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Dave & Buster's and Main Event, two leading chains in the eatertainment industry, offer a unique mix of dining, arcade games, and immersive experiences, successfully drawing crowds seeking more than just a meal out.
We took a closer look at the two chains – both of them owned by parent company Dave & Busters Entertainment, Inc. – to see how they are faring as summer winds down.
Dave & Buster’s and Main Event have plenty of games for children – but with extensive drinks menus, they also decidedly cater to adults, offering both groups a much-needed opportunity to kick back, play some games, and enjoy a meal out with friends.
And recent foot traffic data shows that despite challenges, both chains are seeing overall YoY visit increases – partially driven by the chains’ fleet expansions. On a quarterly basis, foot traffic to Dave & Buster’s and Main Event has remained elevated year over year (YoY) since Q3 2023, finishing out Q2 2024 with respective visit boosts of 6.9% and 4.7%.
As prime eatertainment destinations, Dave & Buster’s and Main Event are busiest on weekends – with Saturday evening between 7:00 to 10:00 PM drawing the biggest crowds to both chains.
Between August 2023 and July 2024, 11.9% of visits to Dave & Buster’s and 9.4% of visits to Main Event took place during the Saturday evening time slot. Friday and Sunday also experienced increased foot traffic, with hourly fluctuations reflecting the rhythms of weekend activities: Friday visits picked up between 7:00 and 10:00 PM, as people likely wrapped up their work weeks and headed out to unwind with a drink and some skee ball. Sunday visits followed the opposite pattern, with stronger foot traffic earlier in the day that tapered off towards evening, as people put down their pool cues and got ready for the upcoming week.
But Dave & Buster’s and Main Event are both adept at harnessing special promotions to drive visits on off-peak, weekday hours. Dave & Buster’s famous Wednesdays half-off deals fueled significant visit upticks throughout the analyzed period – so it may come as no surprise that the chain recently stepped up its off-peak offerings with a new all-you-can-eat weekday wings deal. And Main Event, which has long offered a Monday Night Madness promotions, also unveiled a “Summer Season Pass” to encourage weekday visits among its customers.
Visitor behavior to Dave and Buster’s and Main Event also changes throughout the week. Analyzing the average driving distances of visitors to the two chains shows, unsurprisingly, that people drive further distances to visit the venues on the weekends – when they have more time on their hands.
Between August 2023 and July 2024, 43.9% of weekend visits (Friday to Sunday) to Dave & Buster’s, and 49.7% of weekend visits to Main Event were made by people traveling 10 miles or less to reach the restaurant. On Weekdays (Monday to Thursday), these numbers increased to 49.4% and 55.3%, respectively – indicating that on weekdays, the eatertainment chains are particularly appealing to locals looking for a convenient night out.
But interestingly, it was on weekdays that visitors to the two chains were most likely to come from more than 100 miles away, suggesting that these customers may be on vacation away from home – the perfect time to pop into an arcade mid-week and “unlearn adulthood.”
Dave & Buster's and Main Event Entertainment continue to flourish, attracting weekend crowds and drawing visitors from near and far. Can the two eatertainment chains continue to draw crowds as summer draws to a close?
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The last several years have seen many Americans relocate to states like Texas, Florida, Montana, and Maine. We checked in with another region of the country that’s become a domestic migration hotspot in recent years – South Carolina – to explore what’s attracting movers to the state.
Analyzing domestic migration trends throughout the United States between June 2020 and June 2024 reveals several regions of the country that have attracted new residents over the past four years. Idaho led the charge with positive domestic net migration of 4.5%, meaning that the total number of people that moved to Idaho from elsewhere in the U.S., minus those that left, constituted 4.5% of the state’s June 2024 population.
And South Carolina – with a thriving economy, a robust job market, and plenty of affordable living – came in a close second, with a net domestic migration increase of 3.5%. Several other Southeastern states also saw a net inflow of relocators – including Tennessee (2.0%), Alabama (0.7%), Georgia (0.5%), Florida (2.4%), and North Carolina (2.1%).
To uncover local trends driving South Carolina’s net migration growth we analyzed the quarterly cumulative migration to several of the state’s largest CBSAs, focusing on the period between Q1 2020 and Q2 2024.
Of the CBSAs analyzed, Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach saw the most significant influx of new residents – with a whopping 12.9% cumulative net migration as of Q2 2024. With a low cost of living, a vibrant job market, and plenty of access to the outdoors, it may come as no surprise that Myrtle Beach has become the nation’s fastest-growing city and most popular relocation hotspot. The CBSA is also home to The Grand Strand – a collection of unique communities spanning 60 miles of pristine beaches.
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area also experienced substantial cumulative migration between early 2020 and Q2 2024 (4.7%). The CBSA’s primary municipality, Charleston, has been acclaimed as a top destination for relocators, due in part to its rich history, culture, and sense of community. And like Myrtle Beach, Charleston is also on the coast.
And diving deeper into population growth patterns in South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro area showcases the unique lifestyle that is attracting many new residents. In many regions of the country, suburban areas are experiencing the most substantial population growth. But in Myrtle Beach – and in South Carolina more generally – it is urban areas that are on the rise.
Between June 2020 and June 2024, South Carolina’s urban population grew by 4.3%, compared to 3.3% for suburban communities, and 2.3% for rural ones. Over the same period, urban areas in the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro area saw a remarkable 9.9% population increase, likely driven by the popularity of hubs like Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach – coveted by lovers of the year-round beach lifestyle. Still, the CBSA’s suburban and rural communities also experienced significant population growth, outperforming statewide baselines.
South Carolina is home to several metro areas seeing positive net migration, and its coastline is one of the most popular regions for new residents. Will these areas continue to see population growth? Which other parts of the country are popular for those taking on relocation?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Summer events and concerts are more than just entertainment – they drive community engagement and have a significant economic impact on local businesses.
We took a closer look at the effect of major summer events, like Lollapalooza in Chicago and Governors Ball in New York, on foot traffic to local venues.
The first Lollapalooza – a four-day music festival – took place in 1991. Chicago’s Grant Park became the event’s permanent home (at least in the United States) in 2005, drawing thousands of revelers and music fans to the park each year.
This year, the festival once again demonstrated its powerful impact on the city. On August 1st, 2024, visits to Grant Park surged by 1,313.2% relative to the YTD daily average, as crowds converged on the park to see Chappell Roan’s much-anticipated performance. And during the first three days of the event, the event drew significantly more foot traffic than in 2023 – with visits up 18.9% to 35.9% compared to the first three days of last year’s festival (August 3rd to 5th, 2023).
Lollapalooza led to a dramatic spike in visits to Grant Park – and it also attracted a different type of visitor compared to the rest of the year.
Analyzing Grant Park’s captured market with Spatial.ai’s PersonaLive dataset reveals that Lollapalooza attendees are more likely to belong to the “Young Professionals” and “Ultra Wealthy Families” segment groups than the typical Grant Park visitor.
By contrast, the “Near-Urban Diverse Families” segment group, comprising middle-class diverse families living in or near cities, made up only 6.5% of visitors during the festival, compared to 12.0% during the rest of the year.
Additionally, visitors during Lollapalooza came from areas with higher HHIs than both the nationwide baseline of $76.1K and the average for park visitors throughout the year. Understanding the demographic profile of visitors to the park during Lollapalooza can help planners and city officials tailor future events to these segment groups – or look for ways to make the festival accessible to a wider range of music lovers.
Lollapalooza’s impact on Chicago extended beyond the boundaries of Grant Park, with nearby hotels seeing remarkable surges in foot traffic. The Congress Plaza Hotel on South Michigan Avenue witnessed a staggering 249.1% rise in visits during the week of July 29, 2024, compared to the YTD visit average. And Travelodge on East Harrison Street saw an impressive 181.8% increase. These spikes reflect the festival’s draw not just for locals but for out-of-town visitors who fill hotels across the city.
The North Michigan Avenue retail corridor also enjoyed a significant increase in foot traffic during the festival, with visits on Thursday, August 1st 56.0% higher than the YTD Thursday visit average. On Friday, August 2nd, visits to the corridor were 55.7% higher than the Friday visit average. These numbers highlight Lollapalooza’s role in driving economic activity across Chicago, as festival-goers venture beyond the park to explore the city’s vibrant retail and hospitality offerings.
City parks often serve as community hubs, and Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, NY, has been a major gathering point for New Yorkers. The park hosted one of New York’s most beloved summer concerts – Governors Ball – which moved from Governors Island to Flushing Meadows in 2023.
During the festival (June 9th -11th, 2024), musicians like Post Malone and The Killers drew massive crowds to the park, with visits soaring to the highest levels seen all year. On June 9th, the opening day of the festival, foot traffic in the park was up 214.8% compared to the YTD daily average, and at its height, on June 8th, the festival drew 392.7% more visits than the YTD average.
The park also hosted other big events this summer – a July 21st set by DMC helped boost visits to 185.1% above the YTD average. And the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival on August 3rd and 4th led to major visit boosts of 221.4% and 51.6%, respectively.
These events not only draw large crowds, but also highlight the park’s role as a space where cultural and civic life can find expression, flourish, and contribute to the health of local communities.
Analyzing changes in Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s trade area size offers insight into how far people are willing to travel for these events. During Governors Ball, for example, the park’s trade area ballooned to 254.5 square miles, showing the festival's wide appeal. On July 20th, by contrast, when the park hosted several local bands and DJs, the trade area was a much more modest 57.0 square miles.
Summer events drive community engagement, economic activity, and civic pride. Cities that invest in their parks and event hubs, fostering lively and inclusive spaces, can create lasting value for both residents and visitors, enriching the cultural and social life of urban areas.
For more data-driven civic stories, visit Placer.ai.
With summer winding down (sigh!) and undergrads nationwide heading back to campus, we dove into the data to explore consumer behavior in college towns – where students and other university-affiliated communities make up a substantial share of the overall population.
Once again, we focused our analysis on nine CBSAs dominated by the comings and goings of a university-centered community – including Ithaca, NY (Cornell University); State College, PA (Penn State); Bloomington, IN (Indiana University); Lawrence, KS (University of Kansas); College Station-Bryan, TX (Texas A&M); Columbia, MO (University of Missouri); Champaign-Urbana, IL (University of Illinois); Ann Arbor, MI (University of Michigan); and Gainesville, FL (University of Florida). How does college life impact local retail performance? And what lies ahead for popular back-to-college shopping destinations as the school year begins?
We dove into the data to find out.
Retail giants Target and Walmart have been thriving in recent months. And nowhere has this been more true than in college towns, where the two behemoths are popular destinations for college students. Nationwide, college students make up just small percentages of the chains’ customer bases. But in college towns, the picture is very different.
In Q2 2024, STI: Landscape’s “Collegian” segment – a group encompassing currently enrolled college students living both on and off campus – made up a remarkable 19.4% of Target’s captured markets in the analyzed CBSAs. Though Walmart’s audiences in these cities included smaller shares of undergrads, the coveted demographic comprised an impressive 11.4% of its local captured markets.
And superstore locations in the analyzed college towns experienced higher-than-average YoY visit growth in Q2 – showcasing the power of this demographic to drive retail success. Target, for example, saw a 2.6% YoY increase in average monthly visits per location in college towns – compared to 1.4% nationwide. And Walmart followed a similar pattern, with average monthly visits per location up 5.8% in college towns, compared to 4.1% nationwide.
With a strong Q2 2024 under their belts, Target and Walmart both appear poised to enjoy an even stronger back-to-college shopping season. And a look at seasonal fluctuations in visits to the two retailers shows just how important the summer shopping scramble is for retailers in these CBSAs.
Nationwide, Target experiences its biggest monthly visit spike in December, when consumers throughout the country fill up their carts with holiday fare and gifts for loved ones. But in college towns, Target’s August visit spike is even bigger than its December one – as students load up on everything from dorm furniture to school supplies. Walmart, too, experiences a college-town August visit bump outpacing the one seen in the run-up to Christmas.
College students may eat many of their meals on campus – but they also frequent grocery stores, whether to pick up snacks or to buy ingredients for off-campus, home-cooked meals. And like superstores, grocery chains in college towns follow unique seasonal rhythms of their own.
Nationwide, grocery stores tend to see weekly visits peak in November and December. But in college towns, these holiday retail milestones carry less weight, as many collegians head home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead, weekly grocery store foot traffic in these CBSAs reaches its high point in August, when collegians likely converge on stores all at once as they head back to campus.
And taking a closer look at value grocer Aldi – which features locations in all nine analyzed CBSAs – highlights other differences in the shopping habits of college town residents. Aldi has been crushing it in recent months, ranking high on the Placer 100 Retail & Dining Index visit growth lists throughout the summer. Like Target and Walmart, the discount supermarket enjoyed even greater visit-per-location growth in college towns than in other areas of the country.
And comparing Aldi visitation patterns in the analyzed CBSAs to those nationwide shows that in college towns, shoppers tend to do their grocery shopping later in the day. In Q2 2024, some 40.3% of visits to Aldi in college towns took place between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM – compared to just 37.4% nationwide. And on the flip side, just 27.9% of college town Aldi visits took place in the morning, compared to 30.1% nationwide. Whether because they’re busy attending classes, or because they prefer to (ahem) sleep in, college students appear less likely than others to visit grocery stores in the morning.
Americans spend billions of dollars each year on back-to-college shopping – and this year is shaping up to be no different. For superstores and grocery chains in college towns, recent strong performance offers plenty of reason for optimism as the August shopping bonanza continues.
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Discount and Dollar Stores as a whole had resounding success in Q2 2024. We dove into the data for Five Below and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet to take a closer look at what’s driving the recent foot traffic gains to these discount chains.
Five Below and Ollie’s have been on a growth trajectory for quite some time. In 2023, Five Below opened a company-record 205 new stores, and in fiscal Q1 2024 opened another 61 locations. Ollie’s grew its real estate footprint by 45 locations in 2023 and added 4 new stores in fiscal Q1 2024.
Ollie and Five Below’s visit growth has at least partly been fueled by their growing fleets. In Q2 2024 (April-May), Five Below and Ollie’s saw YoY visit increases of 14.0% and 17.1%, respectively.
And while both brands have plans to continue their physical-world expansions in the near future, a robust digital and social media presence also appears to be part of both Ollie’s and Five Below’s long-term strategies.
An examination of changes in visitor engagement with these two chains indicates that increasing consumer loyalty has been a significant factor for both Five Below and Ollie’s in recent years.
Five Below’s focus on recreational items appears to be a key driver of visitor frequency and visits – especially during the holidays. And visitor frequency is on the rise for the chain. In December 2021 and 2022, the share of visitors that visited Five Below at least twice during the month peaked at 18.3% and 18.2%, respectively. But in December 2023, the share of Five Below’s repeat visitors climbed to 20.1%. This could be due in part to the company’s doubling down on the Five Beyond store-in-store concept, which offers merchandise beyond the chain’s traditional $5 price-ceiling – broadening their offerings and enhancing the treasure-hunting experience. With the addition of a loyalty program next year, Five Below could expect to see an even greater share of frequent visitors.
Meanwhile, Ollie’s closeout business model and recruitment of consumers into its “army” likely encourage frequent visitation to the chain throughout the year. And still-high prices appear to have consumers visiting Ollie’s more often than in previous years, perhaps as they keep their eyes out for bargains on everyday items and home goods to help stretch their dollars.
Visits to Five Below and Ollie’s remain elevated as consumers appear hungry-as-ever for bargains on items that excite and fill everyday needs. Will foot traffic to these retailers remain strong through the second half of 2024?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Department stores across the country have been evolving to meet changing consumer wants and needs, and Macy’s & Bloomingdale’s are no exception. Owned by the same company – Macy’s, Inc – these two brands have been recalibrating their store fleets and experimenting with new formats.
We took a closer look at visitation trends to both brands to understand how they diverge, analyze their respective strengths, and explore what might be ahead for both.
In recent years, Macy’s, Inc. has focused on optimizing its store fleet, a long-running project that gained momentum with the 2023 appointment of former Bloomingdale’s executive Tony Spring as CEO. This change coincided with a turnaround strategy involving the closing of some 30% of the brand’s traditional department stores; the expansion of Macy’s small-format model; and the addition of more Bloomingdale’s locations.
And a look at foot traffic trends at Bloomingdale’s shows that the high-end brand is indeed experiencing an uptick in demand, making it ripe for expansion. For much of the period between January and July 2024, Bloomingdale’s saw YoY monthly visit increases, with only January, April, and July seeing YoY declines. January’s drop was likely due to the inclement weather that weighed on retailers nationwide, while the April 2024 YoY downturn may have been due in part to the comparison to an April 2023 that had five weekends. And though July 2024 as a whole saw visits down 1.5% YoY, a look at weekly foot traffic to Bloomingdale’s shows that throughout most of that month and into August, the chain continued to draw more visits than in 2023.
Macy’s, for its part, had a slower start to 2024 – with YoY monthly visits down through April 2024. But in May and June, Macy’s visit gap closed, with foot traffic just above 2023 levels. And though Macy’s also saw monthly YoY visits decline in July, the chain’s weekly foot traffic has remained at or above 2023 levels since the middle of the month – likely spurred by back-to-school shopping and sales.
With the upcoming holiday season expected to bring a surge in foot traffic, both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities and potentially drive further growth.
Analyzing the median household incomes (HHI) of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s captured markets shows how Macy’s, Inc.’s revitalization strategy is helping the company further diversify the range of options available for shoppers of all kinds underneath its umbrella.
Between January and July 2024, for example, luxury-focused Bloomingdale’s attracted visitors from areas with the highest median HHI of the three brands – $122.2K, well above the nationwide average of $76.1K. Bloomingdale’s affluent audience may be less prone to inflation-driven cutbacks than the average American, contributing to the chain’s stronger positioning this year.
By contrast, Macy’s shoppers came from areas with a median HHI of $82.4K, while visitors to Macy’s small-format stores (some 13 locations nationwide) came from areas with a median HHI of $78.5K – just above the nationwide baseline. By expanding its small-format footprint, Macy’s may succeed at increasing its draw among more average-income shoppers.
This income variation underscores the broad retail potential of each chain, ensuring that consumers can find options that cater to their specific needs across Macy’s diverse offerings.
Analyzing the psychographic characteristics of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s captured markets can shed additional light on how the chain’s turnaround strategy may help it reach new audiences. Macy’s traditional department stores already draw a diverse mix of consumers. But the addition of new Bloomingdale’s locations will help the company make further inroads into affluent segment groups like “Ultra Wealthy Families” – which makes up a whopping 32.0% of Bloomingdale’s captured market. At the same time, Macy’s smaller-format stores will offer the company greater access to the more modest-income “City Hopefuls” and “Near-Urban Diverse Families”, as well as the upper-middle-class “Upper Suburban Diverse Families”.
Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s continue to adapt to shifting consumer preferences by focusing on their strengths in specific markets and among their demographic segments, and by expanding its small-format stores. With the holiday season approaching, can both chains continue to drive visits?
Visit Placer.ai to keep on top of the latest data-driven retail news.
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1) Broad-based growth: All four grocery formats grew year-over-year in Q2 2025, with traditional grocers posting their first rebound since early 2024.
2) Value grocers slow: After leading during the 2022–24 trade-down wave, value grocer growth has decelerated as that shift matures.
3) Fresh formats surge: Now the fastest-growing segment, fueled by affluent shoppers seeking health, wellness, and convenience.
4) Bifurcation widens: Growth concentrated at both the low-income (value) and high-income (fresh) ends, highlighting polarized spending.
5) Shopping missions diverge: Short trips are rising, supporting fresh formats, while traditional grocers retain loyal stock-up customers and value chains capture fill-in trips through private labels.
6) Traditional grocers adapt: H-E-B and Harris Teeter outperformed by tailoring strategies to their core geographies and demographics.Bifurcation of Consumer Spending Help Fresh Format Lead Grocery Growth
Grocery traffic across all four major categories – value grocers, fresh format, traditional grocery, ethnic grocers – was up year over year in Q2 2025 as shoppers continue to engage with a wide range of grocery formats. Traditional grocery posted its first YoY traffic increase since Q1 2024, while ethnic grocers maintained their steady pattern of modest but consistent gains.
Value grocers, which dominated growth through most of 2024 as shoppers prioritized affordability, continued to expand but have now ceded leadership to fresh-format grocers. Rising food costs between 2022 and 2024 drove many consumers to chains like Aldi and Lidl, but much of this “trade-down” movement has already occurred. Although price sensitivity still shapes consumer choices – keeping the value segment on an upward trajectory – its growth momentum has slowed, making it less of a driver for the overall sector.
Fresh-format grocers have now taken the lead, posting the strongest YoY traffic gains of any category in 2025. This segment, anchored by players like Sprouts, appeals to the highest-income households of the four categories, signaling a growing influence of affluent shoppers on the competitive grocery landscape. Despite accounting for just 7.0% of total grocery visits in H1 2025, the segment’s rapid gains point to a broader shift: premium brands emphasizing health and wellness are emerging as the primary engine of growth in the grocery sector.
The fact that value grocers and fresh-format grocers – segments with the lowest and highest median household incomes among their customer bases – are the two categories driving the most growth underscores how the bifurcation of consumer spending is playing out in the grocery space as well. On one end, price-sensitive shoppers continue to seek out affordable options, while on the other, affluent consumers are fueling demand for premium, health-oriented formats. This dual-track growth pattern highlights how widening economic divides are reshaping competitive dynamics in grocery retail.
1) Broad-based growth: All four grocery categories posted YoY traffic gains in Q2 2025.
2) Traditional grocery rebound: First YoY increase since Q1 2024.
3) Ethnic grocers: Continued steady but modest upward trend.
4) Value grocers: Still growing, but slowing after most trade-down activity already occurred (2022–24).
5) Fresh formats: Now the fastest-growing segment, driven by affluent shoppers and interest in health & wellness.
6) Market shift: Premium, health-oriented brands are becoming the new growth driver in grocery.
7) Bifurcation of spending: Growth at both value and fresh-format grocers highlights a polarization in consumer spending patterns that is reshaping grocery competition.
Over the past two years, short grocery trips (under 10 minutes) have grown far more quickly than longer visits. While they still make up less than one-quarter of all U.S. grocery trips, their steady expansion suggests this behavioral shift is here to stay and that its full impact on the industry has yet to be realized.
One format particularly aligned with this trend is the fresh-format grocer, where average dwell times are shorter than in other categories. Yet despite benefiting from the rise of convenience-driven shopping, fresh formats attract the smallest share of loyal visitors (4+ times per month). This indicates they are rarely used for a primary weekly shop. Instead, they capture supplemental trips from consumers looking for specific needs – unique items, high-quality produce, or a prepared meal – who also value the ability to get in and out quickly.
In contrast, leading traditional grocers like H-E-B and Kroger thrive on a classic supermarket model built around frequent, comprehensive shopping trips. With the highest share of loyal visitors (38.5% and 27.6% respectively), they command a reliable customer base coming for full grocery runs and taking time to fill their carts.
Value grocers follow a different, but equally effective playbook. Positioned as primary “fill-in” stores, they sit between traditional and fresh formats in both dwell time and visit frequency. Many rely on limited assortments and a heavy emphasis on private-label goods, encouraging shoppers to build larger baskets around basics and store brands. Still, the data suggests consumers reserve their main grocery hauls for traditional supermarkets with broader selections, while using value grocers to stretch budgets and stock up on essentials.
1) Short trips surge: Under-10-minute visits have grown fastest, signaling a lasting behavioral shift.
2) Fresh formats thrive on convenience: Small footprints, prepared foods, and specialty items align with quick missions.
3) Traditional grocers retain loyalty: Traditional grocers such as H-E-B and Kroger attract frequent, comprehensive stock-up trips.
4) Value grocers fill the middle ground: Limited assortments and private label drive larger baskets, but main hauls remain with traditional supermarkets.
5) Fresh formats as supplements: Fresh format grocers such as The Fresh Market capture quick, specialized trips rather than weekly shops.
While broad market trends favor value and fresh-format grocers, certain traditional grocers are proving that a tailored strategy is a powerful tool for success. In the first half of 2025, H-E-B and Harris Teeter significantly outperformed their category's modest 0.6% average year-over-year visit growth, posting impressive gains of 5.6% and 2.8%, respectively. Their success demonstrates that even in a polarizing environment, there is ample room for traditional formats to thrive by deeply understanding and catering to a specific target audience.
These two brands achieve their success with distinctly different, yet equally focused, demographic strategies. H-E-B, a Texas powerhouse, leans heavily into major metropolitan areas like Austin and San Antonio. This urban focus is clear, with 32.6% of its visitors coming from urban centers and their peripheries, far above the category average. Conversely, Harris Teeter has cultivated a strong following in suburban and satellite cities in the South Atlantic region, drawing a massive 78.3% of its traffic from these areas. This deliberate targeting shows that knowing your customer's geography and lifestyle remains a winning formula for growth.
1) Traditional grocers can still be competitive: H-E-B (+5.6% YoY) and Harris Teeter (+2.8% YoY) outpaced the category average of +0.6% in H1 2025.
2) H-E-B’s strategy: Strong urban focus, with 32.6% of traffic from major metro areas like Austin and San Antonio.
3) Harris Teeter’s strategy: Suburban and satellite city focus, with 78.3% of traffic from South Atlantic suburbs.
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.
