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About the Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: The Placer 100 Index for Retail and Dining is a curated, dynamic list of leading chains that often serve as prime tenants for shopping centers and malls. The index includes chains from various industries, such as superstores, grocery, dollar stores, dining, apparel, and more. The goal of the index is to provide insight into the wider trends impacting the retail, dining and shopping center segments.
In December 2024, retail and dining visitation slowed slightly, with overall visits to the Placer 100 Retail & Dining Index down 0.8% year over year (YoY). The December dip was likely due in part to an extra Saturday last year – the busiest day of the week for many retail and dining chains.
But comparing overall visits in November and December 2024 to the same months in 2023 shows that visits to the Placer 100 Index remained on par with 2023 levels (+0.0%) during the last two months of the year. So despite headwinds and a shorter shopping season (just 28 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, compared to 33 last year), brick-and-mortar retail and dining establishments ultimately attracted the same number of holiday season visits, all told, as they did last year.
Ever since the launch of Chili’s Big Smasher Burger promotion in late April 2024, YoY visits to Chili’s have been on the rise, buoyed by diners eager to indulge in a full-service experience at a QSR price point. And in December 2024, the chain once again topped the Placer 100 rankings, with visits to the chain up an impressive 21.0% YoY – fewer Saturdays notwithstanding.
Fitness clubs also figured prominently on December’s Placer 100 list, as did budget mainstay Aldi – underscoring the continued robust demand for no-frills, value-oriented grocery offerings. Notably, Family Dollar saw a 4.2% YoY increase in average visits per location – potentially reflecting the success of parent company Dollar Tree’s rightsizing efforts. Meanwhile, Big Lots saw a 5.2% YoY visit bump, likely fueled by strong consumer interest in its liquidation sales.
But value wasn’t the only winner of this year’s holiday season. Upscale department store Nordstrom enjoyed a substantial YoY visit uptick in November and December 2024 – with overall visits to the chain rising 6.5%. This stands in sharp contrast to the wider department stores sector, which experienced a 3.2% decline during the same period.
A look at the demographic profile of Nordstrom’s captured market shows that the chain’s success is likely due in part to its affluent – and young – customer base. In November and December 2024, the median household income of the census block groups (CBGs) from which Nordstrom drew its shoppers – weighted to reflect the share of visitors from each CBG – stood at $113.1K, significantly higher than the $81.3K median for the wider department store space. Nearly a third of Nordstrom's captured market (27.4%) was composed of “Ultra Wealthy Families” – compared to 9.5% for the sector as a whole. And unlike other department stores, which were slightly less likely than average to attract “Young Professionals,” that segment made up 9.7% of Nordstrom’s captured market, well above the nationwide baseline of 5.8%. As Gen-Z leads the charge back to malls, Nordstrom’s robust foothold among younger consumers bodes well for its future success.
Like many department stores, Nordstrom relies on the holiday season to bolster its annual bottom line – in 2024, November and December visits accounted for nearly a quarter (22.5%) of the chain’s total visits for the year. A strong performance during these critical months is a positive signal of good things to come – and with the chain being taken private by its founding family, we may see moves aimed at further solidifying Nordstrom’s position in the months ahead.
Despite fewer shopping days, the 2024 holiday shopping season proved resilient – with overall visits to the Placer 100 Retail & Dining Index remaining on par with 2023 levels. While value chains continued to dominate the rankings, upscale retailers like Nordstrom also enjoyed significant success. What trends will the Placer 100 Index uncover in the new year?
Visit placer.ai to find out.
About the Mall Index: The Index analyzes data from 100 top-tier indoor malls, 100 open-air shopping centers (not including outlet malls) and 100 outlet malls across the country, in both urban and suburban areas. Placer.ai leverages a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for visits to locations across the country.
Malls demonstrated their resilience once again in 2024, will traffic to the three shopping formats essentially on par with 2023 levels despite the ongoing consumer headwinds. Indoor malls and open-air shopping centers even saw slight increases – of 1.5% and 1.7% year-over-year (YoY), respectively – while outlet malls experienced a minimal visit decline of 0.4%.
So although YoY visits dipped at all three mall formats in December 2024 – likely due to the month having one less Saturday than December 2023 – malls appear well positioned going into 2025.
The 2024 traffic performance of each format may be correlated with the income levels of the format’s visitor base. Open-air shopping centers, which received the largest YoY visit boost, also attracted the most affluent visitors who were likely less impacted by the ongoing consumer headwinds. Meanwhile outlet malls – which saw slight YoY traffic dips – drew visitors from areas with the lowest household income.
The holidays are particularly busy for shopping centers as consumers shop Black Friday discounts, meet mall Santas, buy gifts, and hang out with family and friends. But comparing average daily visits between Black Friday (November 11th) and New Years Eve (December 31st) with average daily visits during the rest of the year (January 1st to November 28th) reveals that the holiday boost is not distributed equally across the three mall formats.
Outlet malls received the largest Holiday-driven visit boost and Indoor malls came in at a close second, with visits during the holiday season up 59.3% and 57.0%, respectively. Open-air shopping centers lagged behind the other two formats, with daily visits up just 31.4% compared to the rest of the year.
Diving deeper into the data reveals that weekdays receive the largest lift, with weekday traffic at indoor and outlet malls during the holiday season up 63.0% and 66.4%, respectively, compared to the non-holiday season daily average.
The holidays don’t just drive an increase in traffic – dwell time at malls also tends to be longer between Black Friday and New Years Eve when compared to the rest of the year. Visit length at indoor and outlet malls increased by an average of 4.7 minutes, while dwell time at open-air shopping centers grew by an average of 3.1 minutes.
Malls’ holiday success proves once again that shopping centers continue to play an important role in the wider retail landscape. How will indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls perform in 2025?
Visit placer.ai to find out.
With 2024 firmly in the rearview mirror, we look back on the year’s retail foot traffic trends and what they may signal for 2025. Read on for a closer analysis of the retail categories and states that excelled at driving growth.
Overall retail visits increased year-over-year for most months of 2024, with many of the sporadic visit gaps likely due to extraneous circumstances as opposed to any real consumer slowdown.
Last year’s largest YoY retail visit gap – in January 2024 – could be attributed to severe winter weather in large parts of the country. And the April, September, and December YoY visit dips are likely partially due to calendar shifts, with April 2024 affected by the Easter calendar shift and September and December disadvantaged by having one less Saturday than in 2023.
Still, looking at 2024 as a whole revealed that the year did outperform 2023, with overall retail visits up 0.4% – suggesting that consumer behavior remains resilient and that 2025 could mark a further turnaround if cooling inflation meets consumer expectations.
But diving deeper into the data reveals significant variation among the major retail categories. Discount & dollar stores (2.8% YoY growth) and superstores (1.7% YoY growth) came out ahead of the pack, highlighting consumers’ demand for value in the face of high prices and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile – and as might be expected in a period of financial strain – many discretionary retail categories lagged in 2024. The Furniture & Home Furnishings category in particular saw the steepest decline with negative visit trends from January to July 2024, but the category did finish strong with a 3.5% YoY increase in Q4 2024 visits – a promising sign for 2025.
Last year’s retail foot traffic gains were also unevenly distributed geographically.
While most states saw modest YoY visit growth, Maine (2.2%) and North Dakota (2.0%) topped the list in 2024. Notably, foot traffic in both states showed resilience during even the most challenging periods of the year.
In Maine, a recent increase in inbound domestic migration may have contributed to the state’s foot traffic success. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s large share of superstore and discount & dollar store traffic was likely behind its overall retail visit growth in 2024.
Analyzing 2024 retail trends revealed that consumers navigated uncertainty while showcasing resilience — a promising foundation for the new year. Will this momentum continue in 2025?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Florida emerged as a domestic relocation hotspot during the pandemic – and analyzing domestic migration trends over the past four years reveals that most newcomers to Florida have stayed in the Sunshine State. We dove into the data to find out just how big a piece of the domestic relocation pie went to Florida – and see where the newcomers came from, where they chose to settle, and which Florida destinations attracted the most affluent new residents.
Domestic migration picked up over the pandemic, as many Americans liberated from the constraints of in-person work chose to move to areas with more space, a lower cost of living, and better outdoor recreational opportunities.
The map below highlights the states that received net inbound domestic migration between July 2020 and July 2024, with the percentages representing the share of inter-state positive net migration welcomed by each state during the analyzed period.
As the map shows, Florida was one of the major beneficiaries of the recent domestic migration boom. Between July 2020 and July 2024, Florida received 24.7% of positive intra-state migration in the United States. (In other words, 24.7% of inbound net migration to states with overall positive net migration went to Florida.) Texas, another oft-discussed pandemic relocation hub, came in second, receiving a significantly smaller 17.6% of the total inter-state positive net migration pie.
Most of Florida’s recent population influx dates back to the Covid era – diving deeper into the monthly data reveals that the biggest jump in migration over the past four years took place between late 2020 and early 2022. And although inbound migration slowed somewhat in 2023 and 2024, the Sunshine State’s net migrated percent of population compared to a July 2020 baseline remained steady at about 2.5% to 3.1% (depending on the season). This means that 2.5% to 3.1% of Florida’s residents have moved there over the past four years – indicating that most people who moved to Florida at the height of the pandemic have remained in the Sunshine State.
So where is Florida getting its new residents from?
Analyzing net migration to Florida by state of origin reveals that Florida received net positive migration from most of the country during the analyzed period – but the influx from some states was particularly significant.
The map below charts the share of net migration to and from Florida by state of origin or destination between July 2020 and July 2024. The purple represents states from which Florida received net positive migration – more people moved to Florida from those states than the other way around – and the percentage indicates each state's share of the total net positive migration to Florida. The yellow represents states which received net positive migration from Florida – more people moved to those states from Florida than vice versa – with the percentage showing each state's share of the total net negative migration from Florida.
As the data shows, much domestic migration to the Sunshine State came from the Mid Atlantic region – with relatively expensive New York and New Jersey standing out as the biggest feeder states – as well as from Illinois and California, two more high-cost-of-living states. Illinois and the Mid Atlantic states also tend to have relatively cold winters. Meanwhile, Florida mostly lost residents to neighboring states and to Texas, with a much smaller share of its net negative migration going to Alaska, Michigan, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.
It is likely, then, that Florida’s affordability and mild winters served as significant migration draws.
People may be moving to Florida from all over the United States. But where are they moving to in the Sunshine State? Mapping domestic migration trends onto Florida’s metro areas reveals that most of the inbound domestic migration is concentrated in Central Florida. Indeed, just three Central Florida metro areas – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Lakeland-Winter Haven – accounted for nearly half (41.5%) of the total net positive migration to Florida during the analyzed period.
Although the Tampa, Orlando, and Lakeland metro areas are contiguous, the demographic profiles of new residents settling in the three CBSAs are quite different. For example, Tampa, which boasts the highest median household income (HHI) of the three metro areas ($65.1K, compared to $61.1K for Orlando and $55.1K for Lakeland), also drew the greatest share of domestic migrants from affluent areas (median HHI > $100K).
Each of the three central Florida CBSAs also attracted newcomers from different areas of the country. Tampa exhibited the most diversity, with its top 5 CBSAs of origins representing under 50% of total net migration to the metro area. Orlando, on the other hand, received almost 50% of its net domestic migration between July 2020 and July 2024 from just two metro areas: New York and Miami. And for Lakeland, over 50% of the inbound net migration came from within the Sunshine State – including 31.6% from the Orlando CBSA and 9.5% from the Tampa metro area.
It is likely, then, that newcomers to Tampa are coming mostly from wealthy areas throughout the country, while Orlando draws slightly less affluent – but still relatively high-income – newcomers from dense urban areas. Meanwhile, Lakeland appears to attract local Floridians who may be looking for a more affordable living situation without moving too far away from their current communities.
Thanks to its mild winters, affordability, and lifestyle appeal, Florida emerged as a major pandemic relocation destination, and recent migration data reveals that many of those who moved in between 2020 and 2024 have stayed in the Sunshine State. In particular, the central Florida hubs of Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Lakeland-Winter Haven attracted an outsize share of new Florida residents, with each metro area showcasing unique inbound migration patterns.
What will domestic migration patterns look like in 2025?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Christmas is a time for gathering at home, but it’s also an occasion when many Americans celebrate by treating themselves to a nice meal out with family and friends. So with the holiday season drawing to close, we dove into the data to see which dining segments benefited from the holiday cheer.
The holiday season is all about home-cooked meals, and most restaurants close on Christmas Day – so it may come as no surprise that visits to dining establishments dropped significantly on December 25th, 2024. Fast-casual and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) saw the steepest traffic declines of 92.7% and 83.2%, respectively, compared to a year-to-date (YTD) daily average. Meanwhile, full-service restaurants (FSRs), aided primarily by all-day breakfast chains (see below), saw visits dip by a relatively modest 58.0%.
On Christmas Eve, too, restaurant foot traffic slowed, with visits to fast-casual restaurants and QSRs dipping to 35.5% and 25.1%, respectively, below average levels. Once again, FSR led the pack with a smaller 11.0% visit decline. And on December 26th – the day after the holiday – full-service restaurants saw a 7.0% visit uptick, while QSRs and fast-casual saw visits hover just under daily averages.
But digging deeper into the data reveals a more nuanced picture of the Christmas dining scene. Throughout the holiday, some FSR segments and chains enjoy outsized visit spikes – cementing their roles as key holiday destinations for families seeking to ditch the kitchen chaos and enjoy a hassle-free, celebratory meal.
On Christmas Eve (December 24th, 2024), for example, visits to upscale and fine dining chains surged by a remarkable 54.4% compared to a YTD daily average – fueled by visit spikes at premium chains such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House (129.8%) and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (125.9%). Breakfast spots also enjoyed a significant 18.4% Christmas Eve visit bump, likely bolstered by seasonal offerings like Denny’s Holiday Turkey Bundle. Meanwhile, traffic at eatertainment chains and other casual dining restaurants slowed considerably – though some casual dining brands like experiential The Melting Pot and Benihana also bustled with activity.
On Christmas Day, it was breakfast chains that once again led the day – staying open to serve up hearty meals to those looking for an affordable holiday outing. Visits to leading breakfast spots, including segment leaders like Waffle House, IHOP, and Denny’s soared by 53.6% compared to a YTD daily average, with Waffle House in particular stealing the show with a 109.6% visit boost.
Still, Christmas Day diners also flocked to other full-service chains that kept their doors open. Fogo de Chão, which attracted celebrants with an indulgent seasonal menu, saw visits soar by 111.4%. And after increasing by 63.2% on Christmas Eve (see above), visits to Benihana surged by 103.9% on December 25th, reaffirming the restaurant’s place in holiday dining lore (“A Benihana Christmas”, it seems, isn’t just for fans of The Office).
On December 26th, all the analyzed FSR segments enjoyed visit bumps, as many Americans took the day off to extend the holiday cheer. But it was eatertainment chains that saw the most pronounced traffic boost (26.2%), buoyed by families and friends looking to unwind with good food and games – many armed with holiday gift cards.
But plenty of other FSRs also thrived on Boxing Day with impressive mid-week traffic increases, including perennial favorites like P.F. Chang’s (+35.2%), The Cheesecake Factory (+28.1%), and Buffalo Wild Wings (+26.1%).
Food remains at the heart of the holiday experience – with elevated dining, affordable comfort food, and eatertainment all adding to the festive spirit. And in 2024, restaurants delivered very merry results. How will the industry continue to perform in the new year?
Follow Placer.ai’s data-driven dining analyses to find out.
Insomnia Cookies, one of the first companies to innovate in the cookie retail space, is known for its late opening hours and classic cookie flavors. The company started in 2003 by selling fresh-baked cookies to college students and now operates over 300 locations globally. Meanwhile, Crumbl Cookies – known for its celebrity collaborations and intensely loyal social media fanbase – came onto the scene in 2017 and has since grown to over 1,000 franchised locations.
Both chains are expanding, and diving into the foot traffic data reveals that overall visits as well as average visits per location are still growing for both chains – indicating that the cookie craze is still going strong.
Analyzing visit growth at smaller cookie chains also highlights the strong demand for creative cookie concepts. Crave Cookies (established in 2022), Dirty Dough (2018), Chip Cookies (2016), and Chip City Cookies (2017) are all enjoying strong foot traffic growth relative to 2023, thanks in part to ongoing expansions. Like Crumbl and Insomnia, Crave Cookies, Dirty Dough, Chip Cookies, and Chip City Cookies are all growing their fleet – and the steady stream of store openings has driven consistent YoY visit growth.
The increasing visits to both the larger chains and the smaller cookie brands suggests that the demand for cookies has yet to peak and is likely to continue in 2025. And with these chains still looking to grow, how can location analytics uncover the best opportunities for growth?
A closer look at the demographic makeup of visitors to the analyzed cookie chains suggests that some of these chains’ consistently strong performance may be due to the relative affluence of their consumer base: The STI: PopStats dataset reveals that all of the chains' captured markets – with the exception of Insomnia Cookies – have higher shares of wealthy consumer segments than their potential one. (A chain’s potential market is obtained by weighting each Census Block Group (CBG) in its trade area according to population size, thus reflecting the overall makeup of the chain’s trade area. A business’ captured market, on the other hand, is obtained by weighting each CBG according to its share of visits to the chain in question – and thus represents the profile of its actual visitor base).
Among the analyzed chains, Chip City Cookies attracted visitors from the highest-income areas, with a captured market median HHI of $117.3K – $16.0K higher than its potential market median HHI of $101.3K. Crumbl, Crave, Dirty Dough, Chip, and Chip City also drew visitors from higher-income areas relative to their potential market median HHI.
In contrast, Insomnia Cookies was the only chain with a lower median HHI in its captured market relative to its potential market, likely reflecting its positioning as a late-night snack option for college students.
The relatively high-income of cookie consumers may be partially due to the chains’ popularity with suburban segments: According to the Spatial.ai: PersonaLive dataset, almost all the analyzed chains saw a higher share of “Upper Suburban Diverse Families” and “Wealthy Suburban Families” in their captured markets compared to their potential market. Meanwhile, the shares of “Young Urban Singles” and “Young Professionals” were lower across nearly all the analyzed chains’ captured market relative to their potential markets.
And once again, Insomnia Cookies stood out – the company’s captured market included an outsized share of “Young Professionals” and “Young Urban Singles,” perhaps due to the company's positioning as a late-night college campus favorite.
Taken together, this data suggests that, unless a chain is focused on acquiring a specific audience segment – like Insomnia did when targeting younger, less affluent consumers such as college students – most cookie chains are most likely to thrive in affluent suburban markets.
The enjoyment provided by a sweet treat is universal – but will these cookie chains retain their edge as the dessert shop market grows increasingly crowded?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up-to-date with the latest data-driven dining insights.
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.
