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Big Chicken's moment in the spotlight has been building for the past few years. The surge in chicken offerings – from Chili’s popular sandwich to the expansion of local and international chicken chains and McDonald’s recently launched McCrispy strips – has spurred considerable traffic in the fast-casual and quick-service dining sectors.
With the year’s midpoint quickly approaching, we took a look at some of the most popular players in the game to see how visits are performing.
Chicken is the most popular protein in America, so it’s no surprise that chicken-centric restaurants are thriving. Still, even within this favorable dining landscape, recent years have seen chains like Dave’s Hot Chicken and Raising Cane’s significantly outpace other dining concepts in terms of growth.
Visits to chicken restaurants Huey Magoo’s, Super Chix, Dave’s Hot Chicken, and Raising Cane’s showed impressive year-over-year (YoY) growth in Q1 2025. Dave’s Hot Chicken, recently acquired in a $1 billion deal, experienced the most significant YoY visit growth – 67.2% in Q4 2024 and 60.0% in Q1 2025, followed by Super Chix (26.9% and 19.7%, respectively), with Raising Cane’s and Huey Magoo’s following closely. In contrast, overall fast-casual restaurants saw much more muted growth – and quick-service visits declined slightly in both quarters.
Some of the visit growth is driven by expansions – all of the analyzed chicken chains are growing their footprint to meet growing demand. And most brands are either growing or seeing only minor declines in their average visits per location numbers – suggesting that demand is keeping up with supply.
In terms of performance, Dave’s and Raising Cane’s also saw the most year-over-year growth in average visits per location in Q1 2025, up 11.6% and 3.6%, respectively. While Huey Magoo’s and Super Chix experienced a slight slowdown in visits per location, their numbers tracked closely with those of previous years and the wider fast-casual and quick-service dining segments.
Overall, weekly visits in April generally maintained their upward trend. Although the week of April 14th saw a slight dip in visits for Huey Magoo’s and Raising Cane’s, both chains quickly returned to growth in subsequent weeks.
And once again, Dave’s Hot Chicken continued to drive the most significant visit increases, with weekly visits surging by 55.1% during the week of April 28th.
Each of the analyzed chains has its own unique draw. Huey Magoo’s fans call the chain the “Filet Mignon of Chicken,” while Dave’s Hot Chicken is known for its meticulous, chef-driven approach to fried chicken. Still, diving into the geographic segmentation data for each chain highlights a common thread uniting them: their strength in the suburbs and mid-sized cities.
In Q1 2025, all four chains saw significant shares of visitors originating from the “Suburban Periphery” and “Metro Cities” – defined by the Esri: Tapestry Segmentation dataset as commuter-oriented suburbs and mid-sized cities. However, despite these similarities across major geographic segments, visitors to these chains had their own distinctions as well. Notably, Huey Magoo’s drew 15.4% of its visitors from “Rural” areas, while only 1.9% and 4.4% of Dave’s Hot Chicken and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers visitors, respectively, came from those areas.
This highlights that while a significant portion of visitors to these chicken chains come from relatively similar areas, enough distinctions remain within their customer bases to allow for individual brand differentiation.
Chicken chains continue to be one of the most exciting dining categories to watch. As the chains continue to spread their wings, will visits continue to fly with them? Or will the cluck stop?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up with the latest data-driven dining insights.
Analyzing location intelligence for Saturday, May 10th (the day before Mother’s Day) and on Sunday, May 11th (Mother’s Day) can reveal how some consumers chose to celebrate the occasion.
Full-service restaurants – including breakfast-first casual dining chains such as IHOP and Waffle House – saw significant visit spikes on Mother’s Day, with traffic also rising on Saturday (almost 10% up compared to the average Saturday to date). In fact, Mother’s Day and the day before Mother’s Day were the busiest Sunday and Saturday in 2025 so far, respectively. Coffee chains also received a boost – both before Mother’s day and an even larger spike on Mother’s Day itself.
May 10th and 11th were also the most visited Saturdays and Sundays in 2025 so far at greeting card retailers – both specialized stores like Hallmark and chains with a large greeting card selection such as CVS and Walgreens. Finally, Ulta also received a boost – likely from shoppers looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift.
For more data-driven consumer insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Off-price apparel chains continue to resonate with inflation-conscious shoppers seeking their favorite brands without significant expense. We examined the visitation patterns for several major players in this sector – T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and Burlington – to gain insight into their performance during the first half of the year.
Off-price leaders continued to enjoy elevated visits throughout Q1 2025, with all of the analyzed chains experiencing visit growth. Burlington led the visit growth charge with 6.5% more visits in Q1 2025 than in Q1 2024, followed by T.J. Maxx and Marshalls (both owned by parent company TJX Companies), at 3.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Ross experienced the most modest year-over-year (YoY) visit growth of 0.5% in Q1 2025 – but still outpaced the overall apparel segment, which saw visits dip by 3.2% YoY.
Average visits per location showed slightly more variance, however, with Ross and Burlington experiencing dips of 2.7% and 1.9% YoY. Still, both chains expanded their store fleets somewhat significantly in recent months, and these visit-per-location lags may diminish as customer traffic normalizes across their newer locations.
Diving into monthly visitation patterns – most months experienced growth, though YoY visits took a significant dive in February 2025, likely owing to inclement weather that kept many at home. And visits rebounded in March and April, while overall visits to the apparel segment remained below growth – highlighting off-price retailers’ continued ability to attract and retain consumers amid broader challenges facing retail.
But what lies behind off-price’s continuous rise? This segment has thrived for the past few years, defying the overall trends facing the apparel sector. A significant part of this success may stem from the segment’s inherent “treasure-hunt” experience – off-price shopping cultivates a browsing mentality, encouraging visitors to linger and explore the constantly changing inventory.
A closer look at average dwell times over the past few years – from the pre-pandemic era through the inflationary surges of 2023 and 2024 – reveals that visitors to off-price retailers linger significantly longer than those at overall apparel chains. For example, in 2025, visitors to T.J. Maxx and Burlington spent 40.3 and 43.9 minutes shopping, respectively, while visitors to apparel chains averaged just 33.3 minutes. To be sure, dwell times have slightly decreased across the board since COVID, likely due to factors such as increased interest in online shopping. But the longer dwell times at off-price stores highlight the sustained appeal of brick-and-mortar retail – especially when it offers added value.
And further cementing the “treasure hunt” engagement shopping aspect of off-price retail, visitors to the analyzed chains were significantly more likely to shop in the evening – between 6:00 and 10:00 PM – than visitors to other apparel chains.
This difference in visit timing suggests that off-price shoppers are indeed making a dedicated trip, reserving a good chunk of their evening – once their daily duties were taken care of – for extended browsing sessions. This strong engagement during evening hours may signify that shoppers are receptive to longer shopping hours.
Off-price retail continues to thrive, fueled, in part, by the “treasure hunt” experience. Shoppers to these chains are increasingly staying longer, and coming later in the day to maximize their shopping times – proving that, even in an unclear economic climate, there’s plenty of ways for retail to thrive.
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Department stores have faced their fair share of challenges in recent years – and many of these household names are still figuring out how to remain relevant and adapt to a challenging economic environment.
With the first half of the year nearly behind us, we took a look at the visit performance for some of the major players in the department store space to understand their current standing.
As consumer budgets continue to react to the strain of rising prices, department stores are experiencing mixed visitation patterns. While luxury shoppers have, in some cases, been more insulated from the effects of inflation and rising costs, visits to high-end department stores have not been spared from this overall volatility.
However, some department stores are rallying. Visits to Nordstrom (which will be shifting to private ownership soon) and Bloomingdale’s grew by 3.3% and 2.7%, respectively, in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. Meanwhile, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus – which recently merged – saw their Q1 2025 visits drop by -6.0% and -5.9% YoY, respectively.
Average visits per location showed more variance, with Nordstrom the only department store to experience growth in this metric (+4.1%).
Analyzing visits into April showed a continuation of the quarterly trends explored above. Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s continued to enjoy visit growth for the most part, while Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus visits declined slightly relative to 2024.
While Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Saks are known for their luxury offerings, several other department stores cater to a more mid-range consumer – and like their luxury counterparts, their visit performance has varied since the start of the year.
In Q1 2025, Macy’s was the sole department store among those analyzed to experience overall visit growth – though none of the chains saw their average visits per location surpass those of Q1 2024. However, April visits offered a more positive outlook, with Belk and JCPenney, in particular, showing elevated visits in all but one week of April 2025. Dillard's also displayed promising visitation patterns, with weekly visits up for two weeks of April.
And in an environment where so many department stores are struggling, the ability for these brands to keep visits near, or above, previous years’ levels suggests that this segment is enjoying stability.
Despite the challenges facing the overall retail segment, department stores are proving their staying power. The strong visit performance of some – like Nordstrom and Belk – alongside the visit declines of others highlight that the way ahead looks different for every store.
With plenty of changes – including in ownership and merchandising initiatives – coming up for many of these chains, will visits continue to grow?
Visit Placer.ai/anchor to stay ahead of the latest data-driven retail insights.
Superstores remain American retail staples, and once again, wholesale clubs were the foot traffic winners of the space in Q1 2025. We dove into the data to explore how weather and expanding footprints played a part in visitation trends for Target, Walmart, Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Costco Wholesale and how the demographic characteristics of visitors impacted in-store shopping behavior.
Wholesale clubs outperformed traditional superstores in Q1 2025, as BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and Costco saw 2.7% to 6.1% YoY visit increases. BJ’s and Costco expanded their footprints over the past year, which likely caused overall visit growth to outpace visit-per-location increases.
Zooming in on monthly visits reveals more nuanced foot traffic patterns. After a strong January 2025, February’s YoY visits were impacted by the comparison to 2024’s leap year. And despite severe weather, YoY traffic to all of the analyzed chains improved in March 2025, perhaps due to consumers stocking up on essentials in preparation for the storms.
Although Walmart and Target saw YoY foot traffic declines in Q1 2025 overall, Walmart saw a 4.5% YoY visit increase in April, while Target saw its visit gap narrow. Some of the April strength may have been due to the pull-forward of consumer demand ahead of anticipated price hikes and supply constraints.
The two chains’ improved April performance was likely also aided by pre-Easter shopping, with Walmart receiving the more sizable visit boost. Last year, Easter fell during the week of March 25th, ‘24, but this year, Easter fell during the week of April 14th, ‘25, giving Walmart a 15.5% weekly visit boost while Target benefitted from a smaller 0.9% visit lift (compared to the weekly average YTD). Clearly, Walmart is a more popular pre-Easter shopping destination and the calendar shift played a part in the chain’s YoY visit growth in April.
All three of the leading wholesale clubs – BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and Costco – carry a variety of essentials sold in-bulk, as well as products from discretionary categories such as apparel, housewares, and electronics. But diving into the retailers’ captured trade areas in Q1 2025 reveals that each chain serves a slightly different audience.
Costco tends to attract visitors from higher-income areas and larger households (including those with children and non-family roommates) than either Sam’s Club or BJ’s. And since larger households may need to stock-up on essentials more frequently, this could account for Costco’s higher average share of repeat monthly visitors, and by extension, its strong membership renewal rate.
Meanwhile, Sam’s Club and BJ’s typically attract more single-person households and visitors from lower-income areas – at least in part because singles are often younger consumers who have yet to reach their peak earning years. This clientele presents an opportunity for Sam’s Club and BJ’s to foster lifetime brand loyalty among digitally-driven Millennials and Gen Z-ers and shoppers seeking value in what remains a challenging economic environment.
Visitors to Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and Costco also exhibit different in-store shopping behaviors. BJ’s and Sam’s Club visitors appear to make quicker trips, with both brands seeing a larger share of visits under thirty minutes than Costco in Q1 2025 – which may be due to the use of time-saving self-checkout apps and curbside pickup. Meanwhile, Costco experienced a greater share of weekday visits than either BJ’s or Sam’s Club – perhaps since shoppers from larger households are likely to replenish essentials mid-week and prepare for large weekend gatherings. An understanding of these consumer preferences and behaviors could help the chains build out their retail media networks and put the right promotions in front of shoppers at the right time.
Wholesale clubs and superstores remain go-to destinations for essentials – and nearly everything else – and are likely to maintain their positions as retail powerhouses going forward. Using location analytics, brands can better understand their consumer base and hone their retail strategies to drive further growth.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
We dove into the data to explore The Home Depot and Lowe’s recent foot traffic performance, audience profiles, and consumer trends shaping what lies ahead for the chains.
The home improvement space has seen YoY traffic lag for quite some time, as sustained challenges in the housing market and tight budgets have resulted in fewer home improvement projects. Despite these trends continuing in Q1 2025, YoY visit gaps to home improvement retailers remained relatively minor; The Home Depot received 3.8% less visits in Q1 2025 than in Q1 2024 while Lowe’s received 3.6% fewer visits.
Zooming in on monthly visits reveals more nuanced foot traffic patterns to The Home Depot and Lowe’s. February’s relatively dramatic declines in YoY visits were likely impacted by the comparison to 2024’s leap year. And in spite of severe weather, YoY traffic to the chains improved in March 2025 as consumers prepared their homes for storms.
Despite Q1 2025’s lackluster performance, analysis of weekly visits suggests that there is reason for optimism in the home improvement space. In 2024, industry foot traffic peaked in mid-May – perhaps as consumers took on pre-Summer projects – indicating that the next few weeks of 2025 present an opportunity for The Home Depot and Lowe’s to drive significant seasonal traffic.
As traffic to the home improvement space begins to turn a corner, analysis of the trade areas from which The Home Depot and Lowe’s attract visitors reveals that each chain serves a slightly different mix of rural, suburban, and urban audience segments.
In Q1 2025, both The Home Depot and Lowe’s were popular among consumers in regions defined as “Suburban Periphery” and “Metro Cities” (i.e. small metro areas and satellite cities). However, Lowe’s drove higher shares of traffic from rural segments and The Home Depot from strongly urbanized ones. This audience segmentation highlights several differences between the chains’ retail footprints and the regions from which they command traffic.
Despite prevailing headwinds, the home improvement space may be gearing up for a seasonal boost, particularly if consumers feel a little wiggle room in their budgets or decide to take on bigger projects in anticipation of price hikes and supply constraints.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
1. Shoppers are taking more, shorter trips to grocery stores. Over the past 12 months, grocery stores have experienced nearly uniform YoY visit growth. And since COVID, the segment has steadily increased both overall visits and average visits per location – even as average dwell times have consistently declined.
2. Grocery stores are holding ground against fierce competition. Despite growing inroads by discount and dollar stores, wholesale clubs, and general mass retailers like Walmart and Target, grocery stores have maintained their share of the overall food-at-home visit pie over the past several years.
3. Grocery visit share is most pronounced on the coasts. In Q1 2025, grocery stores claimed the majority of food-at-home visits on the West Coast, in parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Mountain Regions, and in Florida and Michigan.
4. Fresh-format, value, and ethnic grocery visit shares are growing at the expense of traditional chains. And in Q1 2025, fresh-format and value grocers outperformed the other sub-segments with positive YoY visit and average visit-per-location growth.
5. Hispanic markets are on the rise. Though the broader ethnic grocery sub-segment was essentially flat YoY in Q1 2025, Hispanic-focused stores recorded increases in both visits and visits per location – and have been steadily growing visits since 2021.
6. Smaller formats for the win. In Q1 2025, smaller-format grocery store locations outpaced mid-sized and larger-format ones, underscoring the power of compact spaces to deliver significant foot traffic gains.
Brick-and-mortar grocery stores face an uncertain market in 2025. Rising food-at-home prices (eggs, anyone?), declining consumer confidence, and increased competition from discounters, superstores, and online shopping channels all present the segment with significant headwinds. Yet even in the face of these challenges, the sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience – growing its foot traffic and holding onto visit share.
What strategies have helped the segment navigate today’s tough market? And how can industry stakeholders make the most of the opportunities in the current market? This report draws on the latest location intelligence to uncover the trends shaping grocery retail in early 2025 – highlighting insights to help key players make informed, data-driven decisions on store formats, product offerings, and more.
The grocery segment has experienced nearly uniform positive year-over-year (YoY) growth over the last 12 months. This sustained performance in the face of inflation and other headwinds highlights the underlying strength of the category.
What is driving this growth? Since 2022, the grocery segment has seen consistent overall visit growth that has outpaced increases in visits per location – a sign that chain expansion has played a key role in the category’s success. But the average number of visits to each grocery store has also been on the rise, indicating that the segment continues to expand without cannibalizing existing store traffic.
At the same time, visitor dwell times have been steadily dropping since 2021. This shift appears to reflect a trend towards multiple, shorter trips by inflation-wary consumers eager to avoid large, costly carts or cherry pick deals across various retailers. Many shoppers may also be placing more bulk orders online and supplementing those deliveries with brief in-store stops for additional items as needed.
The bottom line: Shoppers are taking more grocery trips overall each year, but spending less time in-store during each visit. Operators can respond to this trend by optimizing layouts and promoting “grab-and-go” areas for an even more efficient quick-trip experience.
Visit share data also shows that despite fierce competition from discount and dollar stores, wholesalers, and general mass retailers, the grocery segment has steadfastly preserved its share of the overall food-at-home visit pie.
Between Q1 2019 and Q1 2025, wholesale clubs and discount and dollar stores increased their share of total food-at-home visits, gains that have come primarily at the expense of Walmart and Target. Meanwhile, grocery outlets have held firm – despite some fluctuations over the years, their Q1 2019 visit share remained essentially unchanged in Q1 2025.
So even as consumers flock to alternative food purveyors in search of lower prices, grocery stores aren’t losing ground – and on a nationwide level, they remain the biggest player by far in the food-at-home shopping space.
Still, grocery store visit share varies significantly by region. On the West Coast, in parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Mountain regions, and in Florida and Michigan, grocery stores accounted for the majority of food-at-home visits in Q1 2025. Oregon (61.6%) and Washington (59.6%) led the pack, followed by Massachusetts (59.2%), Vermont (58.5%), and California (57.9%). Meanwhile, in West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Mississippi, less than 30% of food-at-home traffic went to grocery stores, with more shoppers in these regions turning to general mass retailers or discounters.
Grocery store operators in lower-grocery-share regions may choose to focus on price competitiveness and convenient store locations to capture more foot traffic from competitors in the space.
Which types of grocery stores are thriving the most? The grocery segment is diverse, encompassing traditional grocery chains like Kroger, Safeway, and H-E-B; budget-oriented value chains such as Aldi, WinCo Foods, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, and Market Basket; fresh-format specialty brands like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Sprouts Farmers Market; and numerous ethnic grocers.
Examining shifts in visit share among these various grocery store segments shows that traditional grocery still dominates, commanding over 70.0% of total grocery store foot traffic.
Still, over the past several years, traditional grocers have gradually ceded ground to other segments – especially value chains. Budget grocers saw a temporary surge in visits during the panic-buying days of early 2020 – and have been more gradually gaining visit share since Q1 2023. . Fresh-format banners, which lost ground in 2021 after a Q1 2020 bump, in the wake of COVID, have also been on the upswing and appear poised to capture additional visit share in the coming months and years. And though ethnic grocers still account for a relatively small portion of the overall market, they have slightly increased their visit share, reflecting heightened consumer interest in these specialized offerings.
Recent performance metrics point to a bifurcation in the grocery market similar to that observed in other retail categories. In Q1 2025, fresh-format and value retailers – which appeal, respectively, to the most and least affluent visitor bases – saw the greatest growth in both overall visits and average visits per location.
This trend highlights the power of both value and health-focused quality to motivate consumers in 2025. And grocery players that can meet these needs will be well-positioned for success in the months ahead.
One factor fueling fresh-format’s success may be its role as a convenient, relatively affordable midday lunch destination for the remote work crowd.
In Q1 2025, consumers working from home accounted for 20.2% of fresh-format grocery stores’ captured market – a significantly higher share than any other analyzed grocery segment. These stores also tended to be busier midday than the other segments. Remote workers may be stopping by to grab a quick bite – and some may be choosing to do their grocery shopping during their lunch break when stores are less crowded.
This finding suggests an opportunity for grocery operators across all segments to develop or enhance in-store salad bars and quick-serve sections to tap into the lunch rush. Likewise, CPG companies may benefit from developing more ready-made, nutritious meal options that align with these midday dining habits.
Though the broader ethnic grocery category remained essentially flat in Q1 2025, Hispanic-focused grocers emerged as a sub-segment to watch. Both overall visits and average visits per location to these stores have been on the rise since 2021.
This robust demand presents an opportunity for CPG brands and grocers across segments to expand Hispanic-focused offerings, capturing a slice of this growing market.
Finally, store size matters more than ever in 2025. During the first quarter of the year, smaller format grocery store locations (locations under 30K square feet, across different chains) outpaced larger stores with a 3.2% YoY jump in visits, showing that bigger isn’t always better in the grocery store space.
This pattern aligns with the decrease in dwell times noted above – shoppers may be making shorter trips to smaller, more convenient grocery store locations. These quick errands are ideal for picking up a few items to supplement online orders, shopping multiple deals, or sourcing specialty products unavailable at larger grocery destinations. And to lean into this trend, grocery operators might consider testing neighborhood “micro-store” concepts, focusing on curated selections, and offering convenient parking or pickup to match consumer preferences for targeted purchases and quicker trips.
Location intelligence reveals a growing, dynamic grocery landscape which is holding its ground in the face of increased competition. Shorter trips, busier lifestyles, and changing work routines are reshaping in-store experiences. And grocery players that refine their store formats, target both lunch and on-the-go shoppers, and adapt to shifting demographics can position themselves to thrive in this competitive sector. As the market continues to evolve, continuous attention to these changing patterns will be key to maintaining and expanding market share.
1. Elevated visitor frequency could mean that gym-goers are getting more value out of their memberships and are therefore more likely to stay signed up. Between January and March 2025, all of the gym chains analyzed had a higher share of frequent visitors (those who visited about once a week) than in the equivalent month of 2024.
2. Fitness chains at all price tiers need to be strategic about the value they offer and the amenities that can engage budget-conscious consumers. Between Q1 2022 and Q1 2025, the captured trade area median HHI increased for all fitness subsegments – value-priced, mid-range, and high-end – suggesting that consumers swapped pricier gym memberships for more affordable options.
3. Close attention should be paid to how long visitors spend at fitness chains in order to reduce crowding and bottlenecks. Between Q1 2022 and Q1 2025, the average visit length increased at value-priced, mid-range, and high-end gyms. Floorplan and equipment improvements could be considered, as well as having trainers available to help gym-goers streamline workouts.
4. Gyms can use hourly visit data to better serve their members or use promotions to stabilize facility usage throughout the day. In Q1 2025, high-end chains received a larger share of morning visits while value-priced and mid-range fitness chains received larger shares of evening visits.
Like many industries in recent years, the fitness sector has experienced significant shifts in consumer behavior. From the rise in home workouts during the pandemic to the strain of hyper-inflation, foot traffic trends to gyms and health clubs have been as dynamic as the consumers they serve.
This report leverages location analytics to explore the consumer trends driving visitation in the fitness space and provides actionable insights for industry stakeholders.
The pandemic drove several shifts in the fitness space. Widespread gym closures led consumers to embrace home-based workouts, while demand for all things fitness increased due to an emphasis on overall health and wellness. This subsequently drove a renewed interest in gym-based workouts as restrictions lifted – even as some consumers remained committed to their home workout routines.
In Q1 2023, visits to fitness chains surpassed Q1 2019 levels for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, a sign that consumers had recommitted to out-of-home fitness. And in Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, fitness chains saw further growth, climbing to 12.8% and 15.5% above the Q1 2019 baseline, respectively.
Several factors have likely driven consumers’ return to gyms and health clubs, including the desire for both social connection and professional-grade facilities difficult to replicate at home. The steep increase in cost of living has likely also played a role, since consumers cutting back on discretionary spending can enjoy multiple outings and a range of recreational activities at the gym for one monthly fee.
Zooming in on weekly visits to the fitness space in Q1 2025 reveals the industry’s exceptional strength and resilience in the early part of the year.
The fitness industry experienced YoY visit growth nearly every week of Q1 2025 (and 2.4% YoY visit growth overall) with only minor visit gaps the weeks of January 20th, 2025 and February 17th, 2025 – likely due to extreme weather that prevented many Americans from hitting the gym.
And the fitness industry’s weekly visit growth appeared to strengthen throughout the quarter, defying the typical waning of New Year's resolutions. This could indicate that gym visits haven't plateaued and that consumers are demonstrating greater commitment to their fitness routines compared to last year.
Diving into visitation patterns for leading fitness chains highlights how increased visitor frequency drove foot traffic growth in Q1 2025.
Fitness chains tend to receive the most visits during the first months of the year as consumers recommit to health and wellness in their post-holidays New Year’s resolutions. And not only do more people hit the gym – analyzing the data reveals that gym-goers also typically work out more frequently during this period. Zooming in on 2025 so far suggests that consumers are especially committed to their fitness routines this year: Leading gyms saw an increase in the proportion of frequent visitors (4+ times a month) in Q1 2025 compared to the already significant percentage of frequent visitors in the first quarter of 2024.
Elevated visitor frequency could mean that gym-goers are getting more value out of their memberships than last year, and are therefore more likely to stay signed up throughout the year.
At the same time, the data also reveals that – contrary to what may be expected – a fitness chain’s share of frequent visitors appears to be independent of the cost of membership associated with the club: Life Time, a high-end club, and EōS Fitness, a value-priced gym, had the highest shares of frequent visitors between January 2024 and March 2025. This suggests that factors other than cost, such as location convenience, class offerings, community, or individual motivation, might be more influential in driving frequent gym attendance.
Segmenting the fitness industry by membership price tiers – value-priced, mid-range, and high-end – can reveal further insights on current consumer behavior around out-of-home fitness.
In Q1 2025, the captured market* median household income (HHI) was higher than the nationwide median HHI ($79.6K/year) across all price tiers – suggesting that even value-priced fitness chains are attracting a relatively affluent audience. This could indicate that gym memberships are somewhat of a luxury and that consumers from lower-income households gave up their gym memberships altogether as they tightened their purse strings.
Analyzing the historical data since Q1 2022 also reveals that the captured market median HHI has risen consistently over the past couple of years with the largest median HHI increase observed in the captured trade areas of high-end fitness chains. This suggests that middle-income households – that are more sensitive to the rising cost of living – likely swapped pricier gym memberships for more affordable options in recent years.
These metrics indicate that fitness chains at all price tiers need to think strategically about the value they offer and the amenities that can engage budget-conscious consumers who are carefully weighing every expenditure.
*Captured trade area is obtained by weighting the census block groups (CBGs) from which the chain draws its visitors according to their share of visits to the chain and thus reflects the population that visits the chain in practice.
Fitness clubs of all types need to manage their capacity to ensure health and safety standards and a positive experience for members. And understanding the average amount of time visitors spend at the gym can help fitness chains at every price point keep their finger on the pulse of their facilities.
Between Q1 2022 and Q1 2025, the average visit length increased at value-priced, mid-range, and high-end gyms. Value-priced gyms experienced the largest increase in average visit length – from 72.4 minutes in Q1 2022 to 74.0 minutes in Q1 2025 – perhaps due to their relatively lower-income visitors spending more time enjoying club amenities after cutting back on other forms of recreation. Meanwhile, mid-range and high-end gyms experienced relatively modest increases in average visit length, which were higher to begin with – likely due to their ample class and spa offerings and overall inviting, upscale spaces.
Elevated average visit length could mean that visitors are well-engaged and less likely to cancel their memberships. But as overall gym visits are on the rise, fitness chains may want to pay close attention to how long visitors spend at the facility. Floorplan and equipment improvements could be considered in order to reduce bottlenecks, and having trainers available to instruct on equipment usage and workout technique could help gym-goers streamline workouts.
Along with average visit length, understanding the daypart in which they receive the most visits is another way that fitness chains can improve efficiency and prevent overcrowding. And analysis of the hourly visits to fitness sub-segments revealed that some fitness segments receive more morning visits while others are more popular in the evenings.
In Q1 2025, high-end chains received a larger share of visits between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. (19.7%) than value-priced and mid-range fitness chains (11.6% and 11.8%, respectively). Meanwhile, value-priced and mid-range fitness chains received larger shares of visits between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (21.9% and 22.2%) than high-end chains (16.5%).
Gyms can leverage this data to better serve members, for instance by scheduling more classes during peak hours. Value-priced and mid-range gyms, which saw a larger disparity between shares of morning and evening visits in Q1 2025, might also consider incentivizing off-peak usage through discounted morning memberships or early-bird snack bar deals.
The fitness space appears to be in good shape in 2025. Visits have made a full recovery from the pandemic era and still continue to grow, indicating strong consumer demand for out-of-home workouts. And using location intelligence to analyze the behavior and demographics of visitors to gyms at different price points can help identify opportunities for driving even greater success.
1. Idaho and South Carolina have emerged as significant domestic migration magnets over the past four years. Between January 2021 and 2025, both states gained over 3.0% of their populations through domestic migration. Other Mountain and Sun Belt states – including Nevada, Montana, and Florida – also drew significant inflow, while California, New York, and Illinois experienced the greatest outmigration.
2. Interstate migration cooled noticeably in 2024. During the 12-month period ending January 2025, California, New York and Illinois saw their outflows slow dramatically, while domestic migration hotspots like Georgia, Texas, and Florida saw inflows flatten to zero. A similar cooling trend emerged on a CBSA level.
3. Still, some states continued to see notable relocation activity over the past year. In 2024, Idaho, South Carolina, and North Dakota drew the most relocators relative to their populations. And among the nation’s ten largest states, North Carolina led with an inflow of 0.4%.
4. Phoenix remained a rare bright spot among the nation’s ten largest metro areas. The CBSA was the only major analyzed hub to maintain positive net domestic migration through 2024.
Over the past several years, the United States has experienced significant domestic migration shifts, driven by factors like remote work, housing affordability, and regional economic opportunities. As some areas reap the benefits of population inflows, others grapple with outflows tied to higher living costs and evolving workplace dynamics.
This report dives into the location analytics to explore where Americans have moved since 2021 – and how these patterns began to change in 2024.
Since 2021, Americans have flocked toward warmer climates, expansive natural scenery, and more affordable housing options – particularly in the Mountain and Sun Belt states.
Between January 2021 and January 2025, South Carolina led the nation in positive net domestic migration – drawing an influx of newcomers equivalent to 3.6% of its January 2025 population. (This metric is referred to as a state’s “net migrated percent of population.”) Next in line was Idaho with a 3.4% net migrated percent of population, followed by Nevada, (2.8%), Montana (2.8%), Florida (2.1%), South Dakota (2.1%), Wyoming (2.0%), North Carolina (2.0%), and Tennessee (1.9%). Texas saw positive net migration of just 0.9% during the same period. However, the Lone Star State’s large overall population means a substantial number of newcomers in absolute terms.
Meanwhile, California (-2.2%), New York (-2.1%), and Illinois (-1.9%) experienced the greatest outflows relative to their populations. This exodus was driven largely by soaring housing costs and the rise of remote work, which lowered barriers to moving out of high-priced areas.
Between January 2024 and January 2025, many of the same broad patterns persisted, but at a more moderate clip – suggesting a stabilization of domestic migration nationwide. This leveling off could reflect factors such as rising mortgage interest rates, which dampened home buying and selling, as well as the increased push for employees to return to the office.
Still, South Carolina (+0.6%) and Idaho (+0.6%) remained among the top inflow states. The two hotspots were joined – and slightly surpassed – by North Dakota (+0.8%), where even modest waves of newcomers make a big impact due to the state’s lower population base. A wealth of affordable housing and a strong job market have positioned North Dakota as a particularly attractive destination for U.S. relocators in recent years. And Microsoft and Amazon’s establishment of major presences around Fargo has strengthened the region’s economy.
Meanwhile, California (-0.3%), New York (-0.2%), and Illinois (-0.1%) continued to post negative net migration, but at a markedly slower rate than in prior years. And notably, several states that had been struggling with outflow, such as Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Ohio, and Oregon, began showing minor positive inflow during the same 12-month window. As home affordability erodes in pandemic-era hot spots like the Mountain states and Sun Belt, these areas may emerge as new destinations for Americans seeking lower costs of living.
Zooming in on the ten most populous U.S. states offers an even clearer picture of how domestic migration patterns have stabilized over the past year. The graph below shows a side-by-side comparison of domestic migration patterns during the 36-month period ending January 2024 and the 12-month period ending January 2025.
California, New York, and Illinois saw population outflows slow dramatically during the 12 months ending January 2025 – while domestic migration magnets such as Georgia, Texas, and Florida saw inflow flatten to zero. Meanwhile, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania flipped from slightly negative to slightly positive net migration – incremental upticks that could signal a possible turnaround.
The only “Big Ten” pandemic-era migration magnet to maintain strong inflow in 2024 was North Carolina – which saw a 0.4% influx in 2024 as a result of interstate moves.
A closer look at the top four states receiving outmigration from California and New York (October 2020 to October 2024) reveals that residents leaving both states tended to settle in nearby areas or in Florida.
Among those leaving New York, 37.4% ended up in neighboring states – 21.1% moved to New Jersey, 9.2% to Pennsylvania, and 7.1% to Connecticut. But an astonishing 28.8% decamped all the way to the Sunshine State, trading the Northeast’s colder climate for Florida sunshine.
Similarly, 20.1% of California leavers chose to stay nearby, moving to Nevada (11.5%) or Arizona (8.6%). Another 19.1% moved to Texas, and 8.0% moved to Florida, making it the fourth-largest destination for Californians.
Zooming in on CBSA-level data – focusing on the nation’s ten largest metropolitan areas, all with over five million people – reveals a similar picture of slowing domestic migration over the last year.
Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. – four cities that experienced notable population outflows between January 2021 and January 2024 – saw those outflows flatten considerably. For these metros, this leveling-off may serve as a promising sign that the waves of departures seen in recent years may have begun to subside. Conversely, Houston and Dallas, which both welcomed positive net migration between January 2021 and January 2024, registered zero-net domestic migration in 2024. Atlanta, for its part, remained flat in both of the analyzed periods.
In Miami, however, outmigration persisted at a substantial rate. Despite Florida’s overall status as a domestic migration magnet, Miami lost 2.6% of its population to domestic net migration between January 2020 and January 2024 – and another 1.0% between January 2024 and January 2025. As one of Florida’s most expensive housing markets, Miami may be losing some residents to other parts of the state or elsewhere in the region. Meanwhile, Philadelphia, which lost 0.3% of its population to net domestic migration between January 2021 and January 2024, continued losing residents at a slightly faster pace in 2024 – another 0.3% just last year.
Of the ten biggest CBSAs nationwide, only Phoenix continued to see a net domestic migration gain through 2024 (+0.2%). This highlights the CBSA’s continued draw as a (relative) relocation hotspot even in 2024’s cooling market.
Who are the domestic relocators heading to Phoenix?
From October 2020 to October 2024, the top five metro areas sending residents to the Phoenix CBSA each registered median household incomes (HHIs) of $73K to $98K – surpassing Phoenix’s own median of $72K. This suggests that many of those moving in are arriving from wealthier, often more expensive metro areas – for whom even Phoenix’s high-priced market may offer more affordable living.
Overall, domestic migration patterns appear to have cooled in 2024, reflecting economic and societal trends that have slowed the rush from pricey coastal hubs to more affordable regions. Yet states like South Carolina, Idaho, and North Dakota – as well as metro areas like Phoenix – continue to attract new arrivals, paving the way for evolving regional demographics in the years to come.
