Apparel & Beauty

Dillard’s has managed to outperform the wider department store space in 2025 by sustaining traffic during key months, benefiting from a Sunbelt-heavy footprint, and positioning itself as a weekend destination. Its clearance locations have also thrived, highlighting the enduring importance of value-oriented shopping in a cautious consumer climate.

Gap Inc. is expanding into beauty and accessories to offset apparel’s sameness, capture value-driven and aspirational shoppers, and build brand identity. With overlap in beauty and off-price traffic, success depends on delivering trend-forward products and in-store expertise.

Beauty and fitness retail stores have not only recovered from the pandemic, but significantly surpassed pre-pandemic foot traffic levels. In the fitness space, this growth is in part driven by increased visitor frequency, and in the beauty space, continued growth hinges on the integration of a store experience that complements digital shopping behavior. 

Apparel is diverging in 2025 as luxury and off-price outperform traditional retailers. Visit data shows luxury gaining ground among high-income shoppers, while off-price continues to scale with broad consumer appeal. Traditional apparel lags as value and exclusivity dominate demand.

After stability in early 2025, U.S. retail and dining traffic has declined for three straight months, with weakness spreading across states. Tariffs, income bifurcation, and Gen Z holiday cutbacks signal rising risks to consumer resilience heading into late 2025.

Thrift stores are defying retail headwinds – and with higher-income and rural and suburban shoppers joining the mix, thrifting has gone mainstream. As tariffs loom, secondhand appears set to remain one of retail’s standout success stories.

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale was longer than in previous years, but daily visits during the event were up compared to 2023 & 2024 – highlighting the brand value and positive consumer perception that the retailer has successfully cultivated in recent years.

Bath & Body Works (BBWI) leveraged its semi-annual sale to drive visit growth despite economic headwinds.