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With Q1 2025 in full swing, we dove into the data to see how Darden Restaurants, Inc. – the force behind Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and eight additional brands – fared throughout 2024 and how things are shaping up at the start of 2025.
During the three month period ending November 24th, 2024, Darden reported a 2.4% year-over-year (YoY) increase in same-restaurant sales, even as consumers continued trading down and cutting back on discretionary spending. And though Darden hasn’t been immune to the headwinds affecting the full-service restaurant sector – its overall foot traffic dipped 1.7% in Q4 2024 – the company still closed out the year with a 1.0% increase in visits compared to 2023.
With more than 900 locations nationwide, Olive Garden is Darden’s biggest brand by far. And a look at recent monthly visitation trends shows that despite challenges, the chain held its own in 2024. On a yearly basis, visits to Olive Garden remained essentially flat in 2024 (-0.3% YoY). And several months saw positive visit growth – likely bolstered by the chain’s popular Never Ending Pasta Bowl promotion, which ran from August 26th (a week earlier for club members) to November 17th. (The chain’s October YoY visit dip may reflect a different promotional schedule in 2023, when the offer began in mid- or late-September, driving heightened demand in October.)
But Darden’s most consistent growth driver over the past several months has been LongHorn Steakhouse. The casual dining steakhouse posted a 4.4% YoY visit increase in 2024, with six of the past eight months showing positive growth. And though February 2025 saw a minor weather- and calendar-driven dip, a strong rebound during the week of February 24th suggests continued momentum.
Taking a broader look at LongHorn Steakhouse’s trajectory reveals just how consistently the chain has outperformed. Since Q1 2023, LongHorn has posted steady YoY quarterly visit gains, each quarter building on the momentum of the last. Affordable, high-quality steaks continue to resonate especially well with today’s consumers, as they seek to stretch their dining dollars to the max.
All things considered, Darden has proven remarkably resilient in a dining landscape marked by cautious consumer spending. As 2025 unfolds, expect the company’s dual emphasis on iconic promotions at Olive Garden and consistent value-driven steak offerings at LongHorn to remain key to its continued success. And if current trends hold, Darden is poised to further solidify its standing as one of the industry’s top full-service dining operators.
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How did the activewear and sporting goods segment fare throughout 2024? We dove into foot traffic for Nike, lululemon, and DICK’S Sporting Goods to find out.
Nike experienced strong visitation throughout 2024, with increases in all but one quarter. Visits were especially elevated in the first half of the year, likely related to the store fleet expansion in the second half of 2023. While visits slowed in Q4, Nike has also recently returned to its wholesale partnerships, allowing continued engagement across channels.
The brand also excelled during the holiday season, with December delivering the busiest weeks of the year. Weekly visits to the brand spiked 76.7% on December 16th and 75.7% on December 23rd relative to 2024’s weekly visit average, with the first spike possibly driven by gift-seekers, and December 23rd’s spike likely driven by Nike’s End of Season sale. The week of Black Friday also provided a visit boost of 51.2%. These visit increases highlight the impact of sales and special retail occasions on the brand, proving that consumers remain highly responsive to promotions.
Lululemon enjoyed steady visit growth in all quarters of 2024, with Q4 2024 experiencing visit growth of 2.4% YoY. These numbers come on the heels of the brands’ successful expansion and growth plan, which saw lululemon focus on product innovation and increase its retail footprint both in local and international markets.
The brand also excelled during the holiday season, with the week of December 23rd marking lululemon’s highest-visited week of the year as traffic increased by 104% compared to the 2024 weekly average. This increase may be related to lululemon’s highly anticipated End of Year sale – one of the few occasions when the brand offers store-wide discounts – or by last-minute holiday shoppers. Lululemon tends to limit its sales events, creating a sense of urgency around them. By maintaining a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” approach to discounts, lululemon can create major visit spikes when sales take place, driving significant shopper engagement – and foot traffic.
DICK’S Sporting Goods emerged as a major retail winner during the pandemic and its aftermath, delivering strong foot traffic for several consecutive years. And while YoY visits began to slow in late 2023 and throughout 2024, the declines were relatively minor.
Some of the visit declines may be attributed to store closures over the past year, including high-profile locations such as the South Loop store in Chicago. Still, DICK’S remains a dominant player in the sporting goods sector, continuing to draw strong consumer interest.
Like Nike and lululemon, the holiday season provided DICK’S with a significant visit boost – visits surging 96.0% and 61.5% during the weeks of December 16th and 23rd, respectively, compared to the 2024 weekly visit average. But DICK’S also got a major visit boost during the back-to-school season, reinforcing its year-round relevance.
Nike, Lululemon, and DICK’S are well-positioned as 2025 begins, with new marketing strategies keeping both the brands and their audiences engaged. Will these visitation trends continue throughout 2025?
Visit Placer.ai to keep up with the latest data-driven retail insights.
The Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining is a curated, dynamic list of leading chains operating across the United States. It includes chains from a variety of industries, such as superstores, grocery, dollar stores, apparel, full-service dining, QSR, and more.
In February 2025, foot traffic to the Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining declined by 4.7% year over year (YoY), marking the steepest drop in the past twelve months. And although the comparison to a 29-day February in 2024 drove most of the dip, other factors also contributed to the negative trend. Shaky consumer confidence may have caused some consumers to cut down on shopping and dining out. And the severe winter storms and polar vortex that impacted much of the United States last month likely contributed significantly to the decline, especially given the comparison to an unusually mild February 2024.
An analysis of February 2025 foot traffic trends across the continental United States highlights the likely impact of last month’s extreme weather on retail and dining visitation patterns. While February 2025 was slightly warmer than average nationwide, temperature fluctuations varied significantly by region. Parts of the Southwest and Southeast experienced unusually high temperatures, whereas the Midwest, Central, and Northeast regions faced successive snow storms and sharp temperature drops. These regions also experienced the steepest foot traffic declines, with Kansas seeing the largest drop (-9.0%). By contrast, states with milder climates – such as New Mexico, California, Arizona, and Florida – experienced more modest decreases in visits, though they were still affected by February 2025’s shorter calendar.
Still, even amidst the inclement weather, some chains bucked the trend, enjoying YoY visit boosts last month. Chili’s Grill & Bar maintained its top position for both total visits and average visits per location, continuing the winning streak it sparked with its enhanced 3 For Me value meal in late April 2024. Barnes & Noble also did well, as did value-oriented top performers like Crunch Fitness, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Five Below, and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. CVS and LA Fitness also saw positive YoY average visit-per-location growth, highlighting the success of recent rightsizing moves. And several other chains, including California-based In-N-Out Burger, also emerged ahead of the pack.
Bath & Body Works was another major retailer to claim a top spot in February’s Placer 100 Index, with both overall visits (+8.7%) and average visits per location (+6.6%) elevated YoY – bolstered in part by a wildly successful Disney collaboration that clearly resonated.
On February 16th, 2024, the body care and fragrances retailer launched a line of Disney Princess-inspired fragrances, available both in-store and online. Enthusiastic fans of Cinderella, Tiana, Ariel, Belle, Moana, and Jasmine flocked to the chain, resulting in a remarkable 69.3% increase in visits on the launch day compared to an average year-to-date Sunday. And traffic remained elevated on the following Sunday as well (+10.0%), underscoring the power of a well-chosen collab to overcome headwinds and draw crowds.
The February 2025 Placer 100 Index highlights how severe winter weather can significantly impact foot traffic, with the hardest-hit regions experiencing the steepest declines. But the performance of chains like Chili's and Bath & Body Works shows the power of strategic initiatives, such as value deals and compelling collaborations, to maintain strong visit numbers in the face of challenges. What lies ahead for retail and dining in the rest of 2025?
Follow Placer.ai's data-driven retail analyses to find out.
Discount and Dollar Stores specialize in bargain discretionary offerings –but their role as go-to destinations for essentials is not to be overlooked. We dove into the data for Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below to find out what drove their success in 2024 and what may lie ahead for the chains in 2025.
In 2024, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below continued to expand their real estate footprints, contributing to the chains’ YoY visit growth.
Since the start of H2 2024, all three chains saw consistent monthly visit increases compared to the previous year, contributing to overall YoY traffic increases of 5.1%, 5.2%, and 12.8% for Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below, respectively. And the visit growth has continued in 2025. (The February 2025 minor visit YoY gap for Dollar General can be attributed to the calendar shift and comparison to a 29-day February in 2024).
As Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below plan to continue investing in their physical footprints in 2025 by adding stores and remodeling existing ones, visits are likely to continue on a growth trajectory.
Diving into the consumer behavior of visitors to Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below reveals that at least some of the chains’ visit growth could be due to an increase in repeat visits.
Since Q1 2023, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below’s average visits per visitor have steadily increased compared to the previous year. In other words, the chains’ visitors are visiting more frequently than they did in the past.
This pattern may be driven by consumers’ continued prioritization of value – a trend that doesn’t look to be abating in the near-term.
Discount and dollar stores have long been hailed as treasure hunt destinations for non-necessities, but drilling down to the daily visit date reveals that consumers may be turning to these retailers for more daily essentials.
In 2024, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below’s shares of weekday visits (Monday-Thursday) increased compared to 2023. And Five Below, perhaps best-known for its discretionary offerings in mostly durable goods categories, saw the largest boost in weekday visits of the three chains (from 45.1% in 2023 to 46.4% in 2024). This could be evidence of growing demand in the retailer’s consumable categories like snacks, health, and beauty – essential products that consumers might need to replenish mid-week.
And in part to meet the demand for everyday essentials, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below have expanded product assortments – perhaps positioning themselves for continued weekday visit growth.
Dollar and Discount in 2025
Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below’s success in 2024 was likely driven by a variety of factors including expanding store networks, consumers’ focus on value, and the rising demand for essentials. As these trends are likely to prevail in 2025, discount and dollar chains appear poised to sustain foot traffic growth.
For more data-driven retail insights, Visit Placer.ai.
The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index: The office building index analyzes foot traffic data from some 1,000 office buildings across the country. It only includes commercial office buildings, and commercial office buildings with retail offerings on the first floor (like an office building that might include a national coffee chain on the ground floor). It does NOT include government buildings or mixed-use buildings that are both residential and commercial.
While headlines trumpeting an imminent return to traditional office life fueled by corporate mandates have become increasingly common in recent months, ground-level data reveals a more complex reality. Office building foot traffic indicates that the office recovery has slowed, with February visits down by 36.3% compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2019. This data suggests that despite top-down pressure and RTO mandates at several major U.S. companies, hybrid and remote work models remain widespread.
Diving into the market-level data reveals that the nationwide average office occupancy metric was driven by relatively significant visit gaps across most analyzed cities, with the exception of New York City and Miami that continued to lead the return to office (RTO) trends, followed by Atlanta. Houston, Washington D.C., and Dallas all experienced year-over-five-year (Yo5Y) visit gaps of 34.6% to 38.4% – close to the nationwide average – while the Yo5Y office visit gaps for Boston, Los Angeles, and Denver was 43.5%, 45.1%, and 46.6%, respectively.
But one metric did stand out in the February data that could hint at a relatively localized RTO acceleration. For the first time since we started tracking the post-pandemic office recovery, San Francisco (47.5% Yo5Y visit gap) outperformed Chicago (48.5%) – perhaps indicating that RTO mandates in the tech world are beginning to move the needle in the country’s tech capital.
The slowing return to office (RTO) trends also emerge when analyzing the year-over-year (YoY) data. Although some visit gaps were to be expected given the comparison to a 29 day February in 2024, most cities – with the exception of Miami, Boston, and San Francisco – saw a larger dip in office visits than the approximately 3.5% visit gap that could be attributed to the calendar shift.
The dip in office visits compared to 2024 suggests that the RTO mandates are not having a significant impact on office occupancy patterns in most major cities and further underscore the enduring impact of remote and hybrid work models.
The RTO data reveals a complex and evolving landscape shaped by both corporate directives and the enduring preferences of a workforce that has experienced the flexibility and autonomy of remote work. At the same time, disparities between major cities – with New York and Miami in the lead and Chicago and San Francisco lagging behind – highlight the influence of local economic factors, industry concentrations, and perhaps even cultural preferences on office occupancy. As businesses continue to navigate this transition, a deeper understanding of these regional nuances and of the underlying drivers of in-person work will be crucial for companies looking to formulate RTO policies that best serve their broader goals.
For more data-driven insights, visit placer.ai.
This year is expected to present challenges for many restaurant operators, including (1) an uncertain macroeconomic environment; (2) growing encroachment from grocers, warehouse clubs, and convenience stores; and (3) difficulties connecting with consumers as they prioritize both value and convenience. Against this backdrop, Chipotle’s management is forecasting low- to mid-single-digit comparable sales growth for the full year. The company faces tough year-over-year (YoY) comparisons—our data shows a 4.2% increase in visits per location in 2024, placing Chipotle among the top-performing restaurant chains with more than 100 locations. However, despite the uncertain landscape, our data highlights several reasons why Chipotle may surpass this forecast.
Between 2020 and 2024, Chipotle introduced several new protein options that significantly contributed to its growth and customer engagement. In 2021, the launch of Smoked Brisket became a fan favorite, leading to its return in 2024 due to popular demand. The re-introduction of Chicken al Pastor also played a role in boosting visits, significantly lifting visits trends during the second quarter of 2024. These innovative protein additions have not only diversified Chipotle's menu but also resonated with customers, driving sales and enhancing the brand's market presence.
Chipotle introduced Honey Chicken as a limited-time protein option systemwide on March 7th 2025. According to management, Honey Chicken was the brand’s best-performing limited-time offer test, excelling in both early sensory testing and broader market trials. To validate this claim, we examined YoY visitation data for the 55 locations in Sacramento and 25 locations in Nashville where Honey Chicken was tested in the fall of 2024. Launched on August 27th, 2024, our data indicates an immediate boost in visits per location in Sacramento and sustained outperformance in Nashville.
While it’s difficult to extrapolate the success of a limited-time product nationwide based on its performance in a few test markets, our data indicates that Chipotle’s Honey Chicken will likley be among the best performing new product launches in 2025.
In recent years, Chipotle Mexican Grill has experienced notable success by expanding into smaller markets across the United States. This strategic move has led the company to increase its long-term goal from 6,000 to 7,000 North American locations, with many new restaurants opening in towns with populations around 40,000. These small-town locations have demonstrated unit economics comparable to or even surpassing those in larger markets.
Our data shows continued visit outperformance in smaller markets in 2024, with Chipotle locations in non top-25 markets seeing greater visits per location than locations in top 25 markets. And this strategic expansion sets the stage for continued outperformance as store openings in the company’s smaller markets continue to enter the comparable sales base in 2025.
Chipotle's “Chipotlane” format stores—which include a dedicated drive-thru lanes for digital order pickups—has significantly enhanced operational efficiency. According to management, Chipotlane location stores often see transactions completed in less than a minute, which compares favorably to traditional QSR drive-thru times. This swift service has led to a 10%-15% increase in sales at Chipotlane-equipped locations compared to traditional formats. Chipotle now has more than 1,000 Chipotlane locations, with plans to include this feature in the majority of new restaurants, aiming for an annual unit growth of 8% to 10%.
We grouped the first 100 Chipotlane locations with our data to better understand the impact on throughput and operational efficiency. Our data indicates that Chipotlane locations outperformed the chain average by a meaningful amount – especially during peak lunch and dinner hours – adding further support for the company’s potential outperformance in the year ahead.
Overall, while 2025 presents a challenging landscape for the restaurant industry, Chipotle appears well-positioned to navigate these headwinds and potentially exceed its growth expectations. The company’s proven track record of successful menu innovations, along with the promising early results of Honey Chicken, demonstrate its ability to resonate with consumers. Additionally, Chipotle's strategic expansion into smaller markets and the continued rollout of Chipotlane locations are key drivers that could boost visitation and operational efficiency. Despite a difficult macroeconomic environment and increased competition, Chipotle’s combination of menu innovation, market expansion, and enhanced convenience through Chipotlanes sets the stage for continued success in 2025.
The holiday shopping season traditionally stretches from Black Friday to New Years Eve: Shoppers looking to snag deals, purchase gifts, or enhance their celebrations drive visit spikes at retailers across the country. And although many consumers expressed concern over high prices impacting their holiday budget, spending in 2024 actually increased compared to 2023, with brick-and-mortar stores playing a key role in last year’s holiday season.
So where were the largest holiday spikes? How did last year’s calendar configuration impact retail traffic? Which segment came out ahead – and how did dining fit into the mix? Most importantly – what can we learn from the 2024 holiday season to prepare for 2025?
The holiday shopping season is the busiest time of the year for many retail categories. Between Black Friday and December 31st 2024, daily visits to brick-and-mortar stores increased 12.7%, on average, compared to the rest of the year.
Department stores led the pack, with visits to the segment 102.1% higher than the pre-holiday season average – likely aided by strong Black Friday performances. Other favorite gifting categories, including beauty & self care (72.7%), hobbies, gifts & crafts (60.9%), recreational & sporting goods (55.5%), clothing (41.8%), and electronics stores (32.7%) also received significant traffic boosts. Shopping centers benefited as well with a 24.8% increase in daily visits over the holiday season. Retailers in these segments can capitalize on their holiday popularity and stand out amidst the crowd by promoting their brand early and ensuring their staffing and inventory can accommodate the season’s traffic increases.
The holidays are also a time for entertainment – and purchasing gifts for hosts – which likely helped drive the 48.4% and 41.7% traffic increases at liquor stores and at furniture & home furnishings retailers, respectively. Superstores and discount & dollar stores – with their selection of affordable giftable products and entertainment essentials – also saw holiday-driven visit bumps of 21.2% and 20.2%, respectively. Retailers may choose to highlight seasonal items and hosting-friendly products to increase these traffic bumps in 2025.
Pet stores & services received a smaller (10.0%) bump than the wider retail average – indicating that, although some shoppers buy gifts for their fur babies, pets may not be at the top of most Americans’ gift lists. And visits to the home improvement segment were essentially on par with the pre-holiday period – indicating that the holidays are not the time for extensive home renovation projects. But home improvement chains looking to get in on the holiday action might consider promoting decorations and smaller giftable items in December.
And despite the grocery frenzy of Turkey Wednesday and Christmas Eve Eve, the Grocery segment received a relatively minor holiday boost of 5.0% – perhaps due to holiday travelers skipping their weekly grocery haul. Grocers who lean into prepared foods or pre-packaged meal kits might get an additional bump.
Although the holidays drive retail visit surges across the country, some regions see a bigger traffic bump than others.
In December 2024, almost all 50 states (with the exception of Wyoming ) received a holiday-driven retail traffic boost ranging from a 3.3% (Montana) to a 16.8% (New Hampshire). On a regional basis, the South received the largest increase: The West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic divisions received a collective 12.2% increase in daily visits between Black Friday and New Years Eve compared to the pre-Black Friday daily average. (Washington, D.C. saw a slight visit decline of 0.4%, likely due to the many residents leaving the capital for the holiday break.) Retailers in this region may choose to increase staffing and inventory ahead of the 2025 holiday season to handle the increased demand.
Meanwhile, the Midwest region had the smallest holiday-driven traffic spike (9.2%) – despite starting the season ahead of the pack, with the highest Black Friday weekend visit boost. This suggests that Midwestern retailers may have more success with early promotions than with last-minute discounts.
While the holiday season drove an overall retail visit boost nationwide, diving deeper into the data reveals that different retail segments peak at different points of the holiday season.
Most categories – especially the ones that tend to offer steep post-Thanksgiving discounts, such as recreational & sporting goods, department stores, electronics stores, and beauty retailers – received the biggest visit spikes on Black Friday. Retailers in these categories may benefit from promotional campaigns ahead of Thanksgiving to cater to early shoppers and maximize their performance on their busiest day.
Other segments that carry more affordable gifts, stocking stuffers, and food items gained momentum as Christmas approached – with superstores visits spiking on December 23rd and discount & dollar stores peaking on December 24th. These retailers may get even larger end-of-year visit bumps by offering discounts and bundles to last-minute shoppers.
The grocery segment received its largest boost ahead of Thanksgiving, with visits also surging on the days before Christmas as home cooks picked up supplies for the holiday dinner. Grocers who can save their shoppers time during this busy period by offering curbside pickup, pre-prepped ingredients or meal kits, and other conveniences may see particularly strong performances in 2025.
Calendar shifts also play an important role in shaping holiday shopping patterns. Last year, Super Saturday and “Christmas Eve Eve” – each a significant milestone in its own right – coincided on December 23rd, 2023 to create a supercharged shopping event that generated massive visit spikes at retailers across categories.
But in 2024, when the milestones occurred separately, important differences emerged between retailers. Gift-shopping destinations like Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Best Buy saw bigger visit spikes on Super Saturday, while retailers like Target, Walmart, and Costco – carrying both gifts and food items – saw visits surge higher on December 23rd. Dollar Tree, a prime destination for affordable stocking stuffers, also experienced a more pronounced visit spike on Super Saturday.
Predictably, this year’s pre-Christmas milestones generally drove smaller individual visit spikes, as shoppers spread their errands across a longer period. But the stand-alone Super Saturday on December 21st 2024 also allowed consumers to prioritize gift-shopping on Saturday and shop for groceries and last minute stocking stuffers on December 23rd – benefiting certain retailers.
Nordstrom, for instance, saw visits soar to 215.9% above the chain’s 2024 daily average on December 21, 2024 – surpassing the 196.2% increase recorded on December 23, 2023. Macy’s also experienced a slightly higher Super Saturday visit boost this year. Next year, retailers can expect another spread-out pre-Christmas shopping period, with Super Saturday falling on December 20th, 2025 – five days before the holiday. Gift-focused retailers can leverage this timing by ramping up promotions in the run-up to Super Saturday – or by enhancing offerings on December 23rd to capture more late-season shoppers.
Big box retailers like Target, Walmart, and Costco, conversely, can double down on December 23rd or amplify earlier deals to capture a larger share of Super Saturday traffic. And retailers across categories can benefit from the more extended last-minute shopping period by implementing multi-day sales and promotions that encourage repeat visits and drive traffic throughout the week.
Turkey Wednesday – the day before Thanksgiving – is traditionally the grocery sector’s time to shine. And this year didn’t disappoint: On November 27th, 2024, visits to traditional grocery mainstays like Kroger, Safeway, and H-E-B shot up by a remarkable 66.9% to 79.2% compared to the 2024 daily average. And on December 23rd, foot traffic to the chains rose once again, though somewhat more moderately, as shoppers geared up for Christmas celebrations.
But the holiday season stock-up, it turns out, is about more than just food. Whether to help smooth out the rough edges of family interactions or to take celebrations to the next level, consumers also make pre-holiday runs to liquor stores. On Turkey Wednesday, leading spirit purveyors outperformed traditional grocery stores with epic 140.1% to 236.5% visit spikes. And the day before Christmas Eve was an even bigger milestone for the segment, with foot traffic skyrocketing by a staggering 153.6% to 283.8% above daily averages.
Ethnic supermarkets – chains like El Super and Vallarta Supermarket – also thrived on these traditional pre-holiday grocery store milestones. But like liquor stores, they saw bigger visit spikes on December 23rd, as customers likely sought out ingredients for their festive holiday dinners.
Grocery stores seeking to maximize the power of these pre-holiday milestones in 2025 could enhance their liquor selections and launch targeted promotions in the lead-up to both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Dining venues are also impacted by the rhythms of the holiday season – but each segment within the dining industry follows its own unique seasonal trajectory.
Visits to the fast-casual, coffee, and fine-dining segments increased the week before Thanksgiving, with fast-casual and coffee visits peaking on Wednesday and fine-dining peaking on Thanksgiving day. Both coffee and fine-dining chains also received a small traffic bump on Black Friday, with coffee traffic likely aided by consumers looking to refuel during their shopping.
But beginning in mid-December, the fine-dining category pulled ahead of the other dining segments, picking up steam as the month wore on before peaking on December 23rd and 24th. And while traffic predictably declined on Christmas Day, the drop was less pronounced than for the other analyzed segments. Fine dining then resumed its strong showing on December 26th, maintaining elevated visits through the following days, potentially reflecting its appeal as a festive holiday dining destination for families.
Coffee chains and fast-casual restaurants also enjoyed moderately elevated December traffic, with smaller visit spikes on December 23rd. Traffic to both segments then slowed during the holiday – though coffee chains continued to see higher-than-average foot traffic on Christmas Eve – before tapering off as the month drew to a close.
Looking ahead to 2025, each dining segment can take steps to maximize its holiday impact. Fine dining chains can attract more special-occasion celebrants with unique holiday-themed menu items – paired with targeted promotions that make its premium offerings more accessible to families. Meanwhile, fast-casual and coffee chains can capitalize on high-traffic days like December 23rd by catering to the needs of busy holiday shoppers – extending operating hours and offering streamlined ordering and pickup options.
The 2024 holiday season proved strong for most retail categories, with each retail category displaying a different holiday visit pattern. This year’s calendar layout also presented a unique advantage, with a longer stretch between Super Saturday and Christmas compared to last year.
By analyzing 2024 holiday regional visit trends, understanding the role that each year’s specific calendar configuration plays in shaping consumer behavior, and identifying the unique retail milestones for each chain and category, retail and dining stakeholders can refine their strategies and make the most of the 2025 holiday season.
Placer.ai observes a panel of mobile devices in order to extrapolate and generate visitation insights for a variety of locations across the U.S. This panel covers only visitors from within the United States and does not represent or take into account international visitors.
Professional sports are big business – the industry is valued at nearly $1 billion in the United States alone. And beyond the economic impact of actual ticket sales and stadium and sponsorship gains, major sporting events can have significant impacts on local industries such as tourism, dining, and hospitality. Cities hosting sports events tend to see influxes of visitors who boost tourism, spend money at restaurants and hotels, and create ripple effects that benefit entire local economies.
The 2024 Copa América, typically held in South America but hosted in the United States this year, provides a prime example of the effect sports tourism can have on local economies. The games kicked off in Atlanta, Georgia on June 20th, 2024, before moving on to other host cities and boosting hospitality traffic along the way.
This white paper dives into the data to see how the games impacted hotel visits in cities across America – and especially in Atlanta. The report uncovers the hotel tiers and brands that saw the largest visit boosts and explores visitor demographics to better understand the audiences drawn to the event.
The Copa América took place in June and July 2024, with fourteen cities – mainly across the Sunbelt – hosting games. Thousands of fans attended each event, driving up demand in local hotel markets.
Arlington, TX, saw the largest hotel visit bump during the week it hosted the games, with hospitality traffic up 23.0% compared to the metro area's weekly January to September 2024 visit average. Orlando, FL, too, enjoyed a significant visit spike (22.1%), followed by Kansas City, KS-MO (17.4%).
The Atlanta metropolitan area, for its part, also saw a significant 11.0% increase in hotel visits during its hosting week compared to the city’s weekly visit average.
The Copa América games attracted fans from across the country – from as far away as Washington State and New Hampshire, as well as from neighboring states like Florida. On the day the tournament began, 26.1% of the domestic visitors to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium came from over 250 miles away, up from an average of 19.7% during the rest of the year (January to September 2024). These out-of-towners likely had a significant impact on Atlanta’s local economy – through spending on accommodations, dining, and entertainment.
During the week of the Copa América game, all of the analyzed hotel types in Atlanta received a visit bump. And while some of these visits were likely unrelated to the game, the massive scale of the event means that a significant share of the visit growth was likely driven by out-of-town soccer fans. Analyzing these patterns Atlanta can provide valuable insights for hospitality stakeholders looking to attract attendees of major sporting events.
Upper Midscale hotels saw the biggest boost during the week of the event, with visits 20.8% higher than the weekly visit average between January and September 2024. Midscale and Upscale hotels also experienced significant visit increases of 15.8% and 14.0%, respectively. During the same period, visits to Luxury hotels grew by 9.0% and Economy Hotel visits rose by 7.0% compared to the January to September 2024 weekly average. Meanwhile Upper Upscale Hotels received the smallest boost, with visits up by 2.9%.
Judging by these travel patterns, it appears that most Copa América spectators prefer to stay at Midscale, Upper Midscale, or Upscale hotels during the trip.
While Upper Midscale Hotels in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metro area generally experienced the biggest visit boost during the Copa América, visit performance varied somewhat from chain to chain. TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn, both Upper Midscale Marriott properties, saw increases of 27.5% and 25.3%, respectively, compared to their January to September 2024 weekly averages. Other chains in the tier also enjoyed visit boosts – visits to Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn – both Hilton chains – jumped by 17.3% and 17.4%, respectively, during the same period.
The popularity of these Upper Midscale hotels may be driven by a multitude of factors. Some, like TownePlace Suites and Home2 Suites offer kitchenettes, something that may appeal to visitors looking to save by preparing their own meals. Others, such as Fairfield Inn and Hampton Inn which offer more locations closer to the stadium may attract visitors that prioritize convenience.
Layering the STI: PopStats dataset onto Placer.ai’s captured market can provide insights into Copa América attendees by revealing the demographic attributes of census block groups (CBGs) contributing visitors to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (The CBGs feeding visitors to a chain or venue, weighted to reflect the share of visitors from each one, are collectively referred to as the business’ captured market.)
During the Copa América opener,Mercedes-Benz Stadium drew visitors from CBGs with a median household income (HHI) of $90.0K – well above the national median of $76.1K and similar to the median HHI during the Taylor Swift concert ($90.6K). The stadium’s trade area median HHI was even higher during the Super Bowl ($117.9K).
This visitor profile suggests that Copa América attendees – along with guests of other major cultural and sporting events – often have the means to splurge on comfortable, mid-range hotels for their stays. As Atlanta gears up to host the College Football National Championship in January 2025, the 62nd Super Bowl in February 2028, and the MLB All Star Game in July 2025, along with a host of smaller-scale events – the city can draw on historical data from past events, including the Copa América, to better understand the needs and preferences of stadium visitors and plan accordingly.
And although Upper Upscale hotels generally experienced relatively subdued growth during the Atlanta Copa América opener, some Upper Upscale properties – including Marriott’s Autograph Collection Twelve Downtown, saw visits jump. Visits to the hotel were up 19.7% during the week of the Copa América compared to the January to September 2024 weekly average.
The Twelve Downtown has become a popular lodging choice for major events in the city, likely due to its proximity to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (The hotel is located just over a mile away from the stadium). During the Super Bowl LIII five years ago, the Twelve Downtown drew 27.9% more visits than its weekly average for January to September 2019. And during the 2023 Taylor Swift concert, the hotel saw a 25.5% visit bump.
A closer look at the median HHI of the hotel’s captured market during the three periods reveals that, despite each event attracting visitors from varying income brackets, the median HHI of visitors to the Twelve Downtown remained stable. Visitors to the hotel between January and September 2024 came from trade areas where the median HHI was $76.2K, not far off from the median HHI during the 2019 Super Bowl ($75.4K), Taylor Swift’s 2023 concert ($80.6K) and the Copa América ($76.7K).
This stability suggests that, regardless of the event, hotels attract a specific visitor base. And understanding the similarities within the demographic profiles of likely hotel visitors during different events will be key for hotels at all levels seeking to capitalize on the economic opportunities created by major local events.
The Mountain region offers employment opportunities, affordable housing, outdoors recreation, and a relatively low cost of living – which could explain why these states are emerging as major domestic migration hubs. Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming in particular have consistently attracted inbound domestic migration in recent years, as Americans continue leaving higher density regions in search of greener – and calmer – pastures.
This report uses various datasets from the Placer.ai Migration Trends Report to analyze domestic migration to Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. Where are people coming from? And how is recent migration impacting local population centers in these states? Keep reading to find out.
Idaho emerged as a domestic migration hotspot over the pandemic, as many Americans freed from the obligation of in-person work relocated to the Gem State. Between June 2020 and June 2024, Idaho saw positive net migration of 4.7%, more than any other state in the U.S. (This metric measures the number of people moving to a state minus the number of people leaving – expressed as a percentage of the state’s total population.) And between 2023 and 2024, Idaho remained the nation’s top domestic migration performer (see map above).
Diving into the data reveals that though people moved to Idaho from across the U.S., most of Idaho’s influx over the past four years came from neighboring West Coast and Mountain States – especially California. Former residents of the Golden State accounted for a whopping 58.1% of inbound migrants to Idaho over the analyzed period.
California’s position as the top feeder of relocators to Idaho during the analyzed period may come as no surprise, given the state’s recent population outflow and the many former California residents who have settled in the Mountain region. But Washington, Oregon, and Nevada – where inbound and outbound migration remained relatively even in recent years – have also been seeing shifts to Idaho.
Idaho has a lower tax burden, robust employment opportunities, and greater overall affordability than its top four feeder states. So some of the recent relocators likely moved to the Gem State to enjoy better economic opportunities while staying relatively close to their states of origin. And these recent Idahoans may be reshaping Idaho’s demographic and economic landscape in the process.
Most inbound migration to Idaho is concentrated in the state’s metro areas, with Boise – the capital of Idaho and the major city closest to California – consistently absorbing the highest share of net inbound migration.
But recently, other CBSAs have emerged as key destinations for new Idahoans. The location of two emerging domestic relocation hubs in particular suggests that many new Idaho residents may be looking to stay close to their areas of origin: Coeur d’Alene, located near the border with Washington, attracts its largest contingent of new residents from the Spokane, WA metro area, while Twin Falls’ top feeder area is the Elko CBSA in northern Nevada.
Twin Falls in southern Idaho has a strong job market – and has received a substantial share of inbound domestic migration over the past three years. Coeur d’Alene is also flush with economic opportunities, and after declining steadily for several years, the share of relocators heading to the metro area increased to 20.7% between June 2023 and 2024.
The chart above also reveals that the share of inbound migration heading to Boise declined slightly between June 2023 and June 2024 – following a period of consistent growth between June 2020 and June 2023 – even as the share of migration to Coeur d’Alene ballooned. This may mean that, although the state’s largest metro area may have reached its saturation point, other areas in the state are still primed to receive inbound migration.
While Nevada is losing some of its population to nearby Idaho, the Silver State is also gaining new residents of its own: Between September 2020 and September 2024, the Silver State experienced positive net migration of 3.3%. And the data indicates that many new Nevadans are choosing to settle in the state's rapidly growing suburban centers.
Zooming into the Las Vegas-Henderson CBSA reveals that much of the growth is concentrated outside the main city of Las Vegas. Instead, the more suburban cities of Enterprise, Henderson, and North Las Vegas received the largest migration bump – with Henderson and North Las Vegas’ population now surpassing that of Reno. And while year-over-year migration trends suggest that the growth is beginning to stabilize, Enterprise and Henderson are still growing significantly faster than the CBSA as a whole – indicating that the suburbs continue to draw Nevada newcomers.
Analyzing the inbound domestic migration to Enterprise – one of the fastest growing areas in the country – may shed light on the aspects of suburban Las Vegas that are driving population growth.
Many new Enterprise residents moved to the city from elsewhere in Nevada, while most out-of-state newcomers came from California or Hawaii – mirroring the migration patterns for Nevada as a whole. And according to the Niche Neighborhood Grades dataset, Enterprise is a good fit for retirees and young professionals alike, with the city ranking higher than its feeder areas with regard to a range of factors – from jobs and commute to weather.
Like with migration to the rest of the Mountain region, domestic migration to Nevada – particularly to suburban areas like Enterprise and Henderson – is likely driven by newcomers looking for more economic opportunities along with higher quality of life.
Wyoming – currently the least populous state in the country – is another Mountain region state where inbound migration is driving up the population numbers. But in the Cowboy State, urban areas – as opposed to suburban ones – seem to be the main magnets for population growth.
The Cheyenne, Wyoming CBSA – home to Wyoming’s capital – is the largest metro area in the state. And analyzing the CBSA’s population trends over the past six years reveals a recent shift in Wyoming’s inbound migration patterns.
Cheyenne’s population is mostly suburban, and the CBSA’s suburban areas remain popular with newcomers – suburban Cheyenne has also seen steady population growth since January 2018. But when the CBSA became a popular relocation destination over the pandemic, many newcomers to the Cheyenne region chose to move to metro area’s more rural areas: By April 2022, Cheyenne’s rural population had jumped by 10.8% compared to a January 2018 baseline, compared to a 5.9% and 3.9% increase in the CBSA’s suburban and urban populations, respectively.
As the country opened back up, however, the number of rural Cheyenne residents dropped back down – and by September 2024, Cheyenne’s rural population was only 0.1% bigger than it had been in January 2018. The population growth in suburban Cheyenne also slowed down, with the September 2024 suburban population numbers more or less on par with the April 2022 figures.
Now, Cheyenne’s urban areas have overtaken both rural and suburban areas in terms of population growth: In September 2024, Cheyenne’s urban population was 9.4% bigger than in January 2018, compared to 5.2% and 0.1% growth for the suburban and urban areas, respectively.
Despite the growth in Cheyenne’s urban population, the suburbs still remain the most populous – as of September 2024, 71.2% of the CBSA’s population resided in suburban areas. But the continued growth of Cheyenne’s urban population may reflect a rising demand among Wyomingites for amenities and economic opportunities unavailable elsewhere in the state, mirroring the trend in Idaho’s urban CBSAs such as Boise and Coeur d'Alene.
Cheyenne’s urban growth could be partially due to shifts in migration patterns. At the height of the pandemic, most newcomers to Cheyenne were coming from out of state, perhaps drawn by the quiet and spaciousness of rural Wyoming. But since 2022, the share of migration to Cheyenne from within Wyoming has grown – coinciding with the population increase in its urban areas and suggesting that Cheyenne's amenities are attracting more residents statewide.
This growing intra-state migration to Cheyenne’s urban areas underscores the city’s evolving role as a hub within Wyoming, appealing not just to newcomers from outside the state but increasingly to Wyoming residents seeking the benefits of a more urban lifestyle relative to the rest of the state.
The Mountain States are solidifying their status as key migration hubs in the U.S., driven by economic opportunities, affordable living, and lifestyle appeal. Between September 2023 and September 2024, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming all experienced significant population growth due to inbound domestic migration. In Idaho, newcomers from neighboring states are boosting the population of the Gem State’s major metro areas. Meanwhile the Cheyenne, Wyoming, CBSA is emerging as a focal point for intra-state migration, with urban Cheyenne seeing particularly pronounced growth. And in Nevada, suburban hubs like Henderson and Enterprise are welcoming new arrivals seeking a balance of suburban comfort and economic potential. With the cost of living continuing to increase – and the Mountain region offering something for everyone through its various states – Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming are likely to remain top migration destinations in 2025 and beyond.
