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In the wake of the devastating wildfires across the greater Los Angeles area, retailers—both local and national—have played a crucial role in providing relief, comfort, and a sense of community for those impacted. Retail is an industry that touches consumers’ lives daily, often more frequently than most other businesses. Because retailers fulfill a wide range of needs, they have become essential partners in supporting communities facing unimaginable crises.
In the immediate aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton Fires, retailers transformed their stores into donation hubs, offering displaced individuals essential items such as clothing and N95 masks. Major brands, including J.Crew, Gap Inc., and Free People, quickly repurposed their stores to serve as distribution centers. Free People even opened an entirely new shop in Santa Monica—Free Shop by Free People and FP Movement—where affected residents could book time slots to browse and collect necessary items. Beyond national retailers, Los Angeles-based brands also stepped up to support fire victims. Babyletto, a juvenile furniture brand, donated cribs to displaced families, while apparel company Big Bud Press launched new collections with proceeds benefiting the Pasadena Jobs Center.
While retail depends on consumerism, its role over the past month has extended beyond sales, making a profound impact on the local community. Many retailers in the discretionary sector opened their doors to directly assist affected families, demonstrating that physical retail spaces can be used for more than just commerce. By taking action on the ground rather than simply offering monetary donations, retailers provided immediate, tangible support to those in need.
Three specific retail locations in Los Angeles exemplified this effort, with Placer’s data revealing just how meaningful their initiatives were. Gap’s Santa Monica store was among the first to pivot toward relief efforts, distributing new Gap merchandise and PPE to community members beginning on January 11th. Alo Yoga’s Beverly Hills location provided care kits to impacted residents between January 14th and 16th. Meanwhile, Babylist, an online registry service with a physical showroom in Beverly Hills, hosted donation days on January 21st and 28th, allowing displaced families to shop for free and replace lost items.
Placer’s foot traffic estimates suggest that these relief efforts were well-received and widely utilized. Each of these locations saw an increase in visits during the weeks their relief initiatives took place, surpassing the average January baseline. The data underscores how critical these retailer-driven efforts were in supporting Los Angeles families and providing much-needed aid during a difficult time.
During Alo Yoga’s donation event from January 14th to 16th, there was a noticeable increase in visitation from across the greater Los Angeles area, drawing new traffic beyond the Beverly Hills neighborhood. Compared to January baseline trends, the week of January 13th saw a higher share of visits originating from 3 to 10 miles away. More significantly, visits also increased from 10 to 30 miles away, likely including individuals affected by the Eaton Fire. In contrast, visits from over 250 miles away declined, underscoring the sharp drop in tourism to Los Angeles during the peak of the wildfire crisis.
Babylist’s LA showroom opened its doors to families in need, offering a space to replace essential baby items lost in the fires. These relief events attracted a different visitor mix than the store typically sees, providing immediate support for young families and grandparents. According to PersonaLive’s visitor segmentation, during the weeks Babylist hosted its relief events, there was a higher distribution of visits from Educated Urbanites, Young Professionals, and Sunset Boomers. In contrast, the full-month January data showed a greater share of visits from Ultra Wealthy Families. This shift highlights how retailer-led relief efforts were actively utilized by those in need, reinforcing the critical role local businesses can play in supporting communities during crises.
Retailers play a vital role in the communities they serve, and their ability to provide immediate support in Los Angeles through physical stores allowed for faster distribution of donations and aid. The best-in-class relief strategies implemented by these retailers should serve as a blueprint for others to follow, reinforcing the importance of brick-and-mortar stores as essential community assets during times of crisis and recovery.
2024 was a challenging year for the restaurant industry, marked by increased competition from other food retail channels, intensified value wars, and rising operational costs, all of which contributed to a surge in bankruptcies. The start of 2025 has been equally difficult.
Despite these challenges, our data continues to show strong consumer demand for dining out. However, the way consumers interact with restaurants is evolving more than ever before. Below, we highlight several key shifts in consumer behavior that restaurant operators, suppliers, and investors should consider in the year ahead.
With Starbucks' renewed focus on its coffeehouse roots under CEO Brian Niccol, an important question emerges: have today’s restaurants become too complex? Starbucks originally built its brand as a “third place” away from home and work – an inviting space for customers to gather. However, this focus began shifting about a decade ago with the rollout of Mobile Order and Pay. As e-commerce surged in the early 2010s, consumers became accustomed to making purchases online or via mobile apps, making digital ordering a necessity for most retailers and restaurants. Yet, prioritizing convenience through mobile ordering and pickup created a disconnect with Starbucks’ experience-driven identity, leading to friction between its convenience-oriented and experience-focused customers.
This tension between experience and convenience has been a challenge for many restaurant operators in recent years. It explains why QSR chains have reduced store footprints while expanding drive-thru capacity, why fast-casual and casual-dining restaurants have increasingly adopted pickup and drive-thru windows, and why many chains now allocate dedicated space for delivery orders. Even Darden, long resistant to third-party delivery, ultimately embraced it to adapt to changing consumer behavior.
Visitation trends in 2024 reinforced the difficulty of balancing experience and convenience within the same restaurant model. Among chains with more than 100 locations, those with the highest year-over-year (YoY) growth in visits per location were largely drive-thru specialists, such as Raising Cane’s, In-N-Out Burger, 7 Brew Coffee, and PJ’s Coffee. Meanwhile, non-drive-thru leaders like CAVA and Chipotle thrived by focusing on customization, underscoring that consumers are willing to pay a premium for personalized experiences that align with their preferences.
The rise of convenience-based restaurants does not signal the end of experiential dining – far from it. Below, we’ve outlined monthly year-over-year (YoY) visit trends for major restaurant categories in 2024. While QSR value wars dominated industry headlines throughout the year, casual- and fine-dining chains actually outperformed the QSR segment in YoY visit growth.
Some of this success can be attributed to well-executed promotions, such as Chili’s "3 for Me" deal – which helped the chain finish just behind Raising Cane’s in visit-per-location growth for 2024 – and Buffalo Wild Wings’ "All You Can Eat Wings" promotion. However, the strong YoY performance of fine-dining chains further underscores that experience-driven dining remained highly in demand throughout the year.
We also see this trend reflected in dwell time across the restaurant industry. With the rise of drive-thru and takeout orders during and after the pandemic, combined with advancements in mobile ordering technology, it’s no surprise that dwell times for limited-service restaurants have remained below pre-pandemic levels (below). However, the opposite is happening in full-service restaurant categories, where dwell times are on par with or even exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
While many casual dining chains have seen an increase in takeout and delivery orders over the past few years, the growth of experiential dining concepts like Kura Sushi and GEN Korean BBQ, along with the continued expansion of eatertainment venues such as Topgolf, Puttshack, and Pinstripes—where dwell times often exceed 90 minutes—has helped maintain overall category dwell times. Meanwhile, the increase in dwell time for fine-dining establishments suggests that guests are making the most of their time when dining out, reinforcing the growing consumer preference for experience over convenience.
We've previously highlighted the importance of familiarity in consumer dining decisions, particularly in a challenging macroeconomic environment. With years of elevated inflation across food, rent, healthcare, and insurance, consumers have fewer discretionary dollars to spend. As a result, when they choose to dine out, they gravitate toward brands they know and trust.
In collaboration with the team at Bloomberg Second Measure, we analyzed data on the percentage of revenue generated from new customers at both full-service and limited-service restaurants. Our findings revealed a noticeable decline in new customer revenue during the second half of 2024, further reinforcing the idea that consumers are prioritizing familiarity when making dining choices.
This preference for familiar brands may be creating challenges for restaurant chains expanding into new markets. Traditionally, a new restaurant location in an unfamiliar market could expect to generate around 75% of the sales/visits seen in an established market—after an initial “honeymoon” phase when consumers try the brand for the first time. However, our data suggests that visit trends for restaurants entering new markets are now significantly lower than historical averages. Unsurprisingly, many operators have told us that their 2025 expansion plans will prioritize in-filling existing markets rather than expanding into new ones.
Portillo’s—the Chicago-based chain known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and char-grilled burgers—has experienced mixed visit trends when entering new markets. Below, we present visit per location trends for Portillo’s nationwide, in its home market of Chicago, and in several states where it has expanded in recent years. In its latest investor presentation, Portillo’s acknowledged that its average unit volumes are highest in its home market ($11.3 million in sales per location), compared to other Midwest markets ($6.0 million) and Sunbelt locations ($6.6 million). While these figures are still strong, they reflect the broader challenge that many restaurant brands face when expanding beyond their core markets.
Conclusion
As the restaurant industry navigates 2025, operators must strike a delicate balance between convenience and experience while adapting to shifting consumer preferences. The demand for dining out remains strong, but consumers are making more intentional choices, favoring trusted brands and prioritizing either speed and efficiency or immersive, experiential dining. At the same time, new market expansion presents growing challenges, with visit trends suggesting a preference for familiarity over novelty. As brands refine their strategies, those that successfully integrate innovation with operational excellence—whether through streamlined digital convenience, compelling promotions, or differentiated in-store experiences—will be best positioned for long-term success in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Sprouts Farmers Market and Dutch Bros. have seen impressive foot traffic growth over the past few years. We analyzed their visitation metrics for 2024 to understand what’s driving their continued success.
Both Sprouts and Dutch Bros. posted impressive visitation numbers throughout 2024, with visits for the full year elevated by 7.3% and 15.8%, respectively, compared to 2023. This momentum caps off several years of sustained growth – particularly for Dutch Bros. – which has expanded rapidly while maintaining consistent foot traffic increases. And though average visits per location at Dutch Bros. were slightly down YoY in 2024, the visit gaps were relatively modest – indicating that the chain is succeeding in expanding with minimal cannibalization to its existing venues.
Sprouts also expanded with dozens of new stores over the past year – and the chain’s foot traffic metrics suggest strong shopper interest in these openings. The health-forward grocer saw visits per location rise in the second half of the year, capping off Q4 2024 with a 5.0% YoY increase.
The two chains have kept their visit growth going into the new year. Weekly visits to both Sprouts and Dutch Bros. grew all weeks analyzed, a promising sign as 2025 gets underway.
Smoothies are having a major moment, fueled by the growing nationwide focus on health and wellness – an area where Sprouts has successfully positioned itself as a leader. Now, the chain is doubling down on its wellness-focused strategy by introducing smoothies at select locations.
Many Sprouts locations offer smoothies to go – but the chain has also been investing in in-store smoothie bars, allowing shoppers to enjoy a fresh, healthy drink while browsing or take one on the go. Visits to a Cerritos, California location jumped following the introduction of a smoothie bar in January 2025, with YoY monthly visits exceeding the Sprouts nationwide average for the first time in the analyzed period – perhaps thanks to excited reviews posted on social media.
By offering smoothies that are more affordable than some of the viral options trending online, Sprouts is solidifying itself as a go-to destination for shoppers seeking wellness-driven choices without breaking the bank.
While Sprouts is expanding into new beverage categories, Dutch Bros is focusing on building out its food offerings. The chain has traditionally been strongest in the afternoon and evening, bucking the usual trends for caffeine-focused brands. To that end, Dutch Bros. has focused on attracting more morning visitors, both by expanding its mobile ordering capabilities and by testing a new food menu in select locations.
The data suggests that the company’s focus on the morning daypart may amplify changes in Dutch Bros. consumer behavior that are already underway. Between January 2024 and January 2025, the share of visits during morning hours saw a small but meaningful uptick. The share of visits during the 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM daypart grew from 28.4% to 29.5% of daily visits, while the share of evening visits (4:00 PM to 9:00 PM) decreased. While the brand still maintains a strong presence later in the day, this shift could be a sign that Dutch Bros is successfully nudging consumers toward earlier-day coffee runs.
Sprouts and Dutch Bros. are thriving by gearing their offerings to their customer bases. By leaning into health-forward beverages and early-morning visits, the two chains are driving visits and interest.
For more data-driven insights, visit Placer.ai.
The off-price apparel space remains well-positioned as consumers continue to favor budget-friendly retailers. We dive into the latest location intelligence for the space – and category leaders Burlington, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and T.J. Maxx – to explore how the segment closed out 2024 and started off in 2025.
The leaders of the off-price apparel space – Burlington, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and T.J. Maxx – drove the success of the category last year. In 2024, Burlington’s visits increased (7.9%), as did visits to Marshalls (5.3%), Ross (0.7%) and T.J. Maxx (4.9%).
Zooming into H2 2024 reveals that Burlington, Marshalls, and T.J. Maxx saw consistent YoY visit growth. And although Ross Dress for Less saw mild visit gaps for some of the period, all four off-price apparel chains analyzed started the new year on a high note with January 2025 visits up across the board compared to the previous year.
Marmaxx, Ross, and Burlington expanded their real estate footprints in 2024 – likely contributing to the chains’ YoY visit increases. And all four retailers’ have plans to continue their expansion strategies in the coming years – putting them on a foot traffic growth trajectory for 2025.
The foot traffic growth of Burlington, Marmaxx, and Ross plays a significant role in the success of the off-price category, which has steadily increased its share of total apparel visits.
In Q4 2024, the off-price apparel category claimed a majority of the combined off-price and our traditional apparel category visits (51.9%) for the first time since at least 2019. This demonstrates the segment’s strong holiday performance and continued resilience in the face of economic headwinds for both consumers and retailers.
Diving deeper into the foot traffic for Burlington, Ross, Marshalls, and T.J. Maxx highlights robust nationwide visits as well as several regional preferences among consumers.
Nationwide, Ross claimed the lion’s share of visits between the four chains in Q4 2024 (31.0%), followed by T.J. Maxx (28.0%), Marshalls (23.1%), and Burlington (17.9%).
Analysis of the chains’ share of visits by CBSA reveals that Ross claimed the greatest share of visits in a majority of the West and Southwest, as well as in many large metropolises. Meanwhile, T.J. Maxx appeared to be the most-visited brand in many CBSAs throughout the Eastern United States, while Marshalls appeared to be the preferred brand in the Mid-Atlantic.
And despite claiming 17.9% of combined visits to the four off-price apparel chains, Burlington received the largest share of visits in only two CBSAs – Midland, TX and Anchorage, AK, which could be due to the brand’s long-term smaller-format strategy. While a smaller-format store may have less physical real estate (and therefore visitor potential) than the typical Marmaxx and Ross location, it affords Burlington the flexibility to source locations with strong economics that can drive productivity for the brand in markets nationwide.
All four brands have a robust presence nationwide, yet regional preferences and variations in real estate footprints highlight the different paths to success in the off-price space.
The off-price apparel segment is thriving in 2025, with Burlington, Marshalls, Ross, and T.J. Maxx leading the charge. Consumers continue to prioritize value, fueling steady foot traffic growth and cementing off-price retailers as key players in the apparel space. Each brand is carving out its own regional strongholds while expanding its footprint, setting the stage for even greater success in the year ahead.
Want more data-driven insights? Visit Placer.ai.
How did Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs perform in 2024? What do early 2025 foot traffic trends tell us about superstores’ growth potential in the coming year? And what do visitation patterns at Target and Walmart reveal about the role each chain plays in the wider retail landscape? We dove into the data to find out.
Wholesale clubs outperformed more traditional superstores in 2024, as Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club saw 4.8% to 7.2% YoY increases in visits while Target and Walmart’s traffic remained relatively flat. And though wholesale clubs continued outperforming Target and Walmart in the new year as well, the two superstore leaders did see clear visit increases of 3.6% and 3.0%, respectively, in January 2025 – a promising sign for the retail giants’ growth in the year ahead.
Target and Walmart both operate national chains of one-stop shops that carry a variety of consumables and non-consumables, including groceries, apparel, toys, and electronics. But diving into the demographics of the two brand’s captured market reveals that each chain serves a slightly different audience.
Target tends to attract visitors from areas with higher HHI and larger households: The company’s captured market includes a larger share of both households with children and non-family (e.g. roommates) households than Walmart’s, perhaps due to Target’s relative appeal to both suburban and strongly urbanized segments. Meanwhile, Walmart seems to attract more repeat monthly visitors (who visit the chain at least twice a month), perhaps thanks to the chain’s extensive grocery offerings and to its popularity among rural and semirural segments who may not have a variety of retail options to frequent.
The two chains’ visitor base also exhibit differences in in-store behavior. Walmart visitors do seem to linger a little longer in store, with 20.7% of the chain’s visits lasting longer than 45 minutes compared to Target’s 17.1% – maybe thanks to the mission-driven shopping behavior of some of its rural and semirural customer base. But despite the longer visits, Walmart still receives a larger share of weekday visits than Target – perhaps thanks to its larger share of single shoppers with fewer weekday commitments.
For more data-driven consumer insights, visit placer.ai.
How did home improvement leaders The Home Depot and Lowe’s perform in 2024? And what lies ahead for the chains in 2025? We dove into the data to find out.
A challenging retail environment continued weighing on the home improvement space in 2024 as high prices and tighter consumer budgets led many consumers to push off discretionary renovations and remodels. As a result, visits to The Home Depot and Lowe’s remained below 2023 levels throughout 2024. Still, the visit gaps were relatively minor – The Home Depot received 1.6% to 3.5% fewer quarterly visits and Lowe’s saw a 2.2% to 4.7% visit gap relative to 2023 – a testament to the enduring strength of these home improvement giants.
Diving deeper into the daily visits data also reveals that, despite the challenges, the two retailers succeeded in driving significant visit boosts through promotions and holiday sales: Mother’s Day, Black Friday, and the Saturday of Memorial Day were the top three visited days for The Home Depot and Lowe’s in 2024. Lowe’s received its highest daily traffic boost on Mother’s Day – likely thanks to its free plant giveaway – while The Home Depot saw its largest visit surge over the traditionally busy Black Friday. Finally, Memorial Day sales drove the third largest visit peak for both chains.
The boost in consumer traffic during special events underscores the potential of seasonal promotions to drive engagement and foot traffic – even in times of wider retail headwinds and economic uncertainty.
Both The Home Depot and Lowe’s received fewer visitors in 2024 compared to 2023, but a closer look reveals that the YoY dips in repeat visitors (who visited at least twice a month) were larger than the declines in casual (once a month) shoppers. For example, in December 2024, the number of casual visitors to The Home Depot dipped 3.0% YoY while the number of repeat monthly visitors declined by 4.0% compared to 2023. YoY visitor trends to Lowe’s generally followed a similar trend.
This trend suggests that, with home sales at their lowest levels since 1995 and many consumers looking to avoid non-essential expenditures, demand for large-scale renovations may be slowing. As a result, contractors and homeowners undertaking major remodeling projects are likely visiting these stores less frequently.
But while these trends may be hampering home improvement visits in the short term, the current downturn could also be setting the stage for a future recovery – as a stabilizing economy could unleash significant pent-up demand.
Visits to the country’s two largest home improvement retailers, while not yet returned to their pandemic-era highs, are beginning to stabilize. Will 2025 see a return to normal for the chains?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up with the latest data-driven retail insights.
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.
The full-service dining segment has experienced its fair share of challenges over the past few years, with pandemic-era closures, rising food and labor costs, and cutbacks in discretionary spending contributing to visit lags. In 2024, visits were down 0.2% year over year (YoY) and remained 8.4% below 2019 levels – a reflection of the significant number of venues that permanently closed over COVID and a testament to the industry's ongoing struggle to regain its pre-pandemic footing.
Yet, even in a difficult environment, some full-service restaurant (FSR) chains are thriving. These brands aren’t waiting for the industry to rebound – they're becoming trendsetters in their own right, proving that stand-out strategy is everything in a challenging market.
This white paper explores brands that are harnessing three key differentiators – fixed-price value offerings, elevated social experiences, and a laser focus on product – to drive full-service dining success in 2025.
One of the most defining trends over the past few years has been the unrelenting march of price increases. And as consumers continue to seek out ways to save, some chains are staying ahead of the pack with fixed-price value offerings that help diners squeeze out the very best bang for their buck.
Golden Corral, the all-you-can-eat buffet chain that lets kids under three eat for free, is one FSR that is benefiting from consumers’ current value orientation. Despite closing several locations in 2024, overall visits to the chain still tracked closely with 2023 levels, declining by just 0.5% – while the average number visits to each Golden Corral restaurant grew 3.8% YoY.
Golden Corral’s value proposition is resonating strongly with budget-conscious Americans eager to enjoy a wide variety of comfort foods at an affordable price. The chain’s visitors tend to come from trade areas with lower median household incomes (HHIs) than traditional full-service restaurant (FSR) diners. And these patrons are willing to travel to enjoy the chain’s value buffet offerings, many of which are situated in rural areas and may require a longer drive. In 2024, 25.2% of Golden Corral’s diners came from over 30 miles away – compared to just 19.2% for the wider FSR segment.
Golden Corral’s continued flourishing proves that in an era of rising costs, diners are willing to go the extra mile (literally) for a restaurant that delivers both quality and affordability.
Children’s party space and eatertainment destination Chuck E. Cheese has had a transformative few years. Following the retirement of its iconic animatronic band, the chain shifted its focus to a new membership model, announcing a revamped Summer of Fun pass in May 2024 – including unlimited visits over a two-month period, steep discounts on food, and up to 250 games per day. The pass proved incredibly popular, with YoY visits surging by 15.6% in May 2024, when the offer launched – a sharp turnaround from the YoY visit declines of the previous months. Recognizing the strong demand, Chuck E. Cheese extended the program year-round – and the strategy has paid off as YoY visits remained positive through the end of 2024.
A closer look at the data suggests that parents are making full use of their unlimited passes: The share of weekday visits was higher in H2 2024 than in H2 2023, likely due to families using their passes for weekday entertainment rather than reserving visits for weekends and special occasions.
At the same time, the share of repeat visitors – those frequenting the chain at least twice a month – also grew. Although these repeat visitors may not purchase additional gameplay beyond the flat fee, their more frequent on-site presence likely translates into increased sales of pizza and other menu items.
While value has been a major motivator for restaurant-goers in recent years, low prices aren’t the only drivers of FSR success. Brands offering unique experiences aimed at maximizing social interaction are also seeing outsized gains.
Though many of these more innovative venues tend to be on the more expensive side, they draw enthusiastic crowds willing to pony up for concepts that combine good food with fun social occasions. And some of the more successful ones bolster perceived value through offerings like fixed-price menus or club memberships.
Korean cuisine has been on the rise in recent years, with restaurants like Bonchon Chicken and GEN Korean BBQ House making significant waves in the dining space. Another chain drawing attention is KPOT Korean BBQ and Hot Pot, which began modestly in 2018 and has since expanded to over 150 locations nationwide.
Diners at KPOT can customize their meals by selecting from a variety of proteins, broths, sauces, and side dishes, known as banchan, while barbecuing or cooking in a hotpot at their table and sipping on the drinks from the menu’s extensive selection. And though pricier than Golden Corral, KPOT also offers an all-you-can-eat experience that lets customers squeeze the most value out of their indulgence.
Location intelligence shows that KPOT’s experiential dining model is resonating with customers: Since Q4 2019, the average number of visits to each KPOT location has risen steadily – even as the chain has grown its footprint – while the average dwell time has also increased. Indeed, rather than a quick dining stop, KPOT has become a destination for guests to linger, enjoying both food and drinks – and an interactive and social experience.
By positioning themselves as gathering places for fine wine aficionados, wine-club-focused concepts such as Postino WineCafe and Cooper’s Hawk Winery are also benefiting from today’s consumers’ emphasis on social experiences. The two upscale dining destinations offer club memberships that combine periodic wine releases with a variety of perks.
And the data suggests that the model is strongly resonating with diners. Both Postino and Cooper’s Hawk have grown their footprints over the past year, driving substantial YoY chain-wide visit increases while average visits per location grew as well – showing that the expansions and experiential offerings are meeting robust demand.
And analyzing the two chains’ captured markets shows that the wine club model enjoys broad appeal across a variety of audience segments.
Unsurprisingly, both wine clubs’ visitor bases include higher-than-average shares of affluent consumers with money to spend, including Experian: Mosaic’s “Power Elite”, “Booming with Confidence”, and “Flourishing Families” segments (the nation’s wealthiest families, as well as affluent suburban and middle-aged households). But the two chains also attract younger, more budget-conscious consumers – Postino, which has many downtown locations, is popular among “Singles and Starters”, while Cooper’s Hawk is popular among “Promising Families” - i.e. young couples with children.
The success of the two brands across various segments underscores the impact of a distinctive experience – especially when paired with a loyalty-boosting membership – in attracting today’s consumers.
Value offerings and unique experiences have the power to drive restaurant visits – but ultimately, a good meal in an inviting atmosphere is a draw in and of itself, as is shown by the success of First Watch and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.
Breakfast-only restaurant First Watch excels at ambiance and menu innovation, changing up its offerings five times a year and striving to maintain a neighborhood feel at each of its locations.
First Watch has made a point of leaning into its strengths, eschewing discounts in favor of a consistently elevated dining experience and doubling down its strongest day part (weekend brunch), rather than trying to artificially drive up interest at other times.
And the strategy appears to be working: In 2024, visits to First Watch increased 6.6% YoY – with Saturdays and Sundays between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. remaining its busiest dayparts by far. Visitors to First Watch also tend to linger over their meals more than at other breakfast chains – in 2024, the restaurant experienced an average dwell time of 54.9 minutes, significantly longer than the 48.7-minute average at other breakfast-focused restaurants.
By focusing on what matters most to its diners – innovative and exciting food and a welcoming atmosphere that allows patrons to enjoy their meals at a leisurely pace – First Watch is continuing to flourish.
Another chain that is growing its footprint and its audience on the strength of a menu and ambiance-focused approach is Firebirds Wood Fired Grill. The chain, known for its “polished casual” vibe and bold, unique flavors, added several new restaurants last year, leading to a 6.5% increase in overall visits. Over the same period, the average number of visits to each Firebirds location held steady – showing that the new restaurants aren’t cannibalizing existing business.
The chain’s success may rest, in part, on its locating its venues in areas rife with enthusiastic foodies. Data from Spatial.ai’s FollowGraph shows that in 2024, Firebird’s trade areas had significantly higher shares of “BBQ Lovers”, “Gourmet Burger Lovers,” and “Foodies” than the nationwide average. This suggests that Firebirds is attracting diners who prioritize the experience of eating – key for a chain that prides itself on putting good food first. The chain is also known for its welcoming decor and design – another aspect that may lead to its strong visit success.
Necessity often serves as the mother of invention, and challenging economic periods continue to spark new trends and innovations in the dining scene. From a heightened focus on value – drawing families and lower-HHI consumers willing to travel for a good deal – to the growing appeal of social dining and the timeless draw of good food – new trends are emerging to meet changing consumer expectations.
Stadiums and arenas – and the communities they call home – have a stake in cultivating engaged team fanbases eager to participate in live events. And venues and teams can employ a variety of strategies to strengthen their connection with fans and draw crowds to the stands.
In this report, we leverage location analytics and audience segmentation to uncover some of the ways that sports franchises and venues are driving engagement – attracting visitors from farther away and appealing to fans more likely to splurge on stadium fare. How does the signing of a star athlete impact arena visitor profiles? What happens to stadium visitation trends when a team’s performance improves dramatically? And how can teams and venues tailor their offerings to more effectively cater to visitor preferences?
We dove into the data to find out.
In sports, the signing of a star athlete can have a ripple effect across the organization, hometown, and league. In addition to driving up overall attendance at games, star power can impact everything from visit frequency to audience profile – and the buying power of stadium attendees.
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami CF after decades of European play brought a foot traffic boost to Chase Stadium (formerly DRV PNK Stadium). But it also shifted the demographics of stadium visitors and increased the distance they traveled to attend a game.
At Inter Miami’s 2022 and 2023 home openers without Messi (he joined the team mid-season in 2023), only 6.4% and 5.3% of visitors to Chase Stadium came from over 250 miles away. But for the 2024 home opener with Messi on the squad, 31.3% of stadium visitors traveled more than 250 miles to attend.
The demographics of visitors at the home opener also changed with Messi on the team. Trade area data combined with the Spatial.ai: PersonaLive dataset reveals that the 2024 home opener received a smaller share of households in the “Near-Urban Diverse Families” (11.2%) and “Young Urban Singles” (7.2%) segments than the two previous years. Meanwhile, shares of “Sunset Boomers” (13.0%) and “Ultra Wealthy Families” (20.1%) increased, indicating that Messi brought an older and more affluent demographic of visitors to the stadium compared to previous years. Messi’s arrival has generated increased revenue for Inter Miami CF, Major League Soccer, and Apple TV+, which has exclusive streaming rights for MLS games. And an influx of affluent out-of-town visitors also has the potential to drive positive outcomes for tourism and employment in the Miami area.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut was another star-powered game changer – this time for women’s basketball. After dazzling the sports world during her college basketball career, Caitlin Clark was drafted first overall to the Indiana Fever before the 2024 WNBA season. The superstar’s arrival has had a staggering economic impact on the city of Indianapolis and the Fever franchise, highlighting the benefit of a top athlete within the local community. However, Clark’s stardom also had a far-reaching impact on the league as a whole, adding tremendous value to the WNBA. Trade area analysis reveals that several WNBA arenas saw an uptick in visitor affluence when hosting the Fever with Clark in the lineup – likely driven in part by the elevated ticket prices associated with her appearances.
When the Minnesota Lynx hosted the Fever on July 14th, 2024, for example, the median HHI of Target Center’s captured market shot up to just over $93K/year, well above the median HHIs for the games immediately before and after that event. (A venue’s captured market refers to the census block groups (CBGs) from which it draws its visitors, weighted to reflect the share of visits from each one – and thus reflects the profile of the venue’s visitor base.) Similarly, the Fever’s away game against the Connecticut Sun on May 14th, 2024 at Mohegan Sun Arena drove a higher audience median HHI ($103.6K/year) than either of the Sun’s next two home games.
Having a superstar on the roster can drive positive outcomes locally and league-wide – but overall team success is the ultimate goal for any franchise. So it may come as no surprise that stadiums and arenas can drive engagement when their home teams perform well on the field or court. And teams that reverse their fortunes often spark even greater excitement, boosting visitor loyalty, visit duration, and other key metrics.
The Baltimore Orioles had one of the worst records in baseball just a few years ago. But since 2022, the team has flipped the script – stringing together winning seasons and postseason berths. And location intelligence shows that as the team finds success, fans are becoming more engaged with their hometown stadium.
During the 2019 regular season, one of the worst for the club in recent history, stadium attendance suffered, with only 8.3% of visitors to Oriole Park at Camden Yards visiting the stadium at least three times. But during the 2024 regular season, Oriole Park’s share of repeat visitors (those who visited at least three times) was almost double 2019 levels (16.3%) – consistent with a sharp increase in sales of multi-game ticket packages.
In addition to attending games more often, visitors to Oriole Park also appear to be spending more time at the ballpark. During the 2019 regular season, visitors spent an average of 150 minutes at the stadium, but in 2024, the average time at the park increased to 178 minutes – potentially boosting ancillary spending and in-stadium advertising exposure. The increased dwell time of visitors is particularly noteworthy when considering that MLB’s rule changes have significantly shortened average game time.
The more engaged fandom engendered by team success not only impacts stadium visitor behavior, but also has the potential to drive revenue. The Orioles added 20 new corporate sponsors before the 2024 season, likely due to the attention garnered by the well-performing club.
The NFL’s Detroit Lions provide another example of team success that has driven visitor engagement. As the franchise has improved its record in recent years, the trade area size of its stadium – Ford Field – has also increased, indicating elevated attendance from fans living further away.
The Lions finished the regular season with losing records from 2019 to 2021, but finished over .500 in 2022 (9-8), 2023 (12-5), and 2024 (15-2). And with the team’s increasing wins each consecutive season, the size of its stadium's trade area has also increased steadily – reaching 81.3% above 2019 levels in 2024.
This underscores just how much team success matters to fans, who may be more inclined to travel longer distances if they believe their team is likely to win. Ultimately, broader fan engagement across a wider trade area also increases a team’s growth potential beyond in-stadium attendance – driving merchandise sales, increasing viewership, and benefitting both the team and the league as a whole.
While stadium attendance and visitor behavior is often correlated to the performance of the sports teams that play in the arena, sporting venues can also drive fan engagement in ways that aren’t solely tied to team success or big-name athletes. By adapting their concessions and venue operations to visitor preferences, stadiums and arenas can better serve their audiences and strengthen their community presence.
Consumers have been feeling the pinch of rising food costs for quite some time, but at least one NBA team has responded to make concessions at the game more affordable for fans. In December 2024, the Phoenix Suns announced a $2 value menu for all home games at Footprint Center – delivering steep discounts on hot dogs, water, soda, and snacks.
Location analytics suggest that since the value menu launch, more fans who would have otherwise waited until after leaving the venue to grab a bite are now enjoying food and drinks inside the arena. Analysis of five Suns home games just before the value menu launch – between November 26th and December 15th, 2024 – reveals that between 7.0% and 9.3% of stadium visitors visited a dining establishment after leaving the arena. But following the value menu launch before the December 19th, 2024 home game, post-game dining decreased to under 6.0% through the end of the year.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s announcement of the new menu called out the need for affordable food options for families at Suns games. As the season progresses, the new menu may drive a larger share of family households to Suns games, which could provide opportunities for advertisers and other stadium partners.
Consumers in Washington – and especially Seattle – are known for their affinity for plant-based diets and environmentally-friendly lifestyles. And that goes for local football fans as well: Audience segmentation provided by the AGS: Behavior & Attitudes dataset combined with trade area data reveals that during September to December 2024, households within Lumen Field’s potential visitor base were 36% more likely to be “Environmentally Conscious Buyers” and “Environmental Contributors” and 39% more likely to be “Vegans” compared to the nationwide average. By contrast, across all NFL stadiums, potential visiting households were 2%, 1%, and 3% less likely, respectively, to belong to these segments.
And Lumen Field has been actively catering to these consumer preferences. The stadium, which has been experimenting with plant-based culinary options for quite some time, was recently recognized as one of the most vegan-friendly stadiums in the NFL. And in December 2024, Lumen became the second stadium in the league to achieve TRUE precertification for its efforts to become a zero-waste venue.
By remaining aligned with its visitor base – including both football fans and people that visit the stadium for other events – Lumen Field encourages visitors to feel at home at their local stadium. And fans may be more connected to their team knowing the club shares their values and respects their lifestyle.
Stadiums and arenas can leverage a variety of strategies to engage visitors in attendance as well as wider audiences. Signing a star athlete, putting together a winning club, or adapting to local preferences are just some of the ways that sports franchises and athletic venues can find success.
