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Summer often brings out the latest fashion trends as consumers head for coastal cities, the beach, summer vacations, and the pool. Sometimes we see new trends catch fire altogether, but summer also tends to signal to shoppers that it’s time to revitalize classic products or items already in their closets in new ways.
L.L.Bean, the outdoor lifestyle retailer and brand, has always been at the center of repeat trends. Its New England heritage lends itself to fashion moments centered around preppy or Americana dressing, and its staple products like the L.L.Bean Boot and Boat and Tote have become longstanding favorites.
Over the past few years, the Boat and Tote product specifically has had its own renaissance as consumers once again flocked to this classic style. Another trend that we can thank TikTok for, the bag became a viral sensation in 2022 as creators would embroider ironic sayings onto their bags instead of the traditional monogram offered. This year appears to be a reinvigoration of this trend, and with new inspirations coming into the fold, such as the “Boatkin”, there is plenty of runway left for the Boat & Tote to keep L.L.Bean top of mind for shoppers. The Boat & Tote also reflects the change in consumer behavior over the last few years relating to branded products and logos – consumers are opting for more subtle designs without logos that can be used for everyday activities.
L.L.Bean retail locations have certainly benefited from the virality of the Boat & Tote. Looking at 2025 traffic performance year-to-date, visits are up almost 15% compared to 2024. Against the backdrop of challenging traffic for many retail chains, this number is even more impressive.
L.L.Bean stores also fit the mold of the current formula that is working in retail – large format stores that offer a wide variety of experiences, assortments, and services that keep customers engaged for longer, with the average dwell time at 32 minutes. Related to the renaissance of the Boat and Tote in 2025, L.L.Bean stores recently added a bag charm bar to locations for consumers to adorn their bags in unique ways, leaning into current trends being seen across the accessories category. Concepts like the charm bar could make the difference in consumers choosing to shop in store instead of simply ordering online.
L.L.Bean’s focus on its iconic products despite the change in trends over time has served the brand in attracting new shoppers with each passing generation. The chain attracts visitors across suburban and rural families, Young Professionals as well as Sunset Boomers. Different generations of consumers have all found their way to L.L.Bean retail locations for different reasons, but the core products that remain have outlasted other trends.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Office supplies behemoth Staples has faced a challenging few years, contending with stiff competition from online rivals and evolving office visit trends that have reduced demand for some of its core products. Consumer cutbacks in discretionary spending driven by recent inflationary pressures have also taken their toll on the retailer, which has closed dozens of stores over the past several years.
But by remaining agile and pivoting towards services and B2B offerings, Staples has defied expectations – showing how retailers can succeed by staying in tune with shifting consumer needs and habits. We dove into the data to explore Staples’ recent visit growth and some of the factors behind its current success.
Last month, Staples brought back its iconic “That Was Easy!” button, highlighting the chain’s mission to simplify customers’ lives through products and solutions. But though Staples’ impressive traffic resurgence might appear to have been effortless, its current growth is the result of a carefully orchestrated pivot towards meeting the practical demands of shoppers in 2025.
In addition to its staple (pun intended) office and school supplies, Staples is ramping up its business-focused services. The chain recently began a pilot with Verizon to expand its tech offerings – with the explicit purpose of offering the telecom giant access to more small business visitors. The company has also expanded its onsite services, offering everything from print-while-you-wait to travel-related options like passport photos.
And a look at Staples’ foot traffic over the past several months shows these efforts are paying off. Since January 2025, visits and average visits per location to Staples have been consistently elevated year over year (YoY), with the sole exception of February, when retailers across categories were impacted by stormy weather and the comparison to a leap year. And as the year has worn on, Staples’ visitation trends have only gotten stronger, with June seeing a 10.3% increase in overall foot traffic and a 13.2% increase in average visits per location compared to 2024.
Despite the challenges of the past several years – and the closure of dozens of stores since 2019 – Staples’ foot traffic is also now higher than it was pre-COVID. In Q2 2025, overall visits to the chain exceeded Q2 2019 levels by 5.6%. And each open store is seeing far more foot traffic than it did before the pandemic, with average visits per location rising by 23.9% over the same period.
Location analytics reinforce the notion that it is Staples’ pivot to services and B2B solutions that is largely fueling this comeback.
August, for example, has traditionally been Staples’ busiest month of the year, as students and families descend on the chain to stock up on back-to-school supplies. But in recent years, the month has become less of an outlier, with traffic spread more evenly across the calendar.
Moreover, the number of frequent visitors to Staples – i.e. those who return to the chain multiple times per month – has grown steadily since 2019. Between H1 2019 and H1 2025, the share of customers visiting Staples at least twice a month on average edged up from 12.0% to 12.8%, and the proportion of those making three or more monthly visits climbed from 3.5% to 4.9%. This shift points to a consumer base increasingly reliant on Staples for ongoing needs rather than episodic purchases.
Staples’ recent visit success sheds light on the power of pivoting to meet shifting consumer demands. By emphasizing services and leaning into B2B offerings, Staples has transformed itself into a go-to destination for new audiences – reinforcing the importance of adaptability and innovation in retail.
For more data-driven retail analyses, visit Placer.ai/anchor.
2025 is shaping up to be the year of the RTO mandate. Local governments and companies across industries – from AT&T to Amazon and Starbucks – have introduced stricter in-person requirements, with some even shifting back to a full five-day, in-office work week. Still, rolling out these mandates hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, and many workplaces still strive to strike a balance between RTO and WFH.
So how are these trends unfolding on the ground? Did the office recovery continue to stagnate as it did in May, or did the start of the summer reignite RTO momentum? We dove into the data to find out.
After losing a bit of steam in May, office visits regained their stride in June 2025. Foot traffic to the Placer.ai Nationwide Office Index was just 27.4% below pre-COVID (2019) levels – a significant improvement from June 2024, when it was down by 32.9%. While part of this uptick can be attributed to June 2024 having one fewer working day (19, compared to 20 in both 2019 and 2025), the data nevertheless points to meaningful RTO progress.
And looking at monthly fluctuations in office visits since June 2019 further highlights the month’s strong performance. Despite having only 20 working days, June 2025 ranked as the fourth busiest in-office month since the pandemic, trailing only October 2024, July 2024, and April 2025 – each with 22 working days.
Once again, Miami and New York led the RTO charge, with both cities nearing a full post-pandemic recovery. Miami posted just a 4.2% gap compared to June 2019, while New York recorded a 5.3% deficit – putting them both well ahead of the nationwide average. Sunbelt cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston also outperformed the U.S. overall, reflecting a robust return to workplaces in these regions.
Most of the cities analyzed also saw notable year-over-year (YoY) gains in June 2025 – partly attributable to this June’s extra work day. Los Angeles was the only hub to experience a YoY gap – potentially linked to last month’s local protests, which may have disrupted commuting routines for some employees. Houston, for its part, lapping a storm-ridden June 2024, recorded an impressive 17.2% YoY bump. And though San Francisco remained farthest from its pre-pandemic attendance levels, the city maintained its strong YoY streak, suggesting steady recovery in its tech-heavy landscape.
Overall, June’s data indicates that RTO mandates and hybrid strategies are helping fuel a meaningful rebound in office attendance. While the road to full recovery is still unfolding, these positive trends point to an office environment that is very much alive and evolving.
How will the RTO continue to develop as the year progresses? Follow Placer.ai/anchor for more office visitation insights.
Consumer anticipation of potential tariffs on goods in 2025 has varied across retail categories. Some segments allow consumers to plan purchases far in advance, while others require a “read and react” approach. In general, consumers appear to have followed the latter strategy from late April to June 2025, as year-over-year (YoY) foot traffic returned to levels more in line with long-term trends. Still, this may shift as summer progresses.
One specific category that has been interesting to watch is baby products. Because these purchases are tied to specific life events, they tend to be driven by necessity rather than desire – leaving shoppers with little flexibility to time their buying. At the same time, baby items may face a disproportionate impact from potential tariffs due to their manufacturing sources, giving consumers an incentive to make purchases sooner rather than later.
Against this backdrop, have consumers changed their visit behavior regarding baby products? Data from baby registry Babylist’s physical showroom in Beverly Hills, CA – where customers can test and browse items in person before adding them to a registry – indicates that anticipation of tariffs may indeed be influencing shopping patterns in this space. Starting in April 2025, visits to the showroom began to rise, peaking in May before settling (though still elevated) in June. This trend suggests that new and expecting parents may have pulled forward purchases in order to secure products before potential price hikes, especially on higher-ticket items like strollers, car seats, or furniture.
An analysis of Babylist’s trade area using the STI:PopStats dataset shows that it caters to an affluent demographic: Between January and May 2025, the showroom’s captured market had a median household income of $112.6K, well above both nationwide ($79.6K) and California ($99.3K) baselines. This speaks to the notion that even higher-income consumers could be concerned about future price increases and potential shifts in demand due to tariffs.
Kohl’s provides another window into these shifts. Last fall, Kohl’s launched Babies”R”Us shop-in-shops across nearly 200 locations to expand its assortment and attract and retain shoppers. In our analyses of the program during the first few months post-launch, there hadn’t been much improvement in visitation trends compared to the total store fleet – and for most of early 2025, visits to the stores with Babies”R”Us underperformed the chainwide average.
However, in May and June 2025, Kohl’s locations featuring Babies”R”Us outpaced the chainwide YoY foot traffic. While overall visits were still down, these specific stores saw smaller declines than their counterparts.
One possible factor behind this trend may be the demographic mix at Kohl’s with Babies”R”Us. These stores draw more family-oriented visitor segments – such as Wealthy Suburban Families, Upper Suburban Diverse Families and Near-Urban Diverse Families – than the overall Kohl’s fleet. The family orientation of the Kohl’s + Babies”R”Us stores and the potential focus on the baby category in the midst of potential socioeconomic changes may have combined to help improve the trend at these sites.
How should retailers that carry baby items respond? The baby category is poised to be greatly disrupted due to potential tariff implementation and price increases are likely to hit store shelves. Consumers, for their parts, are clearly aware of potential cost changes and are reacting quickly to adjust their retail behavior. Retailers will need to continue to communicate value and product knowledge to shoppers, especially first-time parents. And creative problem solving will be critical to maintaining product assortment and quality for shoppers over the months and years to come.
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.
In June 2025, shopping center traffic fell slightly following two straight months of year-over-year (YoY) visit growth – although indoor malls continued to show the strongest performance, with just a 0.7% drop in YoY June visits. (Open-air shopping centers and outlet malls saw YoY visit declines of 1.6% and 4.4%.)
The course reversal may suggest that the visit growth in April and May was at least partially driven by a pull-forward of consumer demand in anticipation of tariff-driven price hikes. By June, many of those purchases had likely already been made, and the resulting downturn in mall visits might represent a natural normalization of traffic rather than a new weakness in consumer demand.
Still, despite the June slow-down, shopping center traffic was mostly positive in H1 2025. Indoor malls led the pack, with YoY visits up 1.8%, while open-air shopping centers saw visits grow 0.6% YoY and outlet mall traffic remained relatively flat at -0.8%. And all mall formats experienced a rise in average visit duration – with indoor malls once again seeing the largest average dwell time increase of 3.3% – suggesting an improvement in visit quality and consumer engagement.
But while indoor malls led in terms of short-term growth, comparing current visitation to pre-COVID patterns revealed the longer-term strength of the open-air format – the only shopping center type to surpass pre-pandemic levels, with visits up 0.3% compared to H1 2019. At the same time, indoor malls' average visit duration has recovered more closely to 2019 levels – perhaps suggesting that visit quality is improving at indoor malls faster than the visit quantity.
Looking at quarterly visit data since the pandemic also highlights the visitation success of open-air shopping centers and the recent comeback of indoor malls.
Open-air shopping centers are the only type of mall where visits consistently met or exceeded pre-pandemic levels over the past two years, with Q2 '25 visits 2.7% higher than in Q2 '19. But indoor malls narrowed the gap significantly this past quarter – with Q2 '25 visits just 1.1% lower than in Q2 2019, marking their strongest performance since 2020 – suggesting that the post-pandemic indoor mall story is still being written.
While June's softness may reflect natural demand normalization after spring's tariff-driven shopping surge, the broader YoY H1 2025 trends show shopping centers generally exceeding last year's visit levels with average visit duration also on the rise. And while visit quantity and quality is generally not quite back to pre-COVID levels, the data suggests that the recovery story is very much still being written.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
Summer 2025 has arrived, and airports are gearing up for travelers heading out on long-awaited vacations.
We analyzed airport traffic on a nationwide, statewide, and DMA level to assess how the sector stands ahead of one of the year's busiest travel periods.
Summers are typically busy periods for airports as people head out to visit family and friends and take advantage of summer vacations. But going into the 2025 summer travel season, airport visits (excluding traffic from international visitors) have been lagging, with year-over-year (YoY) visits down since February 2025. And while some of the dip may be attributed to a normalization of traffic following the post-COVID recovery, the softer airport visitation trends could also indicate a slower travel season ahead.
Still, diving into airport visits by state reveals pockets of growth – specifically in New England and in the Northwest. Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island led the country in terms of YoY visit growth in May 2025, with Connecticut and New Hampshire also seeing positive YoY airport visit trends. In the Northwest, May 2025 airport visits also increased YoY in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota and Idaho.
The strong airport performance in these states indicates that certain regions – perhaps those with outdoor recreation appeal – are still seeing robust visitor activity despite the wider cool down.
Plotting May 2025 YoY airport visits by DMA on a map provides a visual representation of this trend – and highlights other pockets of airport visit growth throughout the country.
For example, while overall airport visits in Florida declined 4.3% YoY in May 2025, airport visits in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Panama City, and Ft. Myers-Naples DMAs all increased. And California, which saw an overall 3.0% dip in airport visits, also saw airport visit bumps in several DMAs, including Bakersfield, Monterey-Selinas, Fresno-Visalia DMAs.
These localized bright spots suggest that while the broader travel recovery may be plateauing, specific markets continue to show resilience and growth potential.
The overall decline in airport visits may suggest a cooling in domestic tourism ahead of summer 2025, perhaps marking the end of the broad-based travel surge of recent years. This shift away from widespread growth suggests that travelers are becoming more discerning in their travel choices, perhaps favoring destinations that offer authentic experiences, natural beauty, or seasonal advantages.
For more data-driven consumer insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.
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.
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.
