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The home improvement space has faced sustained pressure from macroeconomic headwinds – including persistent inflation and a cooling housing market – prompting many consumers to delay major projects and defer big-ticket purchases. But is a category turnaround in the works? An AI-powered foot traffic analysis of the sector’s largest players – The Home Depot and Lowe’s – offers insight into whether momentum has shifted and a period of growth is on the horizon.
Both The Home Depot and Lowe's reported sales growth alongside an uptick in big-ticket purchases in fiscal Q3 2025, indicating that consumers were investing in significant upgrades despite many bigger renovations remaining on the back-burner. And the latest foot traffic data suggests that this momentum likely carried forward into the subsequent months.
In November 2025, both chains saw visit and same-store visit growth of roughly 3% year-over-year (YoY) – a sign of meaningful Black Friday traffic and a healthy start to the holiday shopping season.
And while December 2025 saw modest visit gaps, these likely stemmed in part from tough YoY comparisons to December 2024’s storm-related demand.
Traffic to both chains rebounded in the new year, with preparations ahead of Storm Fern likely accounting for some of January 2026’s YoY visit gains.
Overall, the past several months of foot traffic data paint a picture of continued positive momentum for The Home Depot and Lowe’s through fiscal Q4.
Large-scale projects may not yet be at hoped-for levels, but the data suggests consumers are still investing in their homes. And with mortgage rates trending lower, housing activity showing early signs of a turnaround, and the potential for abundant home equity to fund renovations, the home improvement sector appears poised for continued growth.
Will the home improvement space build on its successes in 2026? Visit Placer.ai/anchor to find out.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
E-commerce distribution centers outpaced brick-and-mortar retail chains in year-over-year (YoY) foot traffic growth throughout the 2025 holiday stretch. This pattern aligns with broader holiday-season data showing that e-commerce sales growth exceeded brick-and-mortar growth in 2025.
Still, physical retail continued to account for the majority of total holiday spending, and in-store visits also saw steady, positive YoY growth throughout the season. The data points to a retail environment where digital and physical channels are not competing for relevance but operating in parallel, each capturing different dimensions of consumer demand. That dynamic carried into the new year as well: January 2026 visits remained above year-ago levels for both e-commerce distribution centers and brick-and-mortar retail, rising 2.6% and 1.8% YoY, respectively.
Visits to Placer.ai’s Industrial Manufacturing Index, on the other hand, softened in January 2026, following stronger YoY momentum in December. At first glance, this decline may seem surprising: January marked a clear improvement in manufacturing sentiment, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI rising to 52.6% – its first expansionary reading in at least a year – and the Production sub-index also improving. While the ISM captures month-over-month shifts in sentiment rather than year-over-year change, a sharply improving outlook may seem inconsistent with such a steep YoY decline following a positive month.
But a closer look at the weekly data helps explain the divergence. Sentiment surveys capture outlook, orders, and expectations, while foot traffic reflects physical, on-site activity. Winter Storm Fern, which caused widespread disruptions late in the month, weighed heavily on manufacturing visits and pulled down the overall January figure. Weather events like this can meaningfully suppress foot traffic even as underlying sentiment improves – and they tend to register far more clearly in mobility data than in survey-based indicators.
Calendar effects likely contributed as well. January 2026 had one fewer working day than January 2025, a difference that can have an outsized impact on visit-based measures tied to operational and industrial activity.
Overall, the data points to an economy that ended 2025 with solid momentum across consumer-facing channels, even as early-2026 manufacturing activity reflected short-term disruption. As weather normalizes, will on-the-ground industrial activity rebound?
Follow Placer.ai/anchor for more data-driven insights into the trends shaping retail, logistics, and manufacturing.
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.
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Traditional department stores aren’t going anywhere. But over the past several years, the balance of power has shifted decisively toward retailers like off-price chains with the clearest value story. The latest signal of that shift came as Saks Global – parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman – filed for bankruptcy and began closing stores.
How wide has the gap between department stores and off-price really become? And what lies in store for the two categories in 2026?
The chart below shows just how dramatically the category split has changed since 2019. Pre-COVID, department stores held a slight edge, capturing just over half of visits to the two segments. But by 2025, that relationship had fully reversed, with off-price claiming a remarkable 62.9% share of visits. As consumers grow more price-sensitive and the retail landscape becomes more bifurcated, traditional department stores have struggled to articulate a clear competitive edge – while off-price continues to benefit from a straightforward, discovery-driven model.
Year-over-year data reinforces the structural strength of the off-price model. In Q4, the segment once again delivered solid gains, extending a winning streak that’s become harder for traditional department stores to match.
Notably, all four major off-price players expanded their footprints over the past year, and in each case overall visit growth outpaced per-location gains. Ross Dress for Less led the group with per-location visit growth ranging from 11.5% to 7.5% between October 2025 and January 2026. Some of that strength reflects easier baseline comparisons, but the scale of the gain still signals durable demand. Burlington delivered 9.4% overall visit growth even as per-location visits were essentially flat at -0.3%, a pattern consistent with rapid store expansion paired with steady interest at existing locations.
Meanwhile, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls turned in low single-digit gains while lapping a strong prior year: T.J. Maxx grew 2.1% per-location and 2.8% overall, while Marshalls rose 1.6% and 3.3%, respectively.
Department stores, by contrast, faced a more challenging traffic environment, with several chains continuing to shrink their footprints. Yet even within the category, performance was mixed. And the brands with the clearest identities – whether rooted in regional loyalty or premium, service-led positioning – continued to thrive.
Regional players led the traditional segment, with Von Maur seeing the most pronounced and consistent per-location growth during the analyzed period. Repeatedly ranked “America’s Best Department Store” by Newsweek, the chain has built its reputation on a differentiated, service-first in-store experience. Boscov’s, another regional operator with a loyal customer base, delivered a solid Q4 as well, even though per-location traffic dipped slightly YoY in December and January.
Among national banners, several higher-end brands also showed relative strength. Nordstrom – long associated with standout customer service – grew per-location visits by 4.2% YoY in Q4, even as overall traffic slipped 0.6% amid store closures. Blooingdale’s posted 1.9% per-location growth. And while Saks Fifth Avenue has faced well-publicized corporate headwinds, its traffic declines remained comparatively modest in Q4.
The pressure was most visible among mid-market chains without a sharply defined value or experiential proposition. Kohl’s saw per-location visits fall 3.2%, with overall traffic down 5.0%, while JCPenney declined 3.8% and 5.5%, respectively. Macy’s, meanwhile, saw overall traffic drop as it continued rightsizing – though per-location visits held relatively steady, suggesting its turnaround strategy is beginning to bear fruit.
The Q4 data underscores a defining theme in department store and off-price retail: Consumers are rewarding clarity. Off-price is winning on value and discovery, regionals are winning on loyalty, and premium banners are holding up where the experience is distinct. In a bifurcated retail environment, the middle is the toughest place to be.
For more data-driven retail insights, follow Placer.ai/anchor.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
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The success of the dollar store category hadn’t been all too surprising in 2025. However, the ability for the category to shine so brightly during the holiday season was unexpected. Traffic to dollar and discount chains was up 4.5% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, mirroring the growth of categories like off-price and wholesale clubs and overperforming compared to traditional holiday staples like apparel, department stores, beauty, consumer electronics, and home.
The retail industry doesn't traditionally think of dollar stores as a holiday shopping destination, but 2025 proved that the definition might need to change in coming years. Dollar stores have done a fantastic job at expanding their assortments and becoming a staple in consumers’ weekly shopping rotation.
Each of the major retailers saw strong traffic trends during the elongated holiday timeframe. In particular, Five Below had a strong same store visit trend over the holidays, focusing on gifting categories, holiday decor, and wrapping supplies. Dollar Tree and Five Below tend to skew their assortments towards more discretionary items, which benefitted both chains over the holidays.
The inherent value proposition of dollar stores has built trust with consumers and aided retailers in winning with shoppers whose holiday budgets might have been more constrained last year, especially with lower income households. The median household income of the largest dollar chains is lower than the average across total retail visitors, indicating that despite higher economic concerns of lower income shoppers, consumers still wanted to ensure that their holidays weren’t impacted. Brands focusing on more discretionary items like stocking stuffers and smaller gift items helped price conscious consumers to round out their holiday shopping without having to abstain from gifting all together.
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.
Throughout 2025, Shake Shack significantly outperformed the broader fast-casual segment with strong double-digit year-over-year (YoY) visit growth.
This outsized performance was driven primarily by fleet expansion – but same-store visit data indicates the chain has successfully grown its store count without meaningfully diluting demand at existing locations.
Across most of the second half of 2025, same-store traffic remained modestly positive YoY, with a more pronounced dip occurring only in December. That decline likely reflects weather disruptions, which the company noted in a recent 2025 update had a meaningful impact on performance late in the quarter. Despite these headwinds, early Q4 earnings data shows same-shack sales up 2.1% YoY in Q4 and 2.3% for 2025 overall – underscoring Shake Shack’s ability to sustain demand even amid external pressures.
As Shake Shack enters 2026, the key question is whether the brand can continue scaling its footprint while preserving same-store performance in an increasingly competitive fast-casual landscape. With expansion driving growth and existing locations holding steady, the data suggests the company remains well positioned – but execution will be critical as macro challenges persist.
For more data driven dining insights follow Placer.ai/anchor.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
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Sprouts closed Q4 2025 on a positive traffic note, with overall visits rising 4.0% year-over-year (YoY), although average visits per location declined slightly – suggesting that growth in its more established core markets may be beginning to normalize. As such, the company’s recent expansion into new states – including the opening of its first New York location – reflects a logical next phase of growth, as Sprouts looks beyond its traditional strongholds to unlock incremental demand in less penetrated geographies.
A closer look at visit patterns by distance suggests that Sprouts’ growth is increasingly being driven by customers traveling from farther away – a dynamic that aligns with its broader national expansion strategy. From September through January, visit gains from shoppers located more than five miles away consistently outpaced those from within a five-mile radius.
This pattern points to expanding trade areas and growing destination appeal, which is critical as the retailer enters new states and builds brand awareness beyond its traditional strongholds. As Sprouts pushes into newer geographies, its ability to draw shoppers from a wider radius reinforces the scalability of its model and supports its strategy of growing into a more nationally recognized specialty grocer.
For more data-driven grocery 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.
1. The hypergrowth of Costco, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General between 2019 and 2025 has fundamentally changed the brick-and-mortar retail landscape.
2. Overall visits to Target and Walmart have remained essentially stable even as traffic to the new retail giants skyrocketed – so the increased competition is not necessarily coming at legacy giants' expense. Instead, each retail giant is filling a different need, and success now requires excelling at specific shopping missions rather than broad market dominance.
3. Cross-shopping has become the new normal, with Walmart and Target maintaining their popularity even as their relative visit shares decline, creating opportunities for complementary rather than purely competitive strategies.
4. Dollar stores are rapidly graduating from "fill-in" destinations to primary shopping locations, signaling a fundamental shift in how Americans approach everyday retail.
5. Walmart still enjoys the highest visit frequency, but the other four chains – and especially Dollar General – are gaining ground in this realm.
6. Geographic and demographic specialization is becoming the key differentiator, as each chain carves out distinct niches rather than competing head-to-head across all markets and customer segments.
Evolving shopper priorities, economic pressures, and new competitors are reshaping how and where Americans buy everyday goods. And as value-focused players gain ground, legacy retail powerhouses are adapting their strategies in a bid to maintain their visit share. In this new consumer reality, shoppers no longer stick to one lane, creating a complex ecosystem where loyalty, geography, and cross-visitation patterns – not just market share – define who is truly winning.
This report explores the latest retail traffic data for Walmart, Target, Costco, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General to decode what consumers want from retail giants in 2025. By analyzing visit patterns, loyalty trends, and cross-shopping shifts, we reveal how fast-growing chains are winning over consumers and uncover the strategies helping legacy players stay competitive in today's value-driven retail landscape.
In 2019, Walmart and Target were the two major behemoths in the brick-and-mortar retail space. And while traffic to these chains remains close to 2019 levels, overall visits to Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Costco have increased 36.6% to 45.9% in the past six years. Much of the growth was driven by aggressive store expansions, but average visits per location stayed constant (in the case of Dollar Tree) or grew as well (in the case of Dollar General and Costco). This means that these chains are successfully filling new stores with visitors – consumers who in the past may have gone to Walmart or Target for at least some of the items now purchased at wholesale clubs and dollar stores.
This substantial increase in visits to Costco, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree has altered the competitive landscape in which Walmart and Target operate. In 2019, 55.9% of combined visits to the five retailers went to Walmart. Now, Walmart’s relative visit share is less than 50%. Target received the second-highest share of visits to the five retailers in 2019, with 15.9% of combined traffic to the chains. But Between January and July 2025, Dollar General received more visits than Target – even though the discount store had received just 12.1% of combined visits in 2019.
Some of the growth of the new retail giants could be attributed to well-timed expansion. But the success of these chains is also due to the extreme value orientation of U.S. consumers in recent years. Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Costco each offer a unique value proposition, giving today's increasingly budget-conscious shoppers more options.
Walmart’s strategy of "everyday low prices" and its strongholds in rural and semi-rural areas reflect its emphasis on serving broad, value-focused households – often catering to essential, non-discretionary shopping.
Dollar General serves an even larger share of rural and semi-rural shoppers than Walmart, following its strategy of bringing a curated selection of everyday basics to underserved communities. The retailer's packaging is typically smaller than Walmart's, which allows Dollar General to price each item very affordably – and its geographic concentration in rural and semi-rural areas also highlights its direct competition to Walmart.
By contrast, Target and Costco both compete for consumer attention in suburban and small city settings, where shopper profiles tilt more toward families seeking one-stop-shopping and broader discretionary offerings. But Costco's audience skews slightly more affluent – the retailer attracts consumers who can afford the membership fees and bulk purchasing requirements – and its visit growth may be partially driven by higher income Target shoppers now shopping at Costco.
Dollar Tree, meanwhile, showcases a uniquely balanced real estate strategy. The chain's primary strength lies in suburban and small cities but it maintains a solid footing in both rural and urban areas. The chain also offers a unique value proposition, with a smaller store format and a fixed $1.25 price point on most items. So while the retailer isn't consistently cheaper than Walmart or Dollar General across all products, its convenience and predictability are helping it cement its role as a go-to chain for quick shopping trips or small quantities of discretionary items. And its versatile, three-pronged geographic footprint allows it to compete across diverse markets: Dollar Tree can serve as a convenient, quick-trip alternative to big-box retailers in the suburbs while also providing essential value in both rural and dense urban communities.
As each chain carves out distinct geographic and demographic niches, success increasingly depends on being the best option for particular shopping missions (bulk buying, quick trips, essential needs) rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
Still, despite – or perhaps due to – the increased competition, shoppers are increasingly spreading their visits across multiple retailers: Cross-shopping between major chains rose significantly between 2019 and 2025. And Walmart remains the most popular brick-and-mortar retailer, consistently ranking as the most popular cross-shopping destination for visitors of every other chain, followed by Target.
This creates an interesting paradox when viewed alongside the overall visit share shift. Even as Walmart and Target's total share of visits has declined, their importance as a secondary stop has actually grown. This suggests that the legacy retail giants' dip in market share isn't due to shoppers abandoning them. Instead, consumers are expanding their shopping routines by visiting other growing chains in addition to their regular trips to Walmart and Target, effectively diluting the giants' share of a larger, more fragmented retail landscape.
Cross-visitation to Costco from Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree also grew between 2019 and 2025, suggesting that Costco is attracting a more varied audience to its stores.
But the most significant jumps in cross-visitation went to Dollar Tree and Dollar General, with cross-visitation to these chains from Target, Walmart, and Costco doubling or tripling over the past six years. This suggests that these brands are rapidly graduating from “fill-in” fare to primary shopping destinations for millions of households.
The dramatic rise in cross-visitation to dollar stores signals an opportunity for all retailers to identify and capitalize on specific shopping missions while building complementary partnerships rather than viewing every chain as direct competition.
Walmart’s status as the go-to destination for essential, non-discretionary spending is clearly reflected in its exceptional loyalty rates – nearly half its visitors return at least three times per month on average -between January to July 2025, a figure virtually unchanged since 2019. This steady high-frequency visitation underscores how necessity-driven shopping anchors customer routines and keeps Walmart atop the retail loyalty ranks.
But the data also reveals that other retail giants – and Dollar General in particular – are steadily gaining ground. Dollar General's increased visit frequency is largely fueled by its strategic emphasis on adding fresh produce and other grocery items, making it a viable everyday stop for more households and positioning it to compete more directly with Walmart.
Target also demonstrates a notable uptick in loyal visitors, with its share of frequent shoppers visiting at least three times a month rising from 20.1% to 23.6% between 2019 and 2025. This growth may suggest that its strategic initiatives – like the popular Drive Up service, same-day delivery options, and an appealing mix of essentials and exclusive brands – are successfully converting some casual shoppers into repeat customers.
Costco stands out for a different reason: while overall visits increased, loyalty rates remained essentially unchanged. This speaks to Costco’s unique position as a membership-based outlet for targeted bulk and premium-value purchases, where the shopping behavior of new visitors tends to follow the same patterns as those of its already-loyal core. As a result, trip frequency – rooted largely in planned stock-ups – remains remarkably consistent even as the warehouse giant grows foot traffic overall.
Dollar Tree currently has the smallest share of repeat visitors but is improving this metric. As it successfully encourages more frequent trips and narrows the loyalty gap with its larger rivals, it's poised to become an increasing source of competition for both Target and Costco.
The increase in repeat visits and cross-shopping across the five retail giants showcases consumers' current appetite for value-oriented mass merchants and discount chains. And although the retail giants landscape may be more fragmented, the data also reveals that the pie itself has grown significantly – so the increased competition does not necessarily need to come at the expense of legacy retail giants.
The retail landscape of 2025 demands a fundamental shift from zero-sum competition to strategic complementarity, where success lies in owning specific shopping missions rather than fighting for total market dominance. Retailers that forego attempting to compete on every front and instead clearly communicate their mission-specific value propositions – whether that's emergency runs, bulk essentials, or family shopping experiences – may come out on top.
1. Market Divergence: While San Francisco's return-to-office trends have stabilized, Los Angeles is increasingly lagging behind national averages with office visits down 46.6% compared to pre-pandemic levels as of June 2025.
2. Commuter Pattern Shifts: Los Angeles faces a persistent decline in out-of-market commuters while San Francisco's share of out-of-market commuters has recovered slightly, indicating deeper structural challenges in LA's office market recovery.
3. Visit vs. Visitor Gap: Unlike other markets where increased visits per worker offset declining visitor numbers, Los Angeles saw both metrics decline year-over-year, suggesting fundamental workforce retention issues.
4. Century City Exception: Century City emerges as LA's strongest office submarket with visits only 28.1% below pre-pandemic levels, driven by its premium amenities and strategic location adjacent to Westfield Century City shopping center.
5. Demographic Advantage: Century City's success may stem from its success in attracting affluent, educated young professionals who value lifestyle integration and are more likely to maintain consistent office attendance in hybrid work arrangements.
While return-to-office trends have stabilized in many markets nationwide, Los Angeles and San Francisco face unique challenges that set them apart from national patterns. This report examines the divergent trajectories of these two major West Coast markets, with particular focus on Los Angeles' ongoing struggles and the emergence of one specific submarket that bucks broader trends.
Through analysis of commuter patterns, demographic shifts, and localized performance data, we explore how factors ranging from out-of-market workforce changes to amenity-driven location advantages are reshaping the competitive landscape for office real estate in Southern California.
Both Los Angeles and San Francisco continue to significantly underperform the national office occupancy average. In June 2025, average nationwide visits to office buildings were 30.5% below January 2019 levels, compared to a 46.6% and 46.4% decline in visits to Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, respectively.
While both cities now show similar RTO rates, they arrived there through different trajectories. San Francisco has consistently lagged behind national return-to-office levels since pandemic restrictions first lifted.
Los Angeles, however, initially mirrored nationwide trends before its office market began diverging and falling behind around mid-2022.
The decline in office visits in Los Angeles and San Francisco can be partly attributed to fewer out-of-market commuters. Both cities saw significant drops in the percentage of employees who live outside the city but commute to work between H1 2019 and H1 2023.
However, here too, the two cities diverged in recent years: San Francisco's share of out-of-market commuters relative to local employees rebounded between 2023 and 2024, while Los Angeles' continued to decline – another indication that LA's RTO is decelerating as San Francisco stabilizes.
Like in other markets, Los Angeles saw a larger drop in office visits than in office visitors when comparing current trends to pre-pandemic levels. This is consistent with the shift to hybrid work arrangements, where many of the workers who returned to the office are coming in less frequently than before the pandemic, leading to a larger drop in visits compared to the drop in visitors.
But looking at the trajectory of RTO more recently shows that in most markets – including San Francisco – office visits are up year-over-year (YoY) while visitor numbers are down. This suggests that the workers slated to return to the office have already done so, and increasing the numbers of visits per visitor is now the path towards increased office occupancy.
In Los Angeles, visits also outperformed visitors – but both figures were down YoY (the gap in visits was smaller than the gap in visitors). So while the visitors who did head to the office in LA in Q2 2025 clocked in more visits per person compared to Q2 2024, the increase in visits per visitor was not enough to offset the decline in office visitors.
While Los Angeles may be lagging in terms of its overall office recovery, the city does have pockets of strength – most notably Century City. In Q2 2025, the number of inbound commuters visiting the neighborhood was just 24.7% lower than it was in Q2 2019 and higher (+1.0%) than last year's levels.
According to Colliers' Q2 2025 report, Century City accounts for 27% of year-to-date leasing activity in West Los Angeles – more than double any other submarket – and commands the highest asking rental rates. The area benefits from Trophy and Class A office towers that may create a flight-to-quality dynamic where tenants migrate from urban core locations to this Westside submarket.
The submarket's success is likely bolstered by its strategic location adjacent to Westfield Century City shopping center – visit data reveals that 45% of weekday commuters to Century City also visited Westfield Century City during Q2 2025. The convenience of accessing the mall's extensive retail, dining, and entertainment options during lunch breaks or after work may encourage employees to come into the office more frequently.
Perhaps thanks to its strategic locations and amenities-rich office buildings, Century City succeeds in attracting relatively affluent office workers.
Century City's office submarket has a higher median trade area household income (HHI) than either mid-Wilshire or Downtown LA. The neighborhood also attracts significant shares of the "Educated Urbanite" Spatial.ai: PersonaLive segment – defined as "well educated young singles living in dense urban areas working relatively high paying jobs".
This demographic typically has fewer family obligations and greater flexibility in their work arrangements, making them more likely to embrace hybrid schedules that include regular office attendance. Affluent singles also tend to value the lifestyle amenities and networking opportunities that come with working in a premium office environment like Century City: This demographic is often in career-building phases where in-person collaboration and visibility matter more, driving consistent office utilization that helps sustain the submarket's performance even as other LA office areas struggle with lower occupancy rates.
The higher disposable income of this audience also aligns well with the submarket's upscale retail and dining options at nearby Westfield Century City, creating a mutually reinforcing ecosystem where the office environment and surrounding amenities cater to their preferences.
As the broader Los Angeles market grapples with a shrinking commuter base and declining office utilization, the performance gap between premium, amenity-rich locations and traditional office districts is likely to widen. For investors and tenants alike, these trends underscore the growing importance of location quality, demographic targeting, and lifestyle integration in determining long-term office market viability across Southern California.
Century City's success – anchored by its affluent, career-focused workforce and integrated lifestyle amenities – can offer a blueprint for office market resilience in the hybrid work era.
