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Thanksgiving brought a healthy rise in movie theater traffic while still trailing 2024’s exceptional highs. The gap points to a growing reality in the theatrical space: In 2025, audiences show up strongest when franchises – and preferably, multiple franchises at once – lead the way.
Thanksgiving reliably drives a surge in theater visits, as families seek shared holiday activities and studios lean into the demand by releasing family-friendly blockbusters. This year was no different, when the release of Wicked: For Good on November 21st and Zootopia 2 on November 26th – both installments in well-established franchises – helped fuel a holiday bump. Movie theater visits climbed 218% higher than the YTD average for a typical Wednesday on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, while Black Friday traffic rose 103.2% above the average Friday so far in 2025.
Still, movie theater traffic fell significantly short of 2024 levels, dropping 27.9% on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and 31.7% on Black Friday. These gaps underscore just how extraordinary last year’s slate was, when Wicked and Gladiator II opened the Friday before Thanksgiving, followed by Moana 2 the next Wednesday. These franchise titles – and, in the case of Wicked, a film backed by a major existing IP – produced unusually large attendance spikes throughout the 2024 holiday window.
Analyzing year-to-date traffic patterns at movie theaters reinforces just how dependent theaters have become on major franchise installments. Throughout 2025, nearly every pronounced traffic peak aligns with a franchise launch – from Captain America: Brave New World on Valentine’s Day to Minecraft in April, Jurassic World: Rebirth and Superman in July, and The Conjuring: Last Rites in September.
These weekends routinely spiked movie traffic over the release weekend – and the strongest releases produced multi-week periods of elevated visitation. As shown in the chart below, titles like Minecraft, Jurassic World, and the latest Mission: Impossible kept both weekday and weekend traffic meaningfully higher for two to four weeks – often until the next major blockbuster arrived.
The data suggests that moviegoing has shifted from a routine outing to an event-driven decision. Audiences aren’t heading to theaters just for the experience anymore – they go when a specific film feels worth the trip, typically a sequel or another piece of well-known IP. As a result, theaters no longer see steady week-to-week demand, though blockbusters can still drive weeks of elevated traffic.
As the holiday season continues, theaters have an opportunity to extend the strong, IP-driven momentum that has shaped 2025 so far. December brings a lineup of major sequels and family-friendly releases – including Avatar: Fire and Ash and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, both arriving the Friday before Christmas. These titles are poised to draw large holiday audiences and, if recent patterns hold, generate multi-week lifts that support not only theaters but the broader mix of surrounding businesses.
For more data-driven consumer insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) owns and operates some of the country’s most recognizable dining brands. The group carried solid traffic and sales momentum into Q3 2025, led by LongHorn and Olive Garden, positioning it for a successful holiday season.
We analyzed recent visit trends to see which concepts are driving Darden’s growth – and which are likely to drive big gains during the holiday season.
After a softer start to 2025, Darden’s visit growth strengthened as the year progressed. Portfolio-wide traffic increased 2.3% year over year (YoY) in Q2 and 3.0% in Q3, supported in part by an expanding footprint. Most analyzed months also posted YoY gains, with October closing the period on a strong note at a 4.5% traffic increase. And the company’s steady visit growth has helped boost sales, reflected in recent results with Q3 FY25 sales growing by 6.2%, with blended same-restaurant sales up 0.7%.
Visit patterns across Darden’s three largest brands show that the company’s growth isn’t just coming from new unit expansion – it’s also being fueled by healthy same-restaurant performance.
Olive Garden posted steady same-restaurant gains throughout the period, ranging from 1.0% to 4.8%, while LongHorn delivered 0.9% and 6.0% YoY increases. As Darden’s two largest concepts, these brands remain the company’s key growth drivers, with Olive Garden’s value positioning and LongHorn’s affordability-focused messaging helping sustain elevated visit levels. Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen also contributed meaningfully, recording visit increases each month.
Taken together, the results underscore a resilient portfolio. Even as parts of the casual dining sector face pressure, Darden continues to grow visits across its flagship concepts.
In addition to its core brands, Darden operates a robust portfolio of smaller upscale concepts – several of which serve as major holiday-season traffic drivers. And early visit data suggests that these banners are poised for another strong seasonal performance, alongside the company’s flagship banners.
In 2024, Seasons 52 – Darden’s polished, seasonally-inspired brand – enjoyed a sizable visit boost during the weeks before and of Christmas as guests sought elevated, special-occasion experiences. Ruth’s Chris Steak House experienced a similar surge, reflecting strong holiday demand for premium steakhouse experiences. And although Yard House focuses more on beer and bar-forward fare, its ability to attract higher-income visitors helped deliver a modest seasonal bump as well. Meanwhile, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse also drew increased traffic as value-oriented diners leaned on familiar, crowd-pleasing offerings during the holiday period.
Fast-forward to 2025, and early foot-traffic trends suggest another strong holiday season for these banners. Visits across the last weeks of October through mid-November were broadly positive – and if current momentum carries forward, Darden’s elevated and casual dining concepts appear well-positioned to match or even surpass last year’s holiday strength.
Even in an economic climate marked by consumer caution, Darden is enjoying elevated visits. And this momentum seems poised to carry through both casual and upscale banners as the company approaches a high-traffic holiday season.
For the most up-to-date dining data, check out Placer.ai’s free tools.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
“Turkey Wednesday” – the day before Thanksgiving – is the Black Friday of the grocery sector. Shoppers flock to supermarkets nationwide to pick up everything from turkey to cranberry sauce. And for grocery retailers, the resulting traffic surge marks one of the most important days of the year.
So with the holiday just under our (admittedly, slightly loosened) belts, we dug into the data to see how this year’s milestone performed. Did economic uncertainty or online alternatives keep shoppers home? Or did the milestone drive results?
The data leaves little room for doubt: Turkey Wednesday delivered once again. On November 26th, 2025, visits to grocery stores surged 82.6% above the average day from November 2024 through October 2025. And across the full pre-Thanksgiving week (November 20th–26th), traffic climbed 26.8% above the weekly average.
Turkey Wednesday this year also outperformed 2024: Year over year (YoY), overall grocery visits increased 5.8% on Turkey Wednesday, while the average number of visits per individual location rose 4.8%. And looking at the entire week before Thanksgiving, overall traffic and average visits per location rose 5.1% and 4.1%, respectively.
Which grocery segments contributed the most to the pre-holiday traffic surge? Digging into the data for different grocery formats reveals a clear divide between Turkey Wednesday itself and the days leading up to the milestone, with each segment contributing at different moments.
On Turkey Wednesday, traditional supermarkets came out on top. Visits to chains like Kroger, Safeway, and H-E-B climbed 85.6% above their 12-month daily average, a larger jump than in 2024. Value and specialty chains also posted YoY gains that outpaced last year – though their spikes were smaller than those seen at traditional grocers.
But widening the lens to the entire week before Thanksgiving reveals a more nuanced picture. While traditional grocery chains dominated Turkey Wednesday itself, value grocery stores have become increasingly vital destinations during the broader pre-holiday period. Over the full week, value grocery visits rose 27.8% above their weekly baseline, edging out the 26.8% increase for traditional supermarkets.
This early-week advantage for budget chains suggests that many price-sensitive shoppers may be planning ahead, spreading trips across multiple days and hunting for better deals before the last-minute rush.
Daily visit patterns further highlight the split between early value planners and day-of shoppers. As the chart below shows, value grocery chains consistently outperformed traditional grocers from Thursday, November 20th through Tuesday, November 24th, as shoppers did the bulk of their shopping. Specialty grocers also kept close pace with traditional supermarkets during this period, occasionally pulling slightly ahead.
Then, on Turkey Wednesday, traditional grocery took the lead with a 104.1% jump over a typical Wednesday – well above the other segments. When shoppers move into last-minute mode, it’s the traditional chains’ broad assortments and familiar layouts that draw them in for those final items.
But while value grocers benefit most from the early phase of holiday shopping, visit-duration data shows that the two-phase pattern plays out across all segments. Between November 20th and 25th, average dwell times rose across grocery formats, peaking on Monday and Tuesday for traditional chains and over the weekend for value and specialty grocers.
Then, on Turkey Wednesday, dwell times eased back from those peak levels – reflecting a shift toward faster, more targeted trips to grab missing ingredients or finalize meal prep. The shift from longer, more deliberate outings to shorter, last-minute stops underscores the two-step rhythm of Thanksgiving shopping: thoughtful planning early on, followed by efficient wrap-ups as the holiday approaches.
Differences between segments notwithstanding, leading grocery chains across formats saw meaningful YoY traffic gains, both on Turkey Wednesday and during the full pre-holiday week. As shown by the chart below, major chains from Trader Joe’s to Meijer experienced YoY increases in the average number of visits to each location during the pre-Thanksgiving rush, pointing to widespread sector-wide strength during the milestone.
Grocery’s strong performance on Turkey Wednesday – the first big milestone of the holiday period – offers a welcome sign of shopper resilience in a season defined by concerns over confidence.
And as the festive season continues, grocery chains across formats can use these insights to refine their layouts, promotions, and assortments to capture even more pre-holiday traffic. Traditional grocery chains, for example, may look to strengthen their value-focused offerings to appeal to early planners in the pre-Christmas period, while value grocers might consider strategies to capture more of the last-minute traffic that intensifies as the holiday approaches.
For more data-driven grocery insights check out Placer.ai’s free industry trends tool.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
The holiday season is apparel’s time to shine. Steep seasonal markdowns draw budget-conscious consumers eager to save a few bucks on refreshing their wardrobes, while a wide array of gift options entices those hunting for that perfect sweater their sister would never buy for herself.
But to make the most of this opportunity, retailers need to understand their shoppers. Who is driving holiday visit traffic to clothing stores – and what are they after?
If last year is any indication, off-price brands will likely see a steady climb in visits from early November onward, fueled by continuous markdowns and the treasure-hunt appeal of new inventory. Traditional apparel retailers, by contrast, are more likely to see sharper, event-driven spikes – especially around key milestones like Black Friday.
The two apparel categories also differ in how shoppers spend their time once they’re in-store.
Traditional retailers see visit durations rise on Black Friday, as shoppers looking to restock their closets take time to browse and try on clothes. But during key December milestones like Super Saturday and the days leading up to Christmas, dwell times actually dip below average as shoppers focus on quick gift purchases rather than personal shopping.
Off-price retailers, on the other hand, sustain longer dwell times throughout most of the season. This suggests that many off-price shoppers are combining gift buying with taking advantage of seasonal prices to purchase clothing for themselves and their families. Only on Christmas Eve do visit durations to off-price retailers fall below average, as shoppers make their final dash for stocking stuffers.
Unsurprisingly, off-price retailers draw less affluent shoppers than traditional apparel chains. But during the holiday shopping season, both segments attract broader audiences than usual. Last December, the captured markets of both types of retailers included higher shares of middle- and lower-income consumers that may not typically splurge on new clothes – though as illustrated by the chart below, the shift was more pronounced for off-price retailers.
While off-price retailers have seen stronger foot traffic trends this year, the holidays remain a critical period for both segments. And by understanding shifts in consumer behavior, retailers across apparel categories can better tailor their strategies to capture demand:
For more data-driven apparel insights check out Placer.ai’s free industry trends tool.
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.
Visits to DICK’S Sporting Goods remained below 2024 levels through most of 2025, but the year-over-year (YoY) gap has narrowed – improving from -6.0% in Q1 to -2.6% in Q3. This YoY visit gap is partly due to store closures: Over the past year, DICK’s has closed several locations, leading to a drop in its total unit count. And monthly data points to renewed momentum for Q4 – October visits climbed 2.2% YoY, marking the company’s strongest performance of the year and a promising sign for the holiday season.
DICK’s solid positioning ahead of the holidays is also supported by recent sales results. For the quarter ending August 2nd, 2025, comparable sales rose 5.0% YoY, driven primarily by a 4.1% increase in average ticket size and supported by a 0.9% uptick in transactions – with e-commerce once again outpacing overall company performance.
The retailer is also deepening its digital engagement through its Game Changer youth sports app, which last quarter reached 7.4 million unique active users. At the same time, DICK’S recent acquisition of Foot Locker opens new opportunities to drive in-person shopping growth, while its expanding House of Sport concept strengthens the brand’s experiential footprint.
As the all-important holiday season approaches, will DICK’S continue to grow its foot traffic? Or will inflation fatigue keep shoppers at home?
Follow Placer.ai's data driven retail analyses to find out what lies ahead for DICK’S.
Consumer sentiment has fallen to historic lows as financial strain and inflation fatigue take their toll. Yet some retail categories continue to see steady visit growth, and dollar stores are among the standouts.
We dove into the visit data for two major players in the space – Dollar Tree and Dollar General – to see how they are faring in 2025.
Dollar Tree and Dollar General are entering the final quarter of the year on the tails of consistent, meaningful visit growth, with visits to both chains elevated every quarter from Q1 2024 onward. These results are consistent with both chains’ reporting, with Dollar Tree’s Q2 2025 net sales up 12.3% YoY, and comp sales rising 6.5%. Dollar General delivered similarly steady growth, with Q2 2025 net sales up 5.1% while same-store sales grew 2.8%.
Monthly visits, like quarterly trends, were elevated, with a notable uptick in October. Dollar Tree’s YoY visits climbed from -0.1% in September to 2.8% in October, while Dollar General’s rose from 4.4% to 6.0% over the same period, likely driven by Halloween shopping and early seasonal momentum ahead of the holidays.
Both brands continue to focus on expanding their fleets, signalling that both Dollar Tree and Dollar General are confident that their value propositions will continue to resonate with shoppers.
Dollar Tree and Dollar General continue to grow, propelled by consumers’ ongoing prioritization of value and affordability. As the holiday season approaches, both retailers seem well-positioned to capture increased traffic and spending from cost-conscious shoppers.
For the most up-to-date retail insights, check out Placer.ai’s free tools.
Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the US. The data is trusted by thousands of industry leaders who leverage Placer.ai for insights into foot traffic, demographic breakdowns, retail sale predictions, migration trends, site selection, and more.
In today’s retail landscape, consumer behavior is influenced by a multitude of factors, directly impacting the success of products and brands. This report explores the latest trends in value perception, shopping behavior, and media consumption that impact which brands consumers are most likely to engage with – and how.
In the apparel space, consumers continue to prioritize value and unique merchandise.
Analysis of visits to various apparel categories reveals a steady increase in the share of visits going to off-price retailers and thrift stores at the expense of traditional apparel chains.
And the popularity of off-price chains and thrift stores appears to be widespread across multiple audience segments. Analyzing trade area data with the Experian: Mosaic psychographic dataset reveals a clear preference for second-hand retailers among both younger (ages 25-30) and older (51+) consumer segments. Meanwhile, middle-class parents aged 36-45 with teenagers – the “Family Union” segment – are significantly more likely to shop at off-price apparel stores, highlighting their emphasis on buying new, while saving both time and money.
This suggests that the powerful blend of treasure-hunting and deep value, central to both the off-price and thrift experiences, is driving traffic from a variety of audiences, and that other industries could benefit from combining affordability with the allure of unique products.
Diving deeper into the location intelligence for the apparel space further highlights thrift and off-price’s broad appeal – and that a combination of quality and price motivates consumers to visit different retailers.
Between 2019 and 2024, the share of Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom visitors that also visited a Goodwill or Ross Dress for Less increased significantly.
And while this could mean that the current economic climate is causing some higher-income consumers to trade down to lower-priced retailers, it could also be that consumers are prioritizing sustainability and seeking value in terms of “bang for their buck” – shopping a combination of retailers depending on the cost versus quality considerations for each purchase.
Consumers increasingly expect to shop on their own terms, opting for a more flexible shopping experience that blurs the lines between traditional retail channels and categories.
Superstores and warehouse stores, for example, often evoke the image of navigating aisle after aisle of nearly every product imaginable – a time-consuming endeavor given the sheer size of their stores. But the latest location intelligence shows that more consumers are turning to these retailers for super-quick shopping trips.
Between 2019 and 2024, the share of visits lasting less than ten minutes at Target, Walmart, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sam’s Club, and to a lesser extent Costco, rose steadily – perhaps due to increased use of flexible BOPIS (buy online, pick-up in-store) and curbside pick-up options. These stores may also be seeing a rise in consumers popping in to grab just a few items as-needed or to cherry-pick particular deals to complement their larger online shopping orders.
This trend highlights the demand for frictionless store experiences that allow visitors to conveniently shop or pick up orders even at large physical retailers.
And the breaking down of traditional retail silos isn’t limited to big-box chains. Diving into the data for quick service restaurants (QSR), fast casual chains, and grocery stores indicates that more consumers are also looking for new ways to grab a convenient bite.
Since 2019, grocery stores have been claiming an increasingly large share of the midday short visit pie – i.e. visits between 11:00 AM 3:00 PM lasting less than ten minutes – at the expense of QSR chains. This suggests that consumers seeking quick and affordable lunches are increasingly turning to grocery stores to pick up a few items or take advantage of self-service food bars. Notably, the rise in supermarket lunching hasn’t come at the expense of fast-casual restaurants, which have also upped their quick-service games – and have seen a small increase in their share of the quick lunchtime crowd over the past five years.
While some of QSR’s relative decline in short lunchtime visits could be due to discontent with rising fast-food prices, it’s clear that an increasing share of consumers see grocery and fast-casual chains as viable options during the lunch rush.
In 2025, tapping into hot trends and creating viral moments are among the most powerful tools for amplifying promotions and driving foot traffic to physical stores.
Retailers across categories have successfully harnessed the power of pop culture collaborations to generate excitement – and visits – by leaning into trending themes. On October 8th, 2024, for example, Wendy’s launched its epic Krabby Patty Collab, inspired by the beloved SpongeBob franchise. And during the week of the offering, the chain experienced a remarkable 21.5% increase in foot traffic compared to an average week that year.
Similarly, Crumbl – adept at creating buzz through manufactured scarcity – sparked a frenzy with the debut of its exclusive Olivia Rodrigo GUTS cookie. Initially available only at select locations near the artist’s concert venues, the cookie was launched nationwide for a limited time from August 19th to 24th, 2024. This buzz-driven release resulted in a 27.7% traffic surge during the week of the launch, as fans rushed to get a taste of the star-studded treat.
And it’s not just dining chains benefiting from these pop-culture moments. On February 16th, 2025, Bath & Body Works launched a Disney Princess-inspired fragrance line, perfect for fans of Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Moana, and Tiana. The collaboration resonated, fueling a 23.2% visit spike for the chain.
While tapping into existing pop-culture trends has the ability to drive traffic, so does creating a new one. Analysis of movie theater visits on National Popcorn Day (Sunday, January 19th, 2025) shows how initiating a trend can spur social media engagement and impact in-person traffic to physical retail spaces.
National Popcorn Day was a successful promotional holiday across the movie theater industry in 2025. Both Regal Cinemas and AMC Theatres offered popcorn-based promotions on the day, but Cinemark’s “Bring Your Own Bucket” campaign, in particular, appears to have spurred a significant foot traffic boost during the event.
Visits to Cinemark on National Popcorn Day in 2025 increased 57.5% relative to the Sunday visit average for January and February 2025, as movie-goers showed off their out-of-the-bucket popcorn receptacles on social media. Clearly, by starting a trend that invited creativity and expression, Cinemark was able to amplify the impact of its National Popcorn Day promotion.
Location intelligence illuminates some of the key trends shaping consumer behavior in 2025. The data reveals that value-driven shopping, demand for flexibility across touchpoints, and the power of unique retail moments have the power to drive consumer engagement and the success of retail categories, brands, and products.
Placer.ai observes a panel of mobile devices in order to extrapolate and generate visitation insights for a variety of locations across the U.S. This panel covers only visitors from within the United States and does not represent or take into account international visitors.
Downtown districts in the nation’s major cities attract domestic travelers all year long with their iconic sights, lively entertainment, and diverse dining offerings. But each hub follows its own rhythm, shaped by distinct seasonal peaks and dips in visitor flow.
This white paper examines downtown hotel visitation patterns in four of the nation’s most popular destinations for domestic tourists: Miami, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Focusing on 20 downtown hotels in each city, the analysis explores seasonal variations in domestic travel, city-specific dynamics, and differentiating factors.
Domestic tourism has rebounded strongly in recent years, and hotels in Miami and Chicago have been the biggest beneficiaries. In 2024, visits to analyzed hotels in each of these cities’ downtown areas grew by 8.9% and 7.4%, respectively, compared to 2023. Meanwhile, hotels in downtown and midtown Manhattan saw a more modest 2.0% increase, while Los Angeles experienced a slight year-over-year (YoY) decline in downtown hotel visits.
One factor that may be driving Miami and Chicago’s stronger performance is their higher proportion of long-distance visitors, defined as those visiting from over 250 miles away. Miami remains a top destination for snowbirds and spring breakers, while Chicago serves as a cultural and entertainment hub for the sprawling Midwest. These long-distance leisure travelers may be more likely to splurge on downtown hotel stays during their trips, helping drive hotel visit growth in the two cities.
By contrast, hotels in the Los Angeles and Manhattan city centers drew lower shares of domestic travelers coming from less than 250 miles away. These shorter-haul domestic tourists may be less likely to splurge on downtown hotels than those taking longer vacations. Both cities are also surrounded by numerous regional getaway options that can draw long-haul leisure travelers away from their downtown cores.
Each of the four analyzed cities has its own unique ebbs and flows – and city center hotel visits reflect these patterns. Miami, with its warm, sunny climate, experiences influxes of tourists during the winter and spring, with March seeing the biggest jump in downtown hotel visits last year (13.0% above the monthly visit average). Chicago, which thrives in the summer with its many festivals and events, saw its biggest downtown hotel visit bump in August. Meanwhile, Manhattan experienced a major uptick in December, likely fueled by holiday tourism and New Year celebrations, and Los Angeles visits were highest in the summertime.
What drives these seasonal visit peaks? Miami has long been a top tourism destination, especially in early spring, when snowbirds and spring breakers flock to the city for sun and relaxation. In recent years, the city has seen a rise in short-term domestic tourism, suggesting that the city is becoming increasingly popular for weekend getaways. According to the Placer.ai Tourism Dashboard, the share of domestic tourists staying just one or two nights grew from 71.7% in March 2022 to 78.3% in March 2024.
This shift aligns with an impressive increase in the magnitude of downtown Miami’s springtime hotel visit peak: In March 2022, visits to downtown hotels were 5.0% above the monthly average for the year, a share that more than doubled by 2024 to 12.9%.
These numbers may mean that more people are choosing to head to Miami for a quick break from the cold – and staying in downtown hotels to make the most of their short getaway.
Chicago’s major August visit spike was likely driven by the Windy City’s impressive lineup of major summer festivals, from Lollapalooza to the Chicago Air and Water Show, which draw thousands of attendees from across the country.
Lollapalooza fueled the largest visit spike to the city – between Thursday, August 1st and Sunday, August 4th, visits to downtown Chicago hotels surged between 51.1% and 63.8% above 2024 daily averages for those days of the week. The Air and Water Show and the Chicago Jazz Festival also generated significant hotel visit increases – highlighting the boost these events bring to the city’s tourism and hospitality sector.
The Big Apple draws a diverse mix of visitors throughout the year. But in December – the city’s peak tourist season – visitors pour in from all over the country to skate in Rockefeller Center, browse Fifth Avenue’s festive window displays and experience the city’s unique holiday magic.
And analyzing data from hotels in midtown and downtown Manhattan reveals a striking shift in the types of visitors who stay in the heart of NYC during the holiday season. While visitors from other urban centers dominated downtown hotel stays throughout most of the year – accounting for 47.9% of visits from January to November 2024 – their share dropped to 42.0% in December 2024. Meanwhile, the share of guests from suburban areas and small towns rose from 37.3% to 41.0%, and the share of guests from rural and semi-rural areas nearly doubled, from 3.5% to 6.1%.
These patterns suggest that, though Manhattan typically attracts a wide range of visitors, the holiday season is uniquely appealing to tourists from smaller towns and suburban areas. Understanding these trends can provide crucial context for hotels and civic stakeholders alike as they work to maximize the opportunities presented by the city’s December visit surge.
Los Angeles hotels also experience significant demographic shifts during peak season. In July, visits to downtown LA hotels surged by 15.3% relative to the 2024 monthly visit average. And a closer look at audience segmentation data suggests a corresponding surge in the share of "Flourishing Families" – an Experian: Mosaic segment consisting of affluent, middle-aged households with children. Throughout the year, "Flourishing Families" comprised between 7.7% and 8.7% of the census block groups (CBGs) driving visits to downtown LA hotels. But in July, this share jumped to 9.9%.
These families may be taking advantage of summer vacations to enjoy Los Angeles’ cultural attractions and entertainment. Hotels and city stakeholders who understand the appeal the city holds for this demographic can better cater to them through family-friendly promotions and strategic marketing efforts to target these households.
Downtowns are making a comeback – and hotels in the heart of the nation’s major tourist hubs are reaping the benefits. By understanding who frequents these downtown hotels and when, local businesses and civic leaders can optimize their resource management and strategic planning to make the most of these opportunities.
The New York office scene is buzzing once again, as companies from JPMorgan to Meta double down on return-to-office (RTO) mandates. But just how did New York office foot traffic fare in 2024? How did Big Apple office foot traffic compare to that of other major business hubs nationwide? And how is New York’s office recovery impacting post-COVID trends like the TGIF work week? Are office visits still concentrated mid-week, or are people coming in more on Fridays and Mondays? And how has Manhattan’s RTO affected local commuting patterns?
We dove into the data to find out.
In 2024, New York City cemented its position as the nationwide leader in office recovery. Thanks in part to remote work crackdowns by banking behemoths like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan, visits to NYC office buildings in 2024 were just 13.1% below pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
For comparison, Miami’s office foot traffic remained 16.2% below pre-pandemic levels, while Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Boston saw significantly larger gaps at 28.6%, 37.8%, and 43.9%, respectively.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the Big Apple’s robust year-over-five-year (Yo5Y) recovery, the pace of year-over-year (YoY) visit growth to NYC office buildings was somewhat slower in 2024 than in other major East Coast business centers. Still, New York’s YoY office recovery rate of 12.4% outpaced the nationwide baseline, and came in just slightly below Washington, D.C.’s 15.2% and Atlanta’s 14.6%.
Interestingly, New York’s return to office has not led to a significant retreat from the TGIF work week that emerged during COVID. In 2024, just 11.9% of weekday (Monday to Friday) visits to NYC offices took place on Fridays – only slightly more than the 11.5% recorded in 2023 and significantly below the pre-pandemic baseline of 17.2%.
Meanwhile, Monday has quietly regained its footing as the dreaded start of the New York work week. After dropping significantly in 2022 and 2023, the share of weekday office visits taking place on Mondays rebounded to 18.2% in 2024 – just slightly below 2019’s 19.5%. Still, Tuesday remained the Big Apple’s busiest in-office day of the week last year, accounting for nearly a quarter (24.6%) of weekday NYC office foot traffic.
And diving into Yo5Y data for each day of the work week shows just how much New York’s overall recovery is driven by mid-week visits – and especially Tuesday ones. In 2024, Friday visits to NYC office buildings were down 40.2% compared to 2019. But on Tuesdays, visits were essentially on par with pre-pandemic levels (-0.3%), even as nationwide office visits remained 24.6% below 2019.
Another post-COVID trend that has shown staying power in New York is the growing share of office visits coming from employees who live nearby. As hybrid schedules become the norm, it seems that those commuting more frequently are often just a short subway ride -or even a stroll- away.
The share of NYC office workers coming from less than five miles away, for example, has risen steadily since COVID, reaching 46.0% in 2024. Over the same period, the share of workers coming from 5-10 miles, 10-15 miles, or 25+ miles away has declined.
Looking at commuting trends across the East Coast helps put New York City’s shift into perspective. In 2019, NYC’s share of nearby commuters was on par with Washington, D.C. and slightly below Boston. But while both cities experienced moderate increases in local commuters between 2019 and 2024, New York pulled ahead, outpacing all other analyzed cities in its share of nearby office workers last year.
Miami and Atlanta – two other standout cities in office recovery – also saw significant growth in the percentage of short-distance commuters over the past five years. This trend underscores a broader shift: As hybrid work reshapes commuting habits, employees across multiple markets are more likely to go into the office if they live nearby, reducing reliance on long-haul commutes.
As the nation’s office recovery leader, New York offers a glimpse into what other cities can expect as office visitation rates continue to improve. Even at just 13.1% below pre-pandemic levels, NYC office visit levels continue to rise. And as recovery nears completion, trends that took hold during COVID remain firmly entrenched.
