Lila Margalit

Mandates Meet the Summer Slowdown

August is typically one of the office calendar’s quieter months, as vacations and school breaks thin out workplace traffic. But this year, that seasonal slowdown coincided with a growing wave of return-to-office mandates.

So how did office traffic hold up – and what does it reveal about the state of the RTO recovery? We dove into the data to find out.

A Record August

Year over year, nationwide office visits rose 6.2% in August 2026, while remaining 32.5% below August 2019 levels – the smallest August gap since 2020.

The narrowing gap vs. 2019 is especially notable because August 2026 had just 21 working days, compared with 22 in August 2019 – giving this year one fewer day to accumulate office visits. (August 2025 also had 21 working days, while August 2024 had 22 and August 2022 and 2023 had 23.)

Miami, New York, and Dallas Stay Out Front

Miami (-11.6%), New York (-18.0%), and Dallas (-20.8%) once again led the major markets in their recovery relative to 2019, with Atlanta (-29.4%) the only other market ahead of the nationwide average. 

New York also posted the strongest YoY growth, at 8.9%, rebounding from a July marked by heat emergencies, followed closely by Boston (+8.7%) and Miami (+8.6%). Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago also outpaced nationwide YoY growth, even as each remained roughly 40% or more below its 2019 baseline.

At the other end of the spectrum, Washington, D.C. (-0.8%) and Denver (-3.4%) were the only markets to slip YoY, and both remain furthest from their 2019 baselines. D.C.’s weakness likely reflects a regional job market that shed more than 100,000 jobs over the past year, while Denver continues to contend with a remote-friendly work culture and record downtown vacancy.

The Autumn Test

August’s results suggest the latest wave of RTO mandates is continuing to support office traffic, even during one of the calendar’s quieter months. And with additional policies still to come, the fall will be the recovery’s next major test.

Will tighter attendance requirements push offices closer to pre-pandemic levels? And will Denver begin to see a San Francisco-like turnaround as high vacancy creates new opportunities for reinvestment?

For more data-driven office analyses, follow placer.ai/anchor. 

Resilience Under Pressure

August put mall traffic to the test, with rising gas prices and softer consumer sentiment coming just as back-to-school shopping was in full swing. Against that backdrop, strength at open-air and indoor malls pointed to a resilient consumer – though the month opened a wider gap between shopping destinations close to home and outlet centers that depend on a longer drive.

Open-Air Leads as Indoor Malls Gain Ground

Open-air shopping centers sustained their lead in August 2026, with visits up 6.6% year over year (YoY). The format has posted positive YoY growth every month this year, reflecting the broad appeal of a segment that spans grocery-anchored neighborhood centers, mixed-use destinations, and experience-oriented lifestyle centers.

Indoor malls came in close behind at 5.0% – the format's largest YoY gain of 2026 – likely driven in part by back-to-school shopping. The National Retail Federation forecast a record $43.3 billion in K-12 spending this year, and with department and clothing stores ranking among the top planned shopping destinations, indoor malls were well positioned to capture that demand.

Outlet malls, meanwhile, saw visits fall 2.7% YoY, their weakest performance since March. As more distant destinations, outlet malls were likely more susceptible to higher gas prices, which ticked up on average in August after easing in June and July. And outlets may have been particularly affected by the Labor Day calendar shift: In 2025, part of the holiday weekend fell in August, while this year the entire weekend moved into September, removing a key travel and promotional period from the month’s traffic comparison.

Engagement Up Across Formats

All three formats, however, saw longer average dwell times in August than a year earlier – extending an uptick in visitor engagement that began to emerge in July after several months of declining YoY visit duration. Indoor malls and open-air centers paired those longer visits with traffic growth, while outlet malls saw the more notable combination of fewer visits and longer dwell times.

Longer dwell times may reflect a growing share of shopping center space devoted to events, attractions, dining, and placemaking, giving visitors more reasons to linger beyond shopping alone. Shoppers may also be consolidating trips as fuel costs rise, spending more time browsing and making a fuller outing of each visit.

Watching the Pump Into the Holidays

August data points to a resilient mall shopper, with visits rising at open-air and indoor centers and dwell times increasing across all three formats. Whether that resilience carries into the holidays may depend in part on what happens at the pump – though malls are entering the fall with plenty of reasons for optimism.

For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/anchor.

Five Straight Quarters of Visit Growth

Kroger has spent the past year sharpening its value proposition and optimizing its store fleet. And location intelligence data suggests the strategy is keeping shoppers coming through the doors.

Overall visits across Kroger's portfolio of banners increased 0.5% year over year (YoY) in Q2 2026, marking the grocery giant's fifth consecutive quarter of positive YoY visit growth. While this represented a moderation from the previous two quarters, it came against a strong Q2 2025 comparison, when visits rose 1.7% YoY. And notably, the overall traffic increase came even as Kroger continued to rationalize its fleet, with average visits per location rising an even stronger 1.6% YoY.

The gains come amid a broader value push by Kroger, including price cuts on more than 3,500 products since the start of 2025 and continued growth from the company’s Our Brands private label. They also align with Kroger’s recent financial performance, which saw identical sales excluding fuel rise 1.0% YoY. 

Same-Store Strength Across the Portfolio

A closer look at Kroger’s five largest banners – Kroger, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, Ralphs, and Smith’s – shows that the Q2 strength was broad-based across the portfolio. All five posted positive same-store visit growth during the quarter, even as overall visits edged down at Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer amid store closures.

And a month-by-month view shows that the broad-based Q2 strength carried into July, when same-store visit growth accelerated across much of the portfolio. Though August brought a slight softening, this may say more about the broader macroeconomic environment than about Kroger’s own trajectory, coming as consumer sentiment declined following two consecutive months of improvement. Three of the five leading banners still posted positive same-store visit growth, led by Ralphs at 2.6% YoY.

A Leaner Fleet, A Steady Shopper Base

Kroger enters the back half of 2026 with a tighter fleet and steady momentum. With same-store visits positive across its five largest banners in Q2 and a $1.65 billion agreement to acquire Giant Eagle's nearly 200 supermarkets on the horizon, the company appears well positioned to keep winning grocery trips in the second half of 2026 and beyond.

For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai/anchor. 

Top of the Class

Back-to-school season is a reliably busy stretch for retailers. But this year, Chipotle showed that restaurants can get in on the action too – with a promotion that delivered its biggest visit spike of 2026 so far.

A+ Attendance

On August 20th, Chipotle invited anyone sporting school gear – varsity jackets, college tees, or a well-worn spirit-wear hoodie – to claim a buy-one-get-one entrée from 3:00 P.M. to close. 

And America, it turns out, was more than willing to dig through the closet for a free burrito. Daily visits to Chipotle surged 71.6% above the chain’s 2026 year-to-date daily average that Thursday, marking its biggest daily visit spike of the year so far.

Promo Power

Chipotle has run several headline-grabbing promotions this year, including its March 13th "Tatted Like a Chipotle Bag" deal and a World Cup Matchday BOGO for soccer-jersey wearers in June – both of which drove substantial traffic spikes of their own. 

But the School Spirit BOGO cleared them all. And with Chipotle keeping its foot on the gas through “Chipotle Sunday” deals and its first-ever double-whammy LTO launch – featuring Pollo Asado and Chili Lime Chips – the promotional drumbeat looks set to continue into September.

For more data-driven LTO analyses, follow Placer.ai/anchor.

Golf on Course

Golf participation has continued to grow in recent years, with more rounds being played and new audiences taking up the game. With the busy summer season in full swing, we looked at recent location data to understand how golfers are engaging with the sport – and what the trends suggest for the months ahead.

Teeing Up a Strong Summer

Golf is one of leisure’s most seasonal segments, with monthly visits to golf courses peaking in summer before dropping off during the depths of winter. That makes summer traffic a key indicator of demand for the sport. And after remaining slightly negative to flat in March and April 2026, golf course foot traffic rose year over year (YoY) in May and June and remained modestly positive in July – pointing to growing activity during the sport’s busiest time of year.

Father’s Day Brings the Crowds

Golf's robust summer demand was also reflected in this year's strong Father's Day turnout. Visits on June 20th–21st – the busiest weekend of the past 12 months – ran 71.4% above the average Saturday and Sunday over that period and 10.0% above the same holiday weekend last year. 

Father's Day has long been one of golf's signature milestones, combining family outings with the U.S. Open's annual Father's Day finish. And while the adjacent Juneteenth holiday that fell on the Friday before Father’s Day this year may have boosted visitation across the long weekend, the results nonetheless suggest that even as golf's player base gradually broadens, the traditions that have long defined the sport remain as strong as ever.

Younger Players Take a Swing

Strong summer visitation trends aren't the only encouraging sign for golf. Demographic data suggests the sport also has significant runway for future growth, particularly among younger adults.

Adults 65+ remain golf's most devoted constituency. In H1 2026, they accounted for 29.2% of golf courses' captured markets, well above their 24.8% share of the surrounding potential market. Adults aged 45 to 65, meanwhile, visited almost exactly in proportion to their presence in local trade areas.

Adults aged 18 to 45, however, remain the biggest growth opportunity. This cohort makes up 40.3% of golf courses' captured markets but 44.6% of the surrounding potential market – a gap that points to a sizable pool of younger adults already living within golf course trade areas who have yet to become regular visitors. And that pool may be getting easier to reach: The group's share in golf courses’ captured markets has inched up over the past several years, mirroring industry reports of rising participation among younger players. 

A Long Game Worth Watching

Golf’s peak summer season is delivering encouraging signs on several fronts. Visits are trending ahead of last year, participation continues to edge upward among younger adults, while older golfers remain highly engaged, and traditions like Father's Day still produce some of the sport's biggest weekends. The combination suggests strong momentum with room to grow.

For more data-driven sports and leisure insights, follow Placer.ai/anchor.

Pumpkin Power Keeps Growing

Record heat waves notwithstanding, Starbucks declared the start of fall on August 25th with the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte – alongside new seasonal drinks. 

And foot traffic data shows that the launch was a hit. Visits that day stood 25.7% above Starbucks’ 2026 year-to-date daily average and 35.1% above its average Tuesday, making it the chain’s biggest Tuesday of the year so far. Traffic also topped PSL Day 2025 by 6.7%, in line with Starbucks’ announcement that this was its biggest North American PSL launch day ever.

Promotion Stacking for the Win

The standout success of this PSL Day once again highlights the strength of Starbucks' promotion-stacking playbook – using closely timed launches to keep excitement building. 

Just ten days before PSL Day, the one-weekend-only return of the Unicorn Frappuccino sent visits soaring, driving Starbucks' best North America sales weekend ever. It's the same promotion-stacking strategy the chain used last fall, when the viral Bearista cup landed days before Red Cup Day and helped power one of the biggest Red Cup Days on record.

A Latte to Look Forward To

Pumpkin season is only getting started. And with back-to-back launches driving outsized traffic, Starbucks is showing how effectively it can turn limited-time moments into repeat reasons to visit.

For more data-driven LTO analyses, follow Placer.ai/anchor.