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As we discussed before the 2024 holiday season began, timing was expected to play a crucial role in its success for retailers. With one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, retailers faced the challenge of consolidating promotions and focusing on attracting repeat visits and increasing conversion rates to match last year’s performance. But another factor influencing holiday timing is the elongation of seasonal offerings and promotions, which now extend well into October. While there’s no industry-wide standard for when the holiday season officially begins, it’s clear that many retailers recognize the value of starting their campaigns in October and early November to maximize engagement and sales.
When analyzing visitation trends throughout the holiday season, the narrative shifts depending on the time frame considered. From Black Friday through Christmas Eve, most categories experienced double-digit traffic declines compared to last year, partly due to the shorter holiday season. But focusing on the period between October and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving reveals that visitation to many categories increased by double digits compared to last year. While this time frame includes an additional week this year, it’s evident that some demand shifted into the earlier part of the holiday season.
And when looking at performance for the extended holiday season as a whole – from October 1 through Christmas Eve – year-over-year traffic performance improved across the board, with many categories actually showing growth compared to 2023.
There was particularly strong performance in discretionary categories during October and early November, including luxury department stores, beauty chains, and home furnishing retailers. These early gains provided the momentum many chains needed to help offset the impact of the shorter traditional holiday season.
The extended shopping season successfully contributed to overall traffic growth for many retail sectors and may signal that consumers are willing – and able – to start their holiday shopping earlier if the right products and promotions are available.
The beverage and alcohol (BevAlc) segment has enjoyed a strong showing over the past few years. Bar and other nightlife destinations were closed throughout the pandemic, driving foot traffic to the BevAlc retailers – a trend that has sustained itself since.
We take a closer look at the category to see how special calendar milestones drive visits to BevAlc retailers.
Visits to BevAlc retailers were up YoY during most months of 2024, showcasing the continued popularity of the category. And while December 2024 visits were slightly lower YoY – like due to the month having one fewer Saturday compared to December 2023 – diving deeper into the data reveals that the holidays remain the segment’s busiest time of the year.
Celebrations and holiday gatherings often call for a festive drink – and the data confirms that the holiday season drives massive visit spikes.
Of the eleven busiest days for BevAlc retailers in 2024, six fell in December, with New Year’s Eve leading the pack with a staggering 164.8% visit increase compared to the 2024 daily average. Other major drivers included Christmas Eve, Turkey Wednesday, and Christmas Eve-Eve (December 23rd, the day before Christmas), with visits growing between 131.9% and 145.2% relative to the 2024 daily visit average.
And given that some states restrict liquor sales on Sundays, the Fridays and Saturdays ahead of retail milestones were also significant drivers of liquor store visits. Six of the top eleven days for BevAlc retailers in 2024 fell on a Friday or Saturday, including the Saturday before Memorial Day and the Saturday before Father’s Day.
These patterns emphasize that while December remains the highlight of the year for BevAlc retailers, other celebratory periods throughout the year can also drive substantial visitation spikes.
A closer look at the data over the years highlights several important holiday season trends. New Year’s Eve consistently receives the largest daily spike in BevAlc retailers visits, with one notable exception. In 2023, Super Saturday – the last Saturday before Christmas – coincided with Christmas Eve Eve, driving a major retail and grocery boost across the board. Additionally, Christmas Eve, typically the second-largest day for BevAlc retailers visits in the year, fell on a Sunday in 2023, when liquor sales are restricted in some states and territories.
This combination of factors led to an unusually large spike in visits to liquor stores on December 23, 2023, or Super Saturday/Christmas Eve Eve – 198.5% higher than the 2023 daily visit average between January and October 2023. It was also the only year in our analysis where BevAlc retailers received more visits before Christmas than in the lead-up to New Year’s.
Another trend highlighted by the longer-term visit analysis is the consistent downward trajectory of visits. In 2019, visits to BevAlc retailers in the lead-up to New Year’s were 193.4% higher than the 2019 daily visit average – a figure that had declined to 164.8% by 2024. This decrease may reflect various factors, including the rising popularity of alcohol delivery services and growing interest in the sober-curious lifestyle.
Still, the holiday season remains the most critical period for the BevAlc segment – though BevAlc retailers may want to consider stocking up on low- or alcohol-free beverages to keep up with changing consumer trends.
Raising a glass to a special occasion is a time-honored tradition, whether it’s with a festive spiked eggnog, whiskey, or alcohol-free wine. With plenty of opportunities to gather throughout the holiday season, BevAlc retailers can raise a toast to their own foot traffic gains as well.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index: The office building index analyzes foot traffic data from over 700 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.
Return-to-office mandates are once again the talk of the town, with companies from Amazon to AT&T set to crack down on remote work in the new year – in some cases, demanding that workers show up in person five days a week.
But how did the office recovery shape up in December 2024? We dove into the data to find out.
December is typically a quiet month for offices, with many Americans taking time off for the holidays to enjoy vacations and family gatherings. So, it may come as no surprise that office visits in December 2024 dropped to their lowest point of the year.
Compared to December 2019, office visits in December 2024 lagged by 39.2% – a bigger visit gap than that seen in either November (37.8%) or October (34.0%), as employees likely embarked on extended “workations” and enjoyed greater WFH flexibility during the holiday season. Put another way, December 2024 office foot traffic clocked in at 60.8% of pre-pandemic (December 2019) levels.
Still, offices were busier this December than last – in December 2023, the recovery compared to December 2019 stood at just 57.2%.
New York and Miami once again led the regional return to office (RTO) charge with Yo5Y visit gaps of 19.6% and 20.9%, respectively – though both cities’ Yo5Y numbers were weaker than those seen in either October or November.
Atlanta (-34.1%) and Dallas (-35.2%) also outperformed the nationwide average for Yo5Y office foot traffic. And with Dallas-based companies like AT&T and Southwest Airlines starting to enforce stricter in-office policies in the new year, the Texas hub may experience even more accelerated recovery in the coming months. (AT&T also has a strong presence in Atlanta, which may also benefit from the company’s crackdown.)
Meanwhile, San Francisco, which has long lagged in post-pandemic office recovery, finally pulled out of last place in December 2024 with a Yo5Y visit gap of 48.0%, just edging out Chicago. The impressive YoY office visit growth seen by the West Coast hub in recent months – likely fueled in part by Salesforce’s recent RTO mandate – appears to have finally left a tangible mark on the city’s Yo5Y ranking.
Year over year (YoY), visits to office buildings nationwide were up 6.4% in December 2024 – showing that despite seasonal setbacks, office visits remain overall on an upward trajectory. Atlanta (13.7%) and Boston (12.1%) led the way for YoY office recovery, followed by Washington, D.C. (10.6%) and San Francisco (10.4%).
As additional RTO mandates go into effect in the new year, the office recovery needle may move once again. Will additional companies jump on the full-time in-office bandwagon – or will hybrid work models continue to dominate?
Follow placer.ai’s data-driven office index reports to find out.
David’s Bridal and JCPenney have both emerged from bankruptcy proceedings with revitalized operational strategies. We took a closer look at the latest visit trends for the brands and uncovered how the demographics of their audiences have changed along with their real estate footprints.
David’s Bridal closed a significant number of stores in the second half of 2023 as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, leading to a year-over-year (YoY) drop in visits in the first half of 2024. But although the impact of the previous year’s rightsizing weighed on YoY visit growth, the second half of the year marked a turning point. Lapping the mid-2023 period of aggressive store closures, visits rebounded in August 2024 (3.5% visit growth YoY), and stayed close to or exceeded the previous year’s levels through the end of 2024 (6.3% visit growth YoY), signaling a stabilization in consumer traffic.
David’s Bridal's YoY visits per location numbers showcase the brand's resilience even more clearly. Visits per location were near or exceeded 2023 levels for most of 2024, and saw significant lifts in summer and fall – the most popular wedding seasons. This trend suggests that the retailer’s slimmed-down store fleet remains relevant in the bridal and occasion-attire space, particularly during critical retail moments – and highlights the chain’s ability to drive increased traffic to a smaller real estate footprint. More recent initiatives such as the October 2024 launch of a revamped loyalty program and a December 2024 partnership with delivery giant DoorDash also bode well for the brand’s growth potential in 2025.
JCPenney accelerated a years-long fleet consolidation strategy when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2020 and completed the bulk of its rightsizing campaign by the end of 2021. In 2023, the retailer announced a $1 billion, multi-year reinvestment plan to make massive improvements to operations and the customer experience.
The strategic reinvestment appears to be working: Last year, JCPenney steadily closed its YoY visit and visits per location gaps, which shrank to just -3.0% and -1.8%, respectively in Q4 ‘24 – signaling a sustained foot traffic turnaround for the brand.
Several of JCPenney’s recent initiatives likely played a part in the brand’s upward foot traffic trajectory. During fiscal Q3, the brand invested $51 million in store operations – part of the $1 billion earmarked in 2023 – and saw positive results from a Thursday Night Football promotion and a revamped loyalty program. This indicates that JCPenney may be able to sustain its foot traffic momentum with additional campaigns and continued investment in its stores – and with the chain's recently announced merger with Forever 21, 2025 is looking particularly bright.
While both chains’ foot traffic is on the rise, analysis of David’s Bridal’s and JCPenney’s trade areas reveals a key difference in the two companies’ audience strategies.
In Q4 ‘22, the median household income (HHI) in the captured markets of David’s Bridal and JCPenney was lower than in their potential markets – meaning that both chains attracted visitors from the lower-income households within their wider trade areas. But by Q4 ‘24, David’s Bridal captured market had a higher HHI than its potential market – meaning that it was now attracting the more affluent residents within its trade area. Meanwhile, the median HHI in JCPenney’s captured market continued to fall short of the median HHI in its potential market – although both its captured and potential market HHI has increased over the years.
The now elevated median HHI of David’s Bridal’s captured market suggests that the brand’s rightsizing efforts are driving traffic from a higher-income audience to its remaining locations. And given the relatively high price of wedding gowns, the chain’s recent popularity among more affluent consumers offers another indication of David’s Bridal newfound strength. JCPenney, on the other hand, has stated its commitment to maintaining accessible price points in order to best serve “America’s working families” as the chain continues to attract the lower-income shoppers within its trade area.
The successful turnaround of JCPenney and David’s Bridal – despite their appeal to very different audiences – showcases the various paths available for retail resurgences in today’s consumer landscape.
David’s Bridal and JCPenney serve as powerful examples of how strategic rightsizing and targeted investments can drive a foot traffic turnaround. Both brands have leveraged smaller, optimized real estate footprints and successful promotional activity to boost visits per location and appeal to their target audiences.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
About the Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: The Placer 100 Index for Retail and Dining is a curated, dynamic list of leading chains that often serve as prime tenants for shopping centers and malls. The index includes chains from various industries, such as superstores, grocery, dollar stores, dining, apparel, and more. The goal of the index is to provide insight into the wider trends impacting the retail, dining and shopping center segments.
In December 2024, retail and dining visitation slowed slightly, with overall visits to the Placer 100 Retail & Dining Index down 0.8% year over year (YoY). The December dip was likely due in part to an extra Saturday last year – the busiest day of the week for many retail and dining chains.
But comparing overall visits in November and December 2024 to the same months in 2023 shows that visits to the Placer 100 Index remained on par with 2023 levels (+0.0%) during the last two months of the year. So despite headwinds and a shorter shopping season (just 28 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, compared to 33 last year), brick-and-mortar retail and dining establishments ultimately attracted the same number of holiday season visits, all told, as they did last year.
Ever since the launch of Chili’s Big Smasher Burger promotion in late April 2024, YoY visits to Chili’s have been on the rise, buoyed by diners eager to indulge in a full-service experience at a QSR price point. And in December 2024, the chain once again topped the Placer 100 rankings, with visits to the chain up an impressive 21.0% YoY – fewer Saturdays notwithstanding.
Fitness clubs also figured prominently on December’s Placer 100 list, as did budget mainstay Aldi – underscoring the continued robust demand for no-frills, value-oriented grocery offerings. Notably, Family Dollar saw a 4.2% YoY increase in average visits per location – potentially reflecting the success of parent company Dollar Tree’s rightsizing efforts. Meanwhile, Big Lots saw a 5.2% YoY visit bump, likely fueled by strong consumer interest in its liquidation sales.
But value wasn’t the only winner of this year’s holiday season. Upscale department store Nordstrom enjoyed a substantial YoY visit uptick in November and December 2024 – with overall visits to the chain rising 6.5%. This stands in sharp contrast to the wider department stores sector, which experienced a 3.2% decline during the same period.
A look at the demographic profile of Nordstrom’s captured market shows that the chain’s success is likely due in part to its affluent – and young – customer base. In November and December 2024, the median household income of the census block groups (CBGs) from which Nordstrom drew its shoppers – weighted to reflect the share of visitors from each CBG – stood at $113.1K, significantly higher than the $81.3K median for the wider department store space. Nearly a third of Nordstrom's captured market (27.4%) was composed of “Ultra Wealthy Families” – compared to 9.5% for the sector as a whole. And unlike other department stores, which were slightly less likely than average to attract “Young Professionals,” that segment made up 9.7% of Nordstrom’s captured market, well above the nationwide baseline of 5.8%. As Gen-Z leads the charge back to malls, Nordstrom’s robust foothold among younger consumers bodes well for its future success.
Like many department stores, Nordstrom relies on the holiday season to bolster its annual bottom line – in 2024, November and December visits accounted for nearly a quarter (22.5%) of the chain’s total visits for the year. A strong performance during these critical months is a positive signal of good things to come – and with the chain being taken private by its founding family, we may see moves aimed at further solidifying Nordstrom’s position in the months ahead.
Despite fewer shopping days, the 2024 holiday shopping season proved resilient – with overall visits to the Placer 100 Retail & Dining Index remaining on par with 2023 levels. While value chains continued to dominate the rankings, upscale retailers like Nordstrom also enjoyed significant success. What trends will the Placer 100 Index uncover in the new year?
Visit placer.ai to find out.
About the Mall Index: The Index analyzes data from 100 top-tier indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers (not including outlet malls) and 100 outlet malls across the country, in both urban and suburban areas. Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the country.
Malls demonstrated their resilience once again in 2024, will traffic to the three shopping formats essentially on par with 2023 levels despite the ongoing consumer headwinds. Indoor malls and open-air shopping centers even saw slight increases – of 1.5% and 1.7% year-over-year (YoY), respectively – while outlet malls experienced a minimal visit decline of 0.4%.
So although YoY visits dipped at all three mall formats in December 2024 – likely due to the month having one less Saturday than December 2023 – malls appear well positioned going into 2025.
The 2024 traffic performance of each format may be correlated with the income levels of the format’s visitor base. Open-air shopping centers, which received the largest YoY visit boost, also attracted the most affluent visitors who were likely less impacted by the ongoing consumer headwinds. Meanwhile outlet malls – which saw slight YoY traffic dips – drew visitors from areas with the lowest household income.
The holidays are particularly busy for shopping centers as consumers shop Black Friday discounts, meet mall Santas, buy gifts, and hang out with family and friends. But comparing average daily visits between Black Friday (November 11th) and New Years Eve (December 31st) with average daily visits during the rest of the year (January 1st to November 28th) reveals that the holiday boost is not distributed equally across the three mall formats.
Outlet malls received the largest Holiday-driven visit boost and Indoor malls came in at a close second, with visits during the holiday season up 59.3% and 57.0%, respectively. Open-air shopping centers lagged behind the other two formats, with daily visits up just 31.4% compared to the rest of the year.
Diving deeper into the data reveals that weekdays receive the largest lift, with weekday traffic at indoor and outlet malls during the holiday season up 63.0% and 66.4%, respectively, compared to the non-holiday season daily average.
The holidays don’t just drive an increase in traffic – dwell time at malls also tends to be longer between Black Friday and New Years Eve when compared to the rest of the year. Visit length at indoor and outlet malls increased by an average of 4.7 minutes, while dwell time at open-air shopping centers grew by an average of 3.1 minutes.
Malls’ holiday success proves once again that shopping centers continue to play an important role in the wider retail landscape. How will indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls perform in 2025?
Visit placer.ai to find out.
This report leverages location intelligence data to analyze the auto dealership market in the United States. By looking at visit trends to branded showrooms, used car lots, and mixed inventory dealerships – and analyzing the types of visitors that visit each category – this white paper sheds light on the state of car dealership space in 2023.
Prior to the pandemic and throughout most of 2020, visits to both car brand and used-only dealerships followed relatively similar trends. But the two categories began to diverge in early 2021.
Visits to car brand dealerships briefly returned to pre-pandemic levels in mid-2021, but traffic fell consistently in the second half of the year as supply-chain issues drove consistent price increases. So despite the brief mid-year bump, 2021 ended with overall new car sales – as well as overall foot traffic to car brand dealerships – below 2019 levels. Visits continued falling in 2022 as low inventory and high prices hampered growth.
Meanwhile, although the price for used cars rose even more (the average price for a new and used car was up 12.1% and 27.1% YoY, respectively, in September 2021), used cars still remained, on average, more affordable than new ones. So with rising demand for alternatives to public transportation – and with new cars now beyond the reach of many consumers – the used car market took off and visits to used car dealerships skyrocketed for much of 2021 and into 2022. But in the second half of last year, as gas prices remained elevated – tacking an additional cost onto operating a vehicle – visits to used car dealerships began falling dramatically.
Now, the price of both used and new cars has finally begun falling slightly. Foot traffic data indicates that the price drops appear to be impacting the two markets differently. So far this year, sales and visits to dealerships of pre-owned vehicles have slowed, while new car sales grew – perhaps due to the more significant pent-up demand in the new car market. The ongoing inflation, which has had a stronger impact on lower-income households, may also be somewhat inhibiting used-car dealership visit growth. At the same time, foot traffic to used car dealerships did remain close to or slightly above 2019 levels for most of 2023, while visits to branded dealerships were significantly lower year-over-four-years.
The situation remains dynamic – with some reports of prices creeping back up – so the auto dealership landscape may well continue to shift going into 2024.
With car prices soaring, the demand for pre-owned vehicles has grown substantially. Analyzing the trade area composition of leading dealerships that sell used cars reveals the wide spectrum of consumers in this market.
Dealerships carrying a mixed inventory of both new and used vehicles seem to attract relatively high-income consumers. Using the STI: Popstats 2022 data set to analyze the trade areas of Penske Automotive, AutoNation, and Lithia Auto Stores – which all sell used and new cars – reveals that the HHI in the three dealerships’ trade areas is higher than the nationwide median. Differences did emerge within the trade areas of the mixed inventory car dealerships, but the range was relatively narrow – between $77.5K to $84.5K trade area median HHI.
Meanwhile, the dealerships selling exclusively used cars – DriveTime, Carvana, and CarMax – exhibited a much wider range of trade area median HHIs. CarMax, the largest used-only car dealership in the United States, had a yearly median HHI of $75.9K in its trade area – just slightly below the median HHI for mixed inventory dealerships Lithia Auto Stores and AutoNation and above the nationwide median of $69.5K. Carvana, a used car dealership that operates according to a Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) model, served an audience with a median HHI of $69.1K – more or less in-line with the nationwide median. And DriveTime’s trade areas have a median HHI of $57.6K – significantly below the nationwide median.
The variance in HHI among the audiences of the different used-only car dealerships may reflect the wide variety of offerings within the used-car market – from virtually new luxury vehicles to basic sedans with 150k+ miles on the odometer.
Visits to car brands nationwide between January and September 2023 dipped 0.9% YoY, although several outliers reveal the potential for success in the space even during times of economic headwinds.
Visits to Tesla’s dealerships have skyrocketed recently, perhaps thanks to the company’s frequent price cuts over the past year – between September 2022 and 2023, the average price for a new Tesla fell by 24.7%. And with the company’s network of Superchargers gearing up to serve non-Tesla Electric Vehicles (EVs), Tesla is finding room for growth beyond its already successful core EV manufacturing business and positioning itself for a strong 2024.
Japan-based Mazda used the pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen its standing among U.S. consumers, and the company is now reaping the fruits of its labor as visits rise YoY. Porsche, the winner of U.S New & World Report Best Luxury Car Brand for 2023, also outperformed the wider car dealership sector. Kia – owned in part by Hyundai – and Hyundai both saw their foot traffic increase YoY as well, thanks in part to the popularity of their SUV models.
Analyzing dealerships on a national level can help car manufacturers make macro-level decisions on marketing, product design, and brick-and-mortar fleet configurations. But diving deeper into the unique characteristics of each dealership’s trade area on a state level reveals differences that can serve brands looking to optimize their offerings for their local audience.
For example, analyzing the share of households with children in the trade areas of four car brand dealership chains in four different states reveals significant variation across the regional markets.
Nationwide, Tesla served a larger share of households with children than Kia, Ford, or Land Rover. But focusing on California shows that in the Golden State, Kia’s trade area population included the largest share of this segment than the other three brands, while Land Rover led this segment in Illinois. Meanwhile, Ford served the smallest share of households with children on a nationwide basis – but although the trend held in Illinois and Pennsylvania, California Ford dealerships served more households with children than either Tesla or Land Rover.
Leveraging location intelligence to analyze car dealerships adds a layer of consumer insights to industry provided sales numbers. Visit patterns and audience demographics reveal how foot traffic to used-car lots, mixed inventory dealerships, and manufacturers’ showrooms change over time and who visits these businesses on a national or regional level. These insights allow auto industry stakeholders to assess current demand, predict future trends, and keep a finger on the pulse of car-purchasing habits in the United States.
