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The apparel space has faced considerable headwinds in recent years – from changing consumer preferences to cutbacks in discretionary spending. We dove into the data for various apparel categories to explore emerging industry trends and see what foot traffic patterns can tell us about the state of apparel in 2025.
Consumers’ emphasis on value and the excitement of a constantly changing inventory have significantly impacted the apparel space in recent years – and off-price chains and thrift stores are reaping the benefits.
Between 2019 and 2024, off-price and thrift store chains claimed growing shares of the overall apparel visit pie. Off-price’s visit share jumped from 28.1% in 2019 to 35.1% in 2024, while thrift’s increased from 9.4% to 12.2%. And while this growth came at the expense of traditional department stores and general apparel chains, the relative visit share of our luxury segment remained relatively stable – likely due to its more affluent and less value-seeking clientele.
The activewear and athleisure segment, for its part, has followed a more nuanced path in recent years. The activewear and athleisure segment saw relative visit share growth during the pandemic (between 2019 and 2021), as home workout routines and comfortable clothing became the norm. But in 2022, the category began to revert to its pre-pandemic visit share, likely due to the return of in-person gatherings and return-to-office trends.
Analysis of yearly visits to various apparel categories provides further insight into their foot traffic trajectories.
Since 2021, off-price visits have steadily increased compared to 2019, while thrift store visits have consistently outperformed 2019 levels since 2022. This indicates that the off-price and thrift segments are experiencing absolute visit growth alongside increased relative visit share.
However, over the last four years, visits to traditional department stores and general apparel retailers have consistently underperformed 2019 baselines – while luxury retailers have seen visits decline even as they have maintained relative visit share stability. Meanwhile, following three years of visits above 2019 levels, activewear and athleisure visits have begun to decline, dipping below the 2019 benchmark in 2024.
Diving into the audience demographics in the apparel space reveals several trends behind the growth of the off-price and thrift segments.
In 2024, compared to the other apparel categories, off-price had the largest share of large households (3+ people) within its captured market* (42.1%), while thrift stores had the smallest share (39.0%). This could mean that off-price chains resonate with families seeking budget-friendly staples, whereas thrift stores appeal to singles hunting for unique items.
*A category’s captured market is derived by the census block groups (CBGs) from which retailers draw their visitors weighted by the share of visits from each, and thus reflects the population that visits the category.
Diving deeper into consumer behavior in the apparel space reveals additional visitation trends in the off-price and thrift categories.
Of the analyzed apparel categories, off-price had the longest average visit duration in 2024, followed closely by thrift. Though off-price and thrift formats share a treasure-hunting environment, off-price's higher proportion of larger households may contribute to longer dwell times, as visitors shop for multiple family members at once. Still, thrift store visitors, likely to come from small households, seem to spend significant time treasure-hunting for their own wardrobes. Activewear and athleisure, meanwhile, saw the shortest average dwell time – likely driven by customers who go into the stores knowing exactly what they want.
And of the apparel categories analyzed, thrift had the largest share of weekday visits (Monday - Friday) in 2024, perhaps since its visitors are more likely to be singles and young couples free of family commitments after work or retirees with weekday availability. Still, off-price also had a relatively elevated share of weekday visitors compared to most apparel categories, suggesting that visitors juggling family-driven schedules view off-price shopping as an errand rather than a recreational activity.
Consumer preferences for value and unique finds are reshaping the apparel retail landscape, driving substantial growth in the off-price and thrift segments. While traditional retail models face challenges, understanding these shifts in consumer behaviors and demographics is key to finding success in this dynamic environment.
For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai.
CVS and Walgreens, the two largest drugstore chains in the country, have faced increased competition from superstores and online platforms in recent years. To adapt, both chains are optimizing their brick-and-mortar footprints – and Walgreens is going private following its recent acquisition by Sycamore Partners.
We took a look at the two chains’ visit performance to see what lies ahead for each.
CVS and Walgreens command a major portion of drugstore visits nationwide – and their foot traffic data sheds light on how each is weathering heightened competition. CVS, which consolidated its fleet between 2022 and 2024, saw both overall visits (+0.6%) and average visits per location (+2.9%) elevated YoY in Q4 2024, suggesting that these store closures have helped bolster the chain.
Walgreens, which also closed a significant number of stores over the past two years, saw overall foot traffic lag slightly throughout 2024. However, average visits per location to the chain were up in all but one quarter of the year, suggesting that Walgreen’s rightsizing moves are having a positive impact on the chain, directing more traffic to higher-performing locations.
These patterns held into 2025, with CVS enjoying elevated YoY visits in all weeks analyzed, while Walgreens visits remained, for the most part, slightly below 2024 levels. Walgreens recently announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, and while the impact of this deal remains to be seen, it could create opportunities for innovation and strategic transformation.
CVS and Walgreens are major players in the pharmacy space, controlling the lion’s share of offline pharmacy visits (excluding general and grocery retailers with on-site pharmacies such as Walmart and Kroger.) And even as the two chains have reduced their footprints, their overall market presence has expanded – perhaps a reflection of the broader challenges facing smaller pharmacy operators.
Between Q1 2023 and Q4 2024, the share of visits to drugstore and pharmacy retailers attributed to CVS increased from 41.9% to 44.0%, while Walgreens’ share grew modestly from 49.2% to 50.4%. Meanwhile, the share of visits to smaller chains declined from 8.9% to 5.5%. This indicates that CVS’s growing visit share has not come at the expense of Walgreens – underscoring both chains’ resilience and growth potential in the face of sector-wide headwinds.
CVS closed hundreds of stores between 2022 and 2024 as it sought to refine its retail strategy – and now, the drugstore seems to be ready for its next move. The chain announced the rollout of about a dozen small-format stores, set to open throughout 2025. These stores will stock more of the essentials – cold medicine, first-aid care – and offer pharmacy services, while eschewing some of the traditional drugstore offerings like greeting cards and groceries.
And exploring CBSA-level visitation patterns at CVS suggests that this move may indeed be giving consumers what they want – especially in certain areas of the country. In 2024, short visits to CVS (i.e. those lasting less than ten minutes) increased YoY in many CBSAs nationwide, but some regions, like the Northeast, experienced stronger short visit growth than others. As CVS plans out its small-format expansion, focusing on regions with strong interest in short visits – where consumers may be particularly interested in an efficient shopping experience at a scaled-down location – could help it capture even more market share while improving customer convenience.
CVS and Walgreens have faced their fair share of challenges in recent years, but both are adapting to stay competitive. New leadership and store formats may help them better serve customers and navigate the shifting retail pharmacy market.
Will the segment continue to adapt to a changing retail environment? Visit Placer.ai to find out.
Recently, Target announced plans to add around 2,000 items to its baby and toddler assortment, with the goal of "supporting families throughout the parenting journey with products that bring joy and convenience to their everyday lives.”
The data suggests that Target shoppers are likely to react positively to this expanded baby assortment: Layering Placer.ai's trade area data with Spatial.ai's psychographic segmentation shows that Target's trade area is over-indexed for a range of family-oriented consumer segments, and affluent families in particular account for a significant share of Target's captured market. An expanded baby assortment is therefore likely to appeal to much of Target’s visitor base.
In a period marked by ongoing inflation and rising grocery prices, two chains – Trader Joe’s and Aldi – continue to thrive. We took a closer look at the two chains’ data to see what is driving their continued success.
Trader Joe’s and Aldi continue to be growth leaders in the grocery space. Both focus on selling a more limited selection of products and are known for providing quality at more budget-friendly prices. Both have also been in expansion mode, opening new stores and strengthening their market presence.
In 2024, Trader Joe’s visits increased by 6.2% compared to 2023, while Aldi saw an even more significant traffic rise of 18.2%. And while store expansion certainly contributed to this growth, average visits per location also trended upward, indicating strong demand across the two chains’ existing store networks. Trader Joe’s, which added about 35 stores in 2024, saw visits per location rise by 3.2%. Aldi, which added over 100 new locations in 2024, experienced a 13.5% increase in visits per location.
These strong foot traffic trends have continued into 2025, with weekly visits maintaining 2024’s momentum. Visits and visits per location were consistently elevated, an impressive feat given 2024’s already strong visit metrics.
As both chains continue to expand – Trader Joe’s has announced dozens of new openings in 2025, and Aldi has hundreds in the pipeline – the chains are well positioned for an even stronger 2025.
Trader Joe’s and Aldi offer a similar shopping experience – limited assortment, smaller store sizes, and a focus on budget-friendly offerings – but in practice, the two chains attract different audiences. In 2024, the median household income (HHI) in Trader Joe’s captured market trade area was $110.1K, significantly higher than Aldi’s $75.7K and the national median for grocery shoppers ($82.0K).
And while the two grocers attract shoppers from different sides of the income spectrum, analyzing consumer behavior at Aldi and Trader Joe’s reveals commonalities that may be driving some of their success.
Both Trader Joe’s and Aldi received a larger share of weekend visitors (35.0% and 34.4%, respectively) than the grocery nationwide average (32.1%). This suggests that, despite both chains’ limited assortment, consumers view Trader Joe’s and Aldi as weekend stock-up destinations – taking advantage of their days off to enjoy a more leisurely shopping experience at these value-driven retailers.
The relatively high share of weekend visits is consistent with another emerging trend at the two grocers that suggests Trader Joe’s and Aldi are increasingly becoming primary grocery destinations.
Between 2023 and 2024, both Aldi and Trader Joe’s saw a decrease in the share of visitors that visited another grocery chain immediately before or after their Aldi or Trader Joe’s trip. This shift may be a result of an increasingly budget-conscious shopper, and suggests that visitors are choosing Aldi and Trader Joe’s as a main shopping destination rather than supplementing trips to larger chains.
This marks a promising shift for Trader Joe’s and Aldi as they continue expanding their footprints. By commanding a bigger slice of the grocery pie, both chains are solidifying their positions as go-to destinations for full grocery hauls.
Trader Joe’s and Aldi seem well-positioned as 2025 gets underway, with both driving continued foot traffic growth and becoming more of a primary destination for their shoppers.
As both stores expand their footprint, will these trends hold?
Visit Placer.ai to find out.
As we wrap up Q1 2025, we’re already beginning to see a slow down in retail visitation by consumers. Despite general growth in retail visitation over the past few years, rapid price increases and changes in consumer behavior may finally have caught up to consumers across income levels. In this new unknown chapter of the retail industry, one thing is clear; high income consumers are critical for retailers to capture and retain in order to offset a drop-off in demand by other cohorts.
High income shoppers have long been the elusive target of retailers across a variety of price points. From Target to Neiman Marcus to specialty grocers, retailers have tried to enhance assortments, increase service offerings, and eliminate inconveniences for consumers who have the highest levels of disposable income. These factors only grew in importance as the retail industry navigated the pandemic and the subsequent consumer recovery – high income shoppers' price elasticity has bolstered the industry against rising inflation and price increases.
What’s fascinating, though, is that despite the buying power of high income consumers – they aren’t large contributors of retail visitation overall. According to our Placer 100 Dining and Retail Index, households with income greater than $200K accounted for 8.1% of overall visits in 2024, which is slightly lower than the share of visits from the same group in 2019 (8.2%). The share of visits from lower income households increased since the pandemic (32.9% of visits from households with a median income of $50K or less in 2024, compared to 32.7% in 2019), while the inverse is true for higher income shoppers.
The lower share of visits from high income households does align with the general trends we’ve observed across retail. Lower income shoppers, who have become more price conscious and constrained by rising costs, have increased their frequency of visits across multiple retail chains in order to derive the most value from their visits. Meanwhile, wealthier shoppers may have maintained or increased their online purchasing since the pandemic onset, which could have lessened their desire to shop in person.
With a smaller share of the wealthiest shoppers visiting retail locations, the fight for those consumer dollars is going to be even more competitive. Alternatively, for categories that are capturing even more visits from high income shoppers, the need to satisfy their needs and drive conversion is critical.
Retailers that have won over this group have tapped into the desire for value no matter the level of household income. Walmart executives recently shared that their largest growth in market share came from consumers with income over $100K. Placer’s foot traffic estimates also indicate that, indeed, traffic distribution for households with income over $75K increased in 2024 compared to 2022, with declines in the share of visits by lower income households.
Walmart attributed these changes to their increased premium service offerings, including its membership program and delivery services – but there could also be another element at play. As prices have gone up considerably since the pandemic, even wealthier shoppers don’t want to see their receipts rise on a daily or weekly basis. Price perception can spur changes in consumer behavior, and this can apply to any consumer, no matter their socioeconomic status. Walmart’s success with wealthier cohorts sends a message to others in the industry; just because a consumer can afford to pay higher prices, doesn’t mean they will.
On the other end of the retail spectrum, the luxury retail market is also facing new challenges in regards to their changing consumer base. As we discussed in our overview of the category in January, there has been a consolidation of visits favoring high income households. In reviewing the captured share of visits by household income for luxury apparel and accessories chains, the largest declines came from “aspirational shoppers,” or those who made less than $150K, who might shop for luxury brands less frequently or for a special purchase. With a smaller pool of potential shoppers to pull from, luxury brands can no longer rely on those outside their core base.
The higher concentration of ultra wealthy consumers forces luxury brands to once again center themselves around the in-store experience and competitive advantages. Brands are constantly vying for shoppers' attention, and luxury brands can take full advantage of their store fleets as a way to court consumers. Personal shoppers, services, and private appointments will all become more important for stores to make up for a potential loss in aspirational consumers.
According to Personalive’s window of insight into different socioeconomic consumer cohorts, Ultra Wealthy Families, defined as those with income higher than $200K, also frequent specialty grocery chains, high-end fitness clubs such as Lifetime Fitness and high-end home goods retailers like Restoration Hardware and West Elm. These retailers, similar to luxury apparel and accessories brands, cater directly to high income households, which provides both opportunities for growth and potential hurdles if these consumers change their spending habits.
High income shoppers are quickly becoming the most courted shopper cohort. As retailers look to innovate and open new locations, lucrative neighborhoods with more high-touch services might pave the way for growth. However, the industry, particularly retailers who service middle and low income families, cannot abandon their consumer base in their efforts. With consumers so intrinsically focused on value, even high income consumers can’t be relied on solely to sustain the retail industry.
For more data-driven insights, visit placer.ai
Iconic clothing brand Brooks Brothers – known for dressing presidents – has experienced a challenging few years. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and closed a number of stores – but recent foot traffic suggests that things are turning around for the retailer.
We took a look at the location analytics for the brand to see how it’s been weathering recent challenges.
Brooks Brothers has long been synonymous with high-quality clothing, specializing in office attire – blazers, dress shirts, and tailored trousers. However, the brand faced significant challenges leading up to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July 2020. Even before the pandemic reshaped work routines, office wear had been trending toward more casual styles. COVID-19, which brought with it a surge in remote work, accelerated this shift even further.
As a response to the bankruptcy, Brooks Brothers implemented a strategic restructuring plan, closing underperforming stores and refocusing on high-traffic locations. This rightsizing strategy appears to be yielding positive results, with visits per location rising 4.7% year-over-year in Q4 2024. While total visits have declined, the remaining stores drew more customers on average, suggesting a more efficient footprint. Now, with the brand even opening new locations – including a flagship store in Boston – Brooks Brothers is signaling renewed confidence in its future.
Store count isn't the only thing changing at Brooks Brothers – its customer base is shifting as well. Between 2019 and 2024, the share of households with children in Brooks Brothers’ captured market trade area increased from 26.5% to 28.0%, while the share of “Suburban Periphery” households (as defined by Esri's Tapestry segmentation dataset) grew from 45.4% to 47.5%.
These shifts align with broader trends, including a renewed interest in suburban living and the rise of the quiet luxury movement, which favors timeless, high-quality fashion. And with back-to-office mandates continuing to ramp up, Brooks Brothers is well-positioned to maintain its momentum with this growing segment.
Despite the rocky economic environment, Brooks Brothers seems to be holding steady. By focusing on its strongest locations and core offerings, the brand may be on its way to a comeback.
For more data-driven retail and apparel insights, visit Placer.ai.
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.
Starbucks. Amazon. Barclays. AT&T. UPS. These are just some of the major corporations that have made waves in recent months with return-to-office (RTO) mandates requiring employees to show up in person more often – some of them five days a week.
But how are crackdowns like these taking shape on the ground? Is the office recovery still underway, or has it run its course? And how are evolving in-office work patterns impacting commuting hubs and dining trends? This white paper dives into the data to assess the state of office recovery in 2024 – and to explore what lies ahead for the sector in 2025.
In 2024, office foot traffic continued its slow upward climb, with visits to the Placer.ai Office Index down just 34.3% compared to 2019. (In other words, visits to the Placer.ai Office Index were 65.7% of their pre-COVID levels). And zooming in on year-over-year (YoY) trends reveals that office visits grew by 10.0% in 2024 compared to 2023 – showing that employee (and manager) pushback notwithstanding, the RTO is still very much taking place.
Indeed, diving into quarterly office visit fluctuations since Q4 2019 shows that office visits have been on a slow, steady upward trajectory since Q2 2020, following – at least since 2022 – a fairly consistent seasonal pattern. In Q1, Q2, and Q3 of each year, office visit levels increased steadily before dipping in holiday-heavy Q4 – only to recover to an even higher start-of-year baseline in the following Q1.
Between Q1 and Q3 2022, for example, the post pandemic office visit gap (compared to a Q4 2019 baseline) narrowed from 63.1% to 47.5%. It then widened temporarily in Q4 before reaching a new low – 41.4% – in Q1 2023. The same pattern repeated itself in both 2023 and 2024. So even though Q4 2024 saw a predictable visit decline, the first quarter of Q1 2025 may well set a new RTO record – especially given the slew of strict RTO mandates set to take effect in Q1 at companies like AT&T and Amazon.
Despite the ongoing recovery, the TGIF work week – which sees remote-capable employees concentrating office visits midweek and working remotely on Fridays – remains more firmly entrenched than ever.
In 2024, just 12.3% of office visits took place on Fridays – less than in 2022 (13.3%) and on par with 2023 (12.4%). Though Fridays were always popular vacation days – after all, why not take a long weekend if you can – this shift represents a significant departure from the pre-COVID norm, which saw Fridays accounting for 17.3% of weekday office visits.
Unsurprisingly, Tuesdays and Wednesdays remained the busiest in-office days of the week, followed by Thursdays. And Mondays saw a slight resurgence in visit share – up to 17.9% from 16.9% in 2023 – suggesting that as the RTO progresses, Manic Mondays are once again on the agenda.
Indeed, a closer look at year-over-five-year (Yo5Y) visit trends throughout the work week shows that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 2024 office foot traffic was down just 24.3% and 26.9%, respectively, compared to 2019 levels. The Thursday visit gap registered at 30.3%, while the Monday gap came in at 40.5%.
But on Fridays, offices were less than half as busy as they were in 2019 – with foot traffic down a substantial 53.2% compared to 2019.
Before COVID, long commutes on crowded subways, trains, and buses were a mainstay of the nine-to-five grind. But the rise of remote and hybrid work put a dent in rush hour traffic – leading to a substantial slowdown in the utilization of public transportation. As the office recovery continues to pick up steam, examining foot traffic patterns at major ground transportation commuting hubs, such as Penn Station in New York or Union Station in Washington, D.C., offers additional insight into the state of RTO.
Rush hour, for one thing – especially in the mornings – isn’t quite what it used to be. In 2024, overall visits to ground transportation hubs were down 25.0% compared to 2019. But during morning rush hour – weekdays between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM – visits were down between 44.6% and 53.0%, with Fridays (53.0%) and Mondays (49.7%) seeing the steepest drops. Even as people return to the office, it seems, many may be coming in later – leaning into their biological clocks and getting more sleep. And with today’s office-goers less likely to be suburban commuters than in the past (see below), hubs like Penn Station aren’t as bustling first thing in the morning as they were pre-pandemic.
Evening rush hour, meanwhile, has been quicker to bounce back, with 2024 visit gaps ranging from 36.4% on Fridays to 30.0% on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Office-goers likely form a smaller part of the late afternoon and evening rush hour crowd, which may include more travelers heading to a variety of places. And commuters going to work later in the day – including “coffee badgers” – may still be apt to head home between four and seven.
The drop in early-morning public transportation traffic may also be due to a shift in the geographical distribution of would-be commuters. Data from Placer.ai’s RTO dashboard shows that visits originating from areas closer to office locations have recovered faster than visits from farther away – indicating that people living closer to work are more likely to be back at their desks.
And analyzing the captured markets of major ground transportation hubs shows that the share of households from “Principal Urban Centers” (the most densely populated neighborhoods of the largest cities) rose substantially over the past five years. At the same time, the share of households from the “Suburban Periphery” dropped from 39.1% in 2019 to 32.7% in 2024. (A location’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 location’s visitor base.)
This shift in the profile of public transportation consumers may explain the relatively slow recovery of morning transportation visits: City dwellers , who seem to be coming into the office more frequently than suburbanites, may not need to get as early a start to make it in on time.
While the RTO debate is often framed around employer and worker interests, what happens in the office doesn’t stay in the office. Office attendance levels leave their mark on everything from local real estate markets to nationwide relocation patterns. And industries from apparel to dining have undergone significant shifts in the face of evolving work routines.
Within the dining space, for example, fast-casual chains have always been workplace favorites. Offering quick, healthy, and inexpensive lunch options, these restaurants appeal to busy office workers seeking to fuel up during a long day at their desks.
Traditionally, the category has drawn a significant share of its traffic from workplaces. And after dropping during COVID, the share of visits to leading fast-casual brands coming from workplaces is once again on the rise.
In 2019, for example, 17.3% of visits to Chipotle came directly from workplaces, a share that fell to just 11.6% in 2022. But each year since, the share has increased – reaching 16.0% in 2024. Similar patterns have emerged at other segment leaders, including Jersey Mike’s Subs, Panda Express, and Five Guys. So as people increasingly go back to the office, they are also returning to their favorite lunch spots.
For many Americans, coffee is an integral part of the working day. So it may come as no surprise that shifting work routines are also reflected in visit patterns at leading coffee chains.
In 2019, 27.5% of visits to Dunkin’ and 20.1% of visits to Starbucks were immediately followed by a workplace visit, as many employees grabbed a cup of Joe on the way to work or popped out of the office for a midday coffee break. In the wake of COVID, this share dropped for both coffee leaders. But since 2022, it has been steadily rebounding – another sign of how the RTO is shaping consumer behavior beyond the office.
Five years after the pandemic upended work routines and supercharged the soft pants revolution, the office recovery story is still being written. Workplace attendance is still on the rise, and restaurants and coffee chains are in the process of reclaiming their roles as office mainstays. Still, office visit data and foot traffic patterns at commuting hubs show that the TGIF work week is holding firm – and that people aren’t coming in as early or from as far away as they used to. As new office mandates take effect in 2025, the office recovery and its ripple effects will remain a story to watch.
