Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

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

Placer Bytes: Grocery Surprises, Heavyweight Dominance and Floor & Decor

by 
Ethan Chernofsky
 on 
July 28, 2020
Placer Bytes: Grocery Surprises, Heavyweight Dominance and Floor & Decor

In this Placer Bytes, we dive into grocery chains we’ve yet to touch on including Sprouts, Weis, and Winn Dixie. Then we take a moment to appropriately laud the offline retail giants and break down Floor & Decor’s rebound.

Grocery: Sprouts, Weis and Winn-Dixie

Sprouts was a brand in the midst of a very strong run heading into 2020. Between 2018 and 2019, the brand saw visitor growth of 3.2% and 2020 kicked off with small, but respectable year- over-year visit increases of 0.2%, 3.5%, and 2.1% for January, February, and March respectively. But perhaps most impressively, they’ve rebounded hard and fast, as the recovery unfolds with visits down just 11.7% year over year in June, compared to a low point of 25.4% down in April.

Yet, even more fascinating has been the performance of Weis and Winn-Dixie, two regional grocery chains that had been experiencing tougher times. The two brands had seen year-over-year traffic declines of 2.5% and 6.1% respectively between 2018 and 2019, and both kicked off 2020 with year-over-year declines in January. But, it does look like the pandemic provided them a needed boost, alongside other traditional grocers. Apart from the height of the pandemic in April, both brands have seen year-over-year growth in all other months including strong June results of 2.8% year-over-year growth for Weis and 7.1% for Winn Dixie.

And the improvements are still coming for all of these brands. While Sprouts is being impacted by resurgences of cases in California and Texas, two of its largest states for locations, the grocer is still seeing progress. For the weeks of June 29th and July 6th, the brand saw an average decline of 4.7%, an improvement on overall June numbers even amidst the rise in cases. The same was true for Weis and Winn Dixie which saw visit averages for those two weeks of 4.6% and 11.5% growth year over year. A continuation of this trend would push both brands even farther ahead then they had been in June. This data further deepens the notion that the crisis has reinforced the importance and centrality of traditional grocers.

The Kings of Retail 

For Target, Walmart, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, the resurgence has been especially tough. The hardest-hit states, Texas, California, and Florida, are all in the top four in terms of location density for these brands. Yet, for all three, visits are hanging steady, if not already flirting with year-over-year growth. Critically, the fact that declines remain is important, if nothing else then to help us properly contextualize the year-over-year decreases other brands are experiencing. However, the ability of these brands to sustain healthy visit numbers in this environment is nothing short of remarkable, further enhancing its status at the top of the offline retail mountain.

Floor & Decor

While the bigger players in the home improvement and home goods spaces get more of the focus, alongside the bankruptcies hitting the sector, players like Floor & Decor are enjoying a strong rebound. And this may be one of the biggest signals of the sector’s wider ongoing potential. Floor & Decor was experiencing visit declines all year. Visits in January and February were down 16.1% and 10.5% respectively year over year and this was before COVID related closures. But the company is back on the rise with visits in June 2020 up 3.7%.

And the pace is not slowing down. Weekly visits have been up year over year since the first week of June and following subdued growth on the week of July 4th, visits were up 11.1% year over year the week of July 6th. Does this guarantee future growth? No. Does it help establish a bull case where an industry-wide boost and closures among competitors creates a powerful opportunity for extended success? Yes.

Will the rise of the traditional grocery continue to boost brands like Weis and Winn-Dixie? Can retail’s giants continue their dominance? Will the rise of the Home Improvement tide continue to lift all boats?

Visit Placer.ai to find out.

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.
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?
Northeastern USA Grocery Dive
Movie Theaters Storylines for 2023
Ollie's Bargain Outlet: Discounters are Evolving
Leveraging Brick-and-Mortar Retail in 2023
America’s Evolving Work Patterns: A Deep-Dive into New York and Chicago
Placer.ai Mall Index March 2023
Tuning Into Record Stores
Five Franchises To Watch in 2023
What’s Next For Domestic Tourism?
It’s Showtime! Movie Theaters in the Spotlight
5 Limited Time Offers (LTOs) Driving Restaurant Traffic
Department Store Deep-Dive: Belk
Regional Grocery Chains Staying Ahead of the Competition
Five Chains that Rightsized for Success
Unlocking the Potential of Offline Retail Media Networks
Dining Out With Darden
What’s in Store for Self-Storage?
Nike & lululemon Update: Strong Performance Amid Expansion Plans
Many Ways to Win: Midwest Grocery Deep Dive
Retail, Reinvented: The Rise of the Pop-Up Shop
Navigating a New Normal in Business Travel & Commutes
Placer.ai Office Index: February 2023 Recap
Retail Categories Staying Strong in Volatile Environment
Ulta Beauty: Poised for Success into 2023
Placer.ai Mall Index February 2023: Reasons for Continued Optimism
Catching Up With DICK’s & Hibbett
The Miami-Dade Arena: An Advertising Slam Dunk
Car Washes Revving Up Visits
Tuesday Morning and Sunrises in Home Furnishing
Dining & Valentine’s Day Recap
2023: The Year of the Discount Store
Aldi’s Success Highlights Growing Demand for Value Groceries
5 Retail & Service Categories Holding onto Pandemic Gains in 2023
Visitor Insights from Super Bowl 2023
2023 First Look: Home Improvement Update
How Are Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs Faring in 2023?
Department Store Deep-Dive: Nordstrom
Off-Price: Taking Off in Uncertain Times
Checking in On Middle-Class Hubs
Who Attends the Super Bowl?
Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap
Focusing On Fitness: Q4 and January Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: January 2023 – Returning Mall Normalcy?
Location Intelligence Insights Into Concert Attendance
Winning Dining Strategies for 2023
In-N-Out Burger: What to Expect as the Brand Moves East
Location Intelligence Breakdown: Coffee Caps-Off 2022
Digitally Native Brands Lean Into Brick & Mortar
Washington, D.C. Population Changes & Migration Trends
A Location Intelligence Perspective on Macy’s Rightsizing
Amazon-Powered Shopping: The Future of Brick-and-Mortar Grocery?
Cold Weather, Hot Visits: Diving into Winter Resorts
Wawa and 7-Eleven: Leaning Into the “Slurpee Effect”
2022 and Beyond: Catching Up With McDonald’s & Chipotle
Let’s Have Some Fun! Going Out Is In
Placer.ai’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Index
Placer.ai Adds Industry Executives to Leadership Team To Drive Company's Next Phase of Growth
5 Emerging Retail Formats: 2023’s Brick-and-Mortar Evolution
Grocery Update: Zooming in on the Lone Star State
2022 Office Recap: The Year of the TGIF Work Week
What Lies Ahead for Brick-and-Mortar Luxury in 2023
Placer.ai Mall Indexes: December 2022 Recap
Looking Back on 2022’s Holiday Shopping Season
Post-Pandemic Migration Trends in New York
Top Retailers for 2023
The Live Sports Advertising Opportunity
Domestic Migration to the Mountain States: Small Shifts with Big Implications
New Year, New Food: 5 Dining Trends For 2023
Announcing Placer.ai’s COVID RECOVERY DASHBOARD
This is Why Shop-in-Shops Are Everywhere
Super Saturday 2022 Recap
The San Francisco Shift
Grocery Year-End Update: Publix in the Spotlight
Three Ways Retailers Can Think Small to Increase Store Impact