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Albertsons Companies is one of the largest grocery holding companies in the U.S., operating over a dozen regional grocery banners and serving millions of shoppers across the country.
With such a broad presence, the brand caters to a highly diverse customer base – but some overall trends can be observed on a nationwide scale. We took a closer look at the overall visitation patterns the brand experienced in Q3 2024 and dove into the demographics of some of its largest markets.
Year over year (YoY), Q3 2024 visits to Albertsons’ banners dropped 1.4% compared to the equivalent period of 2023, possibly reflecting the ongoing financial strain consumers face amid rising grocery prices. Despite this, visits to the company’s chains were significantly higher than pre-pandemic, with Q3 2024 visits up by 10.8% compared to 2019.
Analyzing quarterly visits to Albertsons’ banners relative to a Q1 2019 baseline further highlights the chain’s firm long-term positioning. After dropping during the pandemic, visits increased steadily through Q4 2022 – and have held steady since, despite the challenges facing traditional grocery stores over the past two years. This indicates that even in the face of the growing competition posed by online and value grocers, Albertsons has succeeded in holding onto gains and maintaining its standing within the sector.
While major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are known for driving grocery visits, other key dates also spark significant foot traffic across Albertsons’ banners. For instance, during the week of July 1, 2024, visits to the company’s portfolio spiked by 14.1% compared to the year-to-date (YTD) weekly visit average, as customers flocked to stores for July 4th weekend supplies.
Mother’s Day also drove significant foot traffic, with visits during the week of May 6, 2024 rising 10.8% above the YTD average. So with Halloween, Turkey Wednesday, and Christmas just around the corner, Albertsons appears poised to enjoy a busy holiday season.
Albertsons’ extensive reach means that it attracts a broad spectrum of consumers, but overall, the company tends to over-index for wealthier and suburban markets.
Using the Spatial.ai: PersonaLive dataset to analyze Albertsons' trade areas reveals that, on a nationwide level, the company’s captured market has higher shares of wealthy and suburban consumer segments than its potential one. (A business’ potential market is obtained by weighting each Census Block Group (CBG) in its trade area weighted according to the size of its population. A business’ captured market, on the other hand, is obtained by weighting each CBG according to its share of visits to the chain or venue in question – and thus represents the profile of its actual visitor base).
During the first eight months of 2024, for example, the share of “Ultra Wealthy Families” in Albertsons’ captured market stood at 13.7%, higher than the company’s potential market share of 10.7%. This suggests that from within the overall trade areas served by Albertsons, the chain is especially successful at attracting this affluent demographic.
On the flip side, consumer groups like “Young Professionals” and “Young Urban Singles” were underrepresented in Albertsons’ captured market compared to its potential one. This signals potential growth opportunities for Albertsons, as they could expand their appeal to younger, city-based segments.
Albertsons continues to offer something for everyone, enjoying visit boosts offered by special calendar days and growing its foot traffic relative to pre-pandemic.
For the latest data-driven grocery insights, visit Placer.ai.
This blog includes data from Placer.ai Data Version 2.1, which introduces a new dynamic model that stabilizes daily fluctuations in the panel, improving accuracy and alignment with external ground truth sources.
It’s been quite a year for coffee and beverage chains. Heading into the year, we thought the category would see strong visitation trends due to store expansion, return-to-work, menu innovation, migration, and new approaches to promotional strategies. By and large, that has played out, with mid-single-digit visitation growth on a year-over-year basis (excluding January, which was negatively impacted by inclement weather across much of the country, and April, which was impacted by a calendar shift that resulted in four weekends this year versus five in the year-ago period).
Of course, the category has been much more nuanced. Category-leader Starbucks has seen visits moderate, which played a part in one of the more notable leadership changes in the restaurant industry history. However, as we’ve discussed over the past several years, the shift to drive-thru focused coffee and beverage chains has accounted for much of the growth. Below, we’ve presented visits per location for eight of the leading coffee and beverage chains. Drive-thru chains like Dutch Bros., Scooter’s Coffee, 7 Brew Coffee, and Biggby Coffee all remain well above their pre-pandemic visit per location trends, even as they continue to aggressively expand unit openings. On the other hand, traditional players like Starbucks, Dunkin’, Tim Hortons, and Caribou Coffee have all seen visit per location declines the past several years.
The success of these emergent competitors will likely result in further changes across Starbucks and other legacy coffee chains. New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has already made it clear that, going forward, Starbucks stores will have “a clear distinction between “to-go” and “for-here” service”, and we suspect other chains will follow suit.
For fashion-focused consumers, there’s never been more choices available to shop. While luxury brands and retailers are still viewed as the trend setters, there are many brands in the mid-tier luxury market gaining traction. At a time when perceived value is paramount to shopper decision-making, brands that provide a great experience and on-trend styles that won’t break a budget are winning visits.
Product knowledge, recommendations and styling tips can all be accessed in the digital and social world, which gives smaller brands a fighting chance at connecting with shoppers who may not have stores located near them. Those brands whose social presence also coincides with a physical shopping experience, they’re able to build a cult-like following.
Accessories is a market that’s even further fragmented when it comes to the number of consumer choices, specifically in areas like handbags. Brands that have found their niche in the mid-tier market, like Clare V. and Stoney Clover Lane, have been able to hedge against the headwinds facing most discretionary brands. Although each brand has a handful of locations in comparison to accessory behemoths, their unique selection, brand storytelling and ability to assimilate to local environments have helped them to garner quite the following.
In comparing both brands to other apparel and accessories sectors, they have outperformed the other areas handily throughout 2024. Certainly fashion is very cyclical; one day, a brand is hot, and within a few weeks the craze might be over. However, both of these brands have been around since before the pandemic and continued to climb.
Looking further into Stoney Clover Lane, the brand is known for its colorful nylon pouches, purses and luggage that consumers can customize with a broad assortment of patches. The brand has also had licensing partnerships with brands such as American Girl and Disney.
Its physical retail presence combines experiences and an expansive assortment where consumers can customize their bags in store with patches and also attend local events. The brand has the highest percentage of weekend visits compared to the competitive set, and it’s clear that it’s a destination retailer for visitors.
Stoney Clover Lane’s Nashville outpost, located in the popular 12 South neighborhood, offers the product customization as well as a performance stage to infuse some of the local culture into the store. Looking at the visitor journey for this location, there is a high level of cross visitation to hotels and restaurants, indicating that this store may serve as a destination for out-of-town travelers who want to shop the location. Placer’s Trade Area feature corroborates this, as there is a high concentration of visits from other Southern cities including Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas and Miami.
Clare V. blends the iconic styles of Los Angeles and Paris into an accessories brand that feels inherently cool. Its retail locations feel like an art museum blended with your best friend’s closet and each store location incorporates the local feel of the neighborhood it inhabits, including iconic locations like the Brentwood Country Mart in Los Angeles.
Clare V.’s Chicago shop draws a more local crowd, with a high level of cross-vistation to and from home as well as transportation services. Other neighborhood shops, restaurants and venues like Wrigley Field also have high levels of cross-visitation for visitors to Clare V.. By entrenching itself into the local look and feel of the neighborhoods it occupies, this national brand still feels like a well kept secret for those passing by. In comparing the trade area of the Chicago location in 2024 and 2023, the brand has been able to expand its reach further in Western Chicago Suburbs this year.
It’s been about a month since Labor Day, so let’s take a look and see how return-to-office (RTO) has been faring year-to-date. A majority of states saw fairly sizable bumps in year-over-year office traffic at the beginning of the year. The return in the state of Washington was particularly pronounced in the first four months of the year, with a 40% increase in January 2024 compared to January 2023.
Texas saw a bit of a decrease in May, June, and August. Overall, Houston and Dallas account for more of the office visits, followed by Austin.
Houston drove a decrease in office visits in the months of May, June, and August, while office visits were largely flat in September, with the exception of Austin, which showed a decline compared to the prior year.
There are multiple reasons potentially driving some of the decreases in Houston. The devastation of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 resulted in a long recovery. Many large companies along the I-10 chose to reduce their office footprint. However, per Avison Young, vacancy rates are lower at trophy assets.
Interestingly, those commuting 10-25 miles away have a lower RTO rate than those living 0-5 miles away, 5-10 miles away, or 25+ miles away. The first two make sense as we generally see higher RTO rates among those living within a closer commuting distance.
Dallas sees a similar pattern, though those who live within 5 miles have returned to office at a considerably higher rate at 85% than those farther afield.
One of the more intriguing patterns we are seeing is in Austin, Texas. Here, the RTO rate is actually higher the longer the commute. This seems rather counterintuitive, as in most locations, highest RTO rates are found the closer one lives to the office. New York is more typical, as we see that people are more likely to come into the office the closer they live.
Austin may, in fact, be a victim of its own success. Per Placer’s Migration Dashboard, its population has skyrocketed in the past few years. With more demand comes higher prices, and as a result, people are forced to move farther out in their quest for homes or more land. On the other hand, Austin traffic is not nearly as bad as some major cities like Los Angeles or New York, so living 25+ miles may not be as daunting a prospect when it comes to commuting.
Another huge factor? The move from California to Austin, Texas for Tesla's HQ means that it is now Austin’s largest employer, surpassing H-E-B, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made it clear that he expects his employees to fully return to office. Both visits and visitors to Giga, Texas have exploded.
With Q4 2024 just underway, retailers are already gearing up for the all-important holiday season. A condensed shopping window – just 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year – is prompting many to launch early deals and promotions. And though consumers remain cautious, shoppers are expected to spend more this year than they did in 2023.
But what can recent visitation trends tell us about how this year’s holiday season will really play out? We dove into visit data for various retail categories and chains to try and predict what’s in store for the all-important fourth quarter of 2024.
A look at the overall state of brick-and-mortar retail this year offers a glimpse into what we can expect this holiday season.
Since January 2024, monthly retail foot traffic has generally been on an upswing, with YoY visits up most months since January 2024 – and foot traffic higher than in 2022 or 2019 (pre-pandemic). This steady rise in retail visits signals strong consumer engagement in 2024, setting the stage for what may turn out to be a robust Q4.
Holiday promotions are kicking off early this year, offering customers more time to take advantage of deals and helping retailers navigate supply chain and logistics challenges. And though early sales are nothing new, 2024’s shorter holiday shopping season may suffuse them with more significance than ever.
In 2023, Thanksgiving fell on November 23rd, leaving consumers with 32 days in which to do their holiday shopping. But this year, the holiday will be on November 28th, shortening the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas by five days. To make up for lost time, retailers and consumers alike may embrace an early shopping frenzy, potentially detracting from the power of milestones like Black Friday, Super Saturday, and Christmas Eve Eve.
But a look at consumer behavior during special calendar days this year suggests that traditional retail milestones still very much resonate with customers. On Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day, key industries saw YoY visit boosts, though the magnitude of the increases varied across categories.
On Mother’s Day, for example, the beauty and wellness sector saw a 3.2% YoY increase in visits – highlighting the category’s enduring popularity for grateful offspring seeking to give mom a special gift. But on Memorial Day, department stores had their time in the sun, overshadowing other segments with a 7.2% YoY visit boost.
Overall, these occasions proved particularly effective at driving consumer engagement this year. So whether by targeting big days like Black Friday or planning extended holiday campaigns, the 2024 holiday season gives retailers a great chance to benefit from consumer excitement.
While all retail categories participate in the holiday season's flurry of sales, promotions, and limited-time offers, a select few shine especially bright during this period. These segments’ strong performance can often make up for quieter stretches earlier in the year.
Department stores are prime examples of holiday season winners. An analysis of weekly visits throughout 2023 shows that department stores experience one of the most impressive visits spikes of the holiday season. In the week leading up to Christmas, visits to department stores surged 113.4% compared to a 2023 weekly average – highlighting the segment’s success at positioning itself as a go-to destination for holiday shopping.
Another standout during the holiday season is the hobbies, gifts, and crafts category. Unlike department stores, this category sees a more evenly-distributed rise in foot traffic across Q4, with peaks leading up to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This pattern reflects the popularity of holiday-related decorations and gifts, which drive increased visits during these festive periods.
These two powerhouse categories – department stores and hobbies, gifts, and crafts – are poised to dominate the 2024 holiday season, just as they did last year. And with consumer spending expected to rise and foot traffic showing no signs of slowing, both categories have significant potential for even greater success this year.
The upcoming holiday season looks on track to be a big one. Despite the shorter shopping window, retailers are taking steps to maximize shopping opportunities with early promotions. And against the backdrop of this year’s robust consumer engagement – especially around milestones – Q4 is shaping up to be a festive season indeed.
Will retailers rise to the challenge? Follow Placer.ai to see how this holiday season unfolds.
This blog includes data from Placer.ai Data Version 2.1, which introduces a new dynamic model that stabilizes daily fluctuations in the panel, improving accuracy and alignment with external ground truth sources.
Grocery stores have been on an upward foot traffic trajectory as of late, and Trader Joe’s – with its cult-like following – is often near the top of the pack.
We dove into the location analytics for the chain, exploring its nationwide performance and visitor trends in its home state of California, to uncover what’s behind the grocer’s ongoing success.
Despite positive signs that food-at-home inflation is stabilizing, many consumers are still feeling the pinch of high grocery costs. And with the help of its wide range of premium-quality, private-label products, Trader Joe’s offers an upscale experience at prices that are attractive to value-conscious grocery shoppers.
Perhaps bolstered in part by several new locations, Trader Joe’s year-over-year (YoY) visit growth has outperformed the wider grocery category every month of 2024 so far. And the chain appears to be doubling down on its expansion strategy, with two dozen new stores planned through the end of 2024.
By continuing to meet consumer demand for value and quality, and through the ongoing expansion of its fleet, Trader Joe’s is likely to sustain foot traffic growth in the near future.
In addition to competitive pricing and a growing real estate footprint, examining visitor dynamics in California – Trader Joe’s largest market by far – suggests that the chain may be driving success by becoming more shoppers’ principal grocery destination.
Between January and August 2024, California Trader Joe’s experienced YoY visit growth ranging from 3.2% to 11.1% – while YoY foot traffic to the wider grocery segment ranged from -2.7% to 4.6%. And over the same period, the share of Trader Joe’s visitors that also frequented other leading California grocery chains decreased significantly – indicating that TJ’s is making inroads with some of its toughest competition in the state.
Between January and August 2023, for example, 50.1% of visitors to a California Trader Joe’s also visited Ralphs – a share that dropped to 47.1% during the equivalent period of 2024. Similar patterns could be observed for VONS, Sprouts Farmers Market, and even California’s grocery visit leader, Safeway.
This suggests that a growing percentage of Trader Joe’s shoppers may be relying on the chain for more of their essentials – rather than visiting TJ’s in addition to a traditional grocery store.
Diving deeper into the demographic characteristics of visitors to California Trader Joe’s provides further insight into the consumers driving the chain’s statewide YoY visit gains. Analyzing California TJ’s trade areas with data from STI: PopStats reveals that Trader Joe’s drives an outsized share of visits from singles – living on their own or with roommates.
Between January and August 2024, 26.5% of residents in Trader Joe’s California captured market lived in one-person households – compared to a statewide average of 22.9%. Meanwhile, 10.0% of the trade area residents were from non-family households – well above the state average of 8.0%.
This could be partially due to Trader Joe’s ongoing investment in college town locations, as well as its fail-safe frozen food selection – a winner with novice cooks pressed for time or space for meal-prep. Plus, Trader Joe’s boasts cheerfully-themed, seasonal products that change every few months, which may be particularly likely to resonate with college students that follow seasonal rhythms of their own.
Trader Joe’s continues to shine in the grocery space in part due to ongoing consumer demand for value and the chain’s expansion. And in California, a loyal and disproportionately single audience is a significant driver of foot traffic.
For updates and more grocery foot traffic insights, visit Placer.ai.
This blog includes data from Placer.ai Data Version 2.1, which introduces a new dynamic model that stabilizes daily fluctuations in the panel, improving accuracy and alignment with external ground truth sources.
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.
