Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap

by 
Lila Margalit
 on 
February 8, 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap

The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index: The office building index analyzes foot traffic data from 800 office buildings across the country. It only includes commercial office buildings,  and commercial office buildings on the first floor (like an office building that might include a national coffee chain on the ground floor). It does NOT include mixed-use buildings that are both residential and commercial.

With January coming to a close, we checked in with our Nationwide Office Index.  Are workers being required to come into the office more than they did in 2022?  And what do January office visit trends portend for the rest of the year?

2022 Hybrid Model Holding Strong

Despite a growing number of reports that many employers want workers to spend more time in the office, the data shows that at least for now, the office visit patterns that took hold in the second half of 2022 remain strong. In our last office recovery breakdown, we showed that in Q3 and Q4 2022, overall office visits remained about 60% of what they were pre-pandemic – and that trend has continued into January 2023. The year-over-three-year (Yo3Y) visit gap, which had narrowed somewhat in December 2022 to 38.3%, climbed back up to 40.2% last month. 

A dive into the weekly data also confirms that despite some fluctuations, particularly over the holiday season, office visits remain about 60% of what they were in 2019 and early 2020. Year-over-year (2023 compared to 2022) visits were up between  40.7% and 50.6% throughout January, but this is primarily due to the rise of the Omicron variant of early last year, which kept many people home in January 2022.

A Regional Breakdown

And with just a couple of exceptions, similar holding patterns were reflected in major cities nationwide. Of all the cities analyzed, only New York, Miami, and Los Angeles saw their overall visit gaps shrink significantly in January 2023 (i.e. more than 1%), as compared to Q4 2022. New York, in particular, continued the steady recovery it experienced throughout 2022 – with visits up last month to just over 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Miami, for its part, saw its overall Yo3Y visit gap shrink to 34.8% (down from 37.8% in Q4 2022) – perhaps reflecting a growing influx of workers to the Sunshine State. Boston also saw a slight decrease in its visit gap. But in Washington, D.C., Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco, the Yo3Y visit gap was larger in January than in the fourth quarter of last year. Unsurprisingly, tech-heavy San Francisco remains at the bottom of the office recovery pack.

As always, overall visits only tell part of the story – and the data on unique visitors continues to indicate that in many cities, a large majority of workers have indeed returned to the office for at least part of the week (Unique visitors refers to the total number of people who visited an office building during a specified period of time, so one unique visitor can account for several visits). Here too, New York stands out as a major center for office recovery, with unique visitors reaching just over 86% of pre-pandemic levels in January 2023. Nationwide, however, the data does not yet indicate an increase in the overall number of workers coming into the office, when compared to Q2-Q4 2022.  

Key Takeaways

While it may take time for shifts in employer expectations to be reflected in the data, January foot traffic data has yet to show a significant change in the hybrid work model that has taken root in regions across the country. Although many cities continue to see a large majority of workers coming into the office at least part of the week, most have not seen an increase in overall visits during January 2023 – and nationwide, office visits remain about 60% of pre-COVID levels. Looking ahead, it remains to be seen how employers and workers will continue to negotiate the “Great Mismatch” of 2023. But for now, at least, 2023 has not yet emerged as the year of return to the office – and rumors of the demise of remote work appear to be greatly exaggerated. 

For more location intelligence insights, visit placer.ai/blog.

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Text Link
Office Building Index
Text Link
New York City
4 Strategies Retailers are Using to Drive Traffic to Their Venues
5 Key Regional Grocery Players Impressing in 2023
Upscale Kitchenware Trending Up
Costco Finds More Room for Growth
Four C-Store Chains Making an A-Grade
National Parks + Outdoor Summer Activities
Diving Into Darden: Summer 2023 Update
The Summer Event Effect
Messi: Massive in Miami
Looking Back on Back to School 2023
The Anchor Recap: August 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai White Paper Recap: August 2023
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Strikes Again
Big Scoop: We All Scream For Ice Cream
Sports Away: Lululemon & Nike’s Momentum Continues
Summer Visits Heat Up For Recreation and Outdoor Gear Chains
No CSS overwrite - July 2023 Office Index Recap
Staging - August 2023 Mall Indec
Mid-Atlantic Grocery Deep Dive
Experiential Chains Heating Up This Summer
Petco Goes Big by Going Small
Ulta Beauty: Leading the Discretionary Pack
Discount and Dollar Chains Continue to Thrive
Summer of Sports: DICK’s Sporting Goods and Hibbett Sports
Off-Price: Succeeding Into Summer
The Anchor Recap: July 2023
Superstores Maintaining Pandemic Gains Amidst Economic Headwinds
2023: Home Improvement at the Halfway Point
July 2023 Office Index Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2023 Recap
widget test
The Taylor Swift Visit Lift
Southwestern Grocery Dive
July 2023 White Paper Recap: Halfway Point Review & Quarterly Index
Yum! Brands: Driving Dining Visits
Slurpees and Summer Movies Stimulate Consumer Foot Traffic
Cool Beans: Summer Coffee Update
Checking In on Back to School 2023
Crocs and New Balance Tip The Scales
Burger Bliss: Shake Shack and In-N-Out Stacking Visits
Chipotle & McDonald's Continue to Reign Supreme
Vibenomics and Placer.ai Partner to Enhance Retail Media In-Store Measurement
California Grocers Here We Come!
Marriott’s Different Audiences
Bonchon and Kura Sushi Thrive in the Fast-Casual Scene
A Shoe In: Footwear Climbs to the Top
Cheers! Raising a Glass to Beverage Retail
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index June 2023 Recap – A Turn of the Tide and a Dive into Open-Air Lifestyle Centers
Local Kitchens: Redefining the Restaurant
Unlocking Urban Insights: The Value in Manhattan’s Employees
Ohio State Parks On The Rise
How is Inflation Impacting the High-Income Shoppers?
Five Fast-Growing Dining Chains
What To Expect From Prime Day and July Sales Events in 2023
The State Of Fashion: How Are Apparel Retailers Faring in 2023?
2023’s Latest Dining Success Story: GEN Korean BBQ House
The NBA Finals: A Location Intelligence Perspective
Moving the Market: The Impact of Domestic Migration on Housing Costs
Post-Pandemic Museum Update
The Darden-est Things
The Enduring Demand for Urban and Suburban Retail
Leveraging Data to Evaluate the Impact of Municipal Investments
Trader Joe's Success Amidst Food Inflation and Changing Consumer Behavior
Placer.ai Office Index: May 2023 Recap
Fitness at its Fittest: Staying Strong in 2023
Movie Theaters, Off-Price, and Home Improvement: May 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index - May 2023 Recap
What’s Working for Bath & Body Works?
Why Are Specialty Grocers Thriving in 2023?
The CAVA Craze: A Location Intelligence Perspective on the Mediterranean Marvel
How Will Primark’s US Expansion Impact Target?
All Eyes on Eyewear
Northwestern U.S. Grocery Dive
Return of the Lunch: Salad Chains Are Thriving
Retail Media Networks – Off the Beaten Track
Bet Your Bottom Dollar: Discount and Dollar Stores Drive Foot Traffic
Ulta & Lululemon: Discretionary Spending On The Up
The Score After Q1: Sporting Goods Chains
Who Uses NYC Airports: Biting Into The Big Apple’s Main Transport Hubs
Off Price: Strength in The Face of Retail Challenges
Visits Improve for Home Improvement
Walmart, Target & Wholesalers in Q1 2023 – The Return of Mission-Driven Shopping?
Department Store Roundup: Q1 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: April 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index, April 2023 – A Rebound on the Horizon?
How Will Bed Bath & Beyond’s Bankruptcy Impact the Retail Space?
Buffet Restaurants: Filling Up on Foot Traffic
Thrift Stores: Vintage Visits Drive New Age in Apparel
The Windy City: A Hub of Post-Pandemic Opportunity
Diving into Dining Traffic - Q1 2023
Bring On The Joe
A Dollar (or more) For Your Thoughts: Five Below and pOpshelf
Dining Out With The Cheesecake Factory
Retail Foot Traffic Recap – March 2023
Digging Into 2023: McDonald’s and Chipotle Update
Placer.ai Office Index: March 2023 Recap
How Did Key Retail Categories Perform in Q1 2023?