1973 as a health food store, has since grown to over 1,100 locations nationwide and is currently expanding, focusing on the Dallas-Fort Worth CBSA. The area’s Smoothie King venues have seen strong visitation patterns, particularly on the weekends – weekend visits were up 3.4% YoY in Q3 2023. The smoothie brand’s trade areas in the greater Dallas region is also seeing a YoY increase in weekend visits from “Young Professionals” – defined by the Spatial.ai PersonaLive dataset as “well-educated young professionals starting their careers in white-collar or technical jobs.”
While some dining chains are appealing to the late-night or weekend crowd, others are driving visits by appealing to sports lovers. How have recent rule changes around student athletes changed the restaurant game, and how can college football teams drive business in their hometowns?
College sports have long been a major moneymaker, with top-tier teams raking in billions of dollars annually. And as of 2021, college athletes can enjoy a piece of the significant fan following of college sports thanks to the change in the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules, which now allows student athletes to sign endorsement deals.
Since then, multiple restaurants have jumped on the opportunity to partner with student athletes, some of whom have millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok. Chains like Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Slim Chickens, and Hooters have all signed college athletes to various brand deals.
How can brands ensure they partner with athletes their customers will want to engage with? Analyzing a chain’s audience by looking at the interests of residents in a given chain’s trade area can reveal which type of athlete will be the most attractive to each brand’s customer base. For example, data from Spatial.ai: Followgraph provides insight into the social media activity of consumers in a given trade area and can highlight desirable partnerships.
Examining the trade areas of Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Slim Chickens, and Hooters, for instance, reveals that Sweetgreen’s visitors tended to have the largest share of Women’s Soccer followers. Conversely, Sweetgreen’s trade area had lower-than-average shares of College Football Fans or College Basketball Fans, while residents of the trade areas of the other three chains showed greater-than-average interest in these sports. Leveraging location intelligence can help companies choose brand deals that their customers resonate with and find the ideal athletes to represent the chain.
Finding the right college athlete partnership is one way for dining brands to appeal to college sports enthusiasts. But dining chains and venues located near major college stadiums also benefit from the popularity of their local team by enjoying a major game day visit boost.
One of the country’s most popular college football teams, the Ohio State Buckeyes, can draw millions of TV viewers, and its stadium has a capacity of 102,780 – one of the largest stadiums in the country. And while tailgating is a popular activity for Buckeyes fans, nearby restaurants are some of the biggest beneficiaries of the college football craze. Panera experienced a 235.3% increase on game days as compared to a typical day, Domino’s Pizza visits grew by 283.3%, and Tommy’s Pizza, a local pie shop, saw its visits jump by a whopping 600.9%.
This influx in diners also causes a major shift in game day visitor demographics, as revealed by changes in visitors at dining venues located near stadiums of two of the nation’s best college football teams – the Ohio State Buckeyes and Ole Miss Rebels. Based on Spatial.ai: Personalive data for the captured market of these dining venues, game day visitors tended to come from “Ultra Wealthy Families” when compared to visitors during a typical non-game day in September or October.
The analysis indicates that popular sporting events create a unique opportunity for restaurants near college stadiums to attract high-income customers game day after game day, year after year.
While some spend game day tailgating or visiting a college restaurant, others hold a viewing party – with a six-foot submarine. And the sub’s popularity extends beyond Superbowl Sundays. Sandwich chains including Jersey Mike’s, Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John’s, and Subway (recently purchased by the same company that owns Jimmy John’s) have seen sustained YoY increases in visits and visits per venue in the first three quarters of 2023.
Some of the growth to these chains may be related to their affordability, a draw at all times but especially during a period marked by consumer uncertainty and rising food costs. And subway leaders seem to be seizing the moment and striking while the iron is hot – Jersey Mike’s opened 350 stores in 2023 and still saw its YoY visits per venue grow by 6.6%. And Subway reported ten consecutive quarters of positive sales, a promising sign for its new owner.
The love for a healthy, affordable sandwich extends across all income levels, with all four chains seeing a range in their visitors' median household income (HHI). Out of the four chains analyzed, Jersey Mike’s – which has long prioritized a suburban, middle-income customer – had the highest trade area median household income of the four chains at $77.3K/year. Subway, known for its affordability, had the lowest, with $62.9K/year. The variance in median HHI combined with the strong foot traffic growth shows that when it comes to sandwiches, there’s something for everyone.
Persistent inflation and declining consumer sentiment may pose serious challenges for the dining space, but emerging trends are helping boost some restaurants. Customers seeking out a late-night bite drive visits to QSR chains, and health-conscious diners are boosting foot traffic to smoothie bars and sandwich shops. Meanwhile, sports sponsorships and game-day restaurant visits can provide a boost to dining businesses that take advantage of these opportunities.
