Lila Margalit

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. 

Gotta Glaze 'Em All

Krispy Kreme's free doughnut giveaways are crowd favorites – but the sweetest visits, of course, are the ones customers pay for. So when Pikachu and friends landed in shops this August, we dug into a year of promotion-day visit data to see just how much punch a for-purchase promotion could pack.

Pikachu Pulls His Weight, No Freebie Required

Krispy Kreme runs one of the most reliable traffic plays in the QSR world: pick a day, give away an Original Glazed, and watch the lines form. The chart below compares visits on top promotion days over the past 12 months to the chain's average for the same weekday, and the freebies predictably rule the leaderboard – St. Patrick's Day (+152.0%), National Doughnut Day (+143.8%), and Veterans Day (+107.9%) all more than doubled a typical day's visits.

But Pokémon proved the chain can draw a crowd at full price. On August 18th, Krispy Kreme launched its limited-time Pokémon Collection – six doughnuts starring Pikachu, Charmander, and friends, celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary – and visits jumped 45.7% above a typical Tuesday. Pre-orders sold out almost immediately, and resellers were soon listing empty boxes on eBay for up to $100.

The sequel came Saturday, August 22nd, when fans in Pokémon attire could claim a free Original Glazed. Visits ran 19.9% above a typical Saturday – a solid bump on the chain's busiest day of the week. 

A Sweet Takeaway

For a brand in the middle of a turnaround, the lesson is sweet: Even without giving away free doughnuts, Krispy Kreme can still pack the house. 

For more data-driven QSR insights, follow Placer.ai/anchor. 

A Tougher Consumer

With H1 2026 in the rearview mirror – and shoppers navigating still-elevated gas prices and macroeconomic uncertainty – we examined foot traffic at Ulta Beauty and Bath & Body Works to see how one of America’s favorite discretionary categories is holding up amid the pressure.

Lipstick Effect on Display at Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty entered the summer with the wind at its back. Q2 2026 foot traffic grew 3.5% year over year (YoY), while monthly trends showed steady acceleration from May onward, culminating in a 5.2% YoY visit increase in July.

Overall traffic outpaced same-store visits throughout the period as Ulta continued progressing toward its long-term goal of more than 1,800 stores. Still, strong same-store visit trends indicate that the retailer’s draw is strengthening not only through expansion, but also across the brand’s existing store base.

Ulta’s strong visit momentum aligns with the company's recent financial performance. Last quarter, Ulta reported comparable sales growth of 5.3%, driven by gains in both ticket and transactions – and buoyed in part by the chain’s "Ulta Beauty Unleashed" strategy. 

Shaky consumer confidence may even be working in Ulta Beauty’s favor by reinforcing the “lipstick effect” – the tendency for consumers to continue spending on smaller, affordable luxuries like beauty products while pulling back on bigger-ticket discretionary purchases. And with growing numbers of consumers viewing beauty through a wellness lens, shoppers may increasingly rely on it as an accessible way to practice self-care when times are tough.

Bath & Body Works Holds Steady

Bath & Body Works’ monthly visit trends were choppier, with traffic shifting from -3.1% YoY in April to +1.9% in May, +0.4% in June, and -3.4% in July. Part of July’s dip may reflect a calendar quirk: July 4th fell on a Saturday this year, likely weighing on traffic during the brand’s key Semi-Annual Sale. 

On a quarterly basis, however, visits slipped just 0.2% YoY, suggesting that customers continued to prioritize Bath & Body Works even as they pulled back elsewhere. That resilience also points to early traction for the company’s “Consumer First Formula” turnaround, which helped Q1 results exceed guidance, even as YoY sales remained subdued.

A Resilient Corner of Retail

Even as consumers remain cautious, Ulta Beauty’s strong visit growth and Bath & Body Works’ steadier performance suggest shoppers are still making room for beauty and personal-care purchases. The question now is whether that resilience can hold through the holiday season, as competition for discretionary spending intensifies.

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

Winning When Budgets are Tight

Dollar General and Dollar Tree have both been major beneficiaries of the trade-down economy, delivering consistent overall and comparable sales growth for several quarters running. And while both offer a broad mix of products, each has found success by leaning into a distinct shopping mission: Dollar General as a go-to stop for routine essentials, and Dollar Tree as a destination for shorter, mission-driven trips that often skew more discretionary.

Dollar Tree Takes the Lead as Summer Shopping Picks Up

While both chains have thrived, Dollar General outpaced Dollar Tree earlier in the year, as consumers tightened their belts and pulled back on discretionary spending. Rising gas prices in spring also played to Dollar General’s strengths – its hyper-local footprint made it especially well positioned to capture quick, low-distance trips at a time when shoppers were paying closer attention to fuel costs. Meanwhile, Dollar Tree’s comparable sales growth last quarter was driven by higher ticket sizes, while traffic remained below year-ago levels. 

But as fuel-price pressure eased heading into the summer, Dollar Tree regained momentum – and in July, the chain overtook Dollar General in year-over-year same-store visit growth, with visits up 4.8% YoY compared with 1.9% for Dollar General. 

What’s Behind Dollar Tree’s July Visit Surge?

Several factors may have contributed to Dollar Tree’s summer visit jump. In addition to pent-up demand following the spring pullback, the chain is well known for its holiday offerings – and America’s 250th anniversary may have given an additional boost to July 4th shopping.

Dollar Tree also draws a higher share of parental households than Dollar General, and its expanded multi-price assortment may have drawn more families looking to stretch their budgets on school supplies. 

Both Chains Enter H2 on Strong Footing

Dollar Tree’s July acceleration shows that there is more than one way to win in the dollar-store space. Dollar General’s convenience-oriented footprint gives it an edge for frequent, essentials-driven trips, while Dollar Tree can shine when seasonal, discretionary, and family-oriented shopping picks up. And as value remains top of mind, both chains appear poised to continue capturing consumer demand in the months ahead.