In this Placer Bytes, we take a look at the recent performance of Dunkin’, Starbucks, and Sprouts as they push deeper into the recovery period.
Prime Day is a pinnacle for online shopping, yet in recent years the offline impact has been significant and growing. Brands like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy have aligned deals to take advantage of the excitement surrounding Prime Day to drive offline and online visits. Even Amazon entities like Whole Foods have gotten into the mix, utilizing the buzz and cross-channel deals to drive interest in stores.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the initial data from the reopening of the American Dream mall and a fitness player’s unique positioning. With many assuming the American Dream was going to be a flop, there are signs from the mall’s reopening that could be strong.
There is no doubt that malls took a serious hit during the spread of COVID. However, as we’ve seen in previous reports analyzing the different recoveries of indoor and outdoor centers, the pace of recovery can be highly tied to format. So, we decided to dive into an intrigued subset of the outdoor center, outlet malls, to see how they’re recovering and stacking up against other competition.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Tractor Supply’s continued surge, analyze Chipotle’s Q3 and look into Albertsons impressive grocery performance. In a sector where giants like Home Depot and Lowe’s have dominated headlines, Tractor Supply has continued to perform well beyond expectations in its own right.
In our latest whitepaper, we took a deep dive into grocery foot traffic data uncovering many of the fascinating shifts the industry has seen since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. To get a bird’s-eye-view of the broader grocery sector trends, we analyzed a sample group of over 15 leading grocers.
In April, we made the argument that fitness could be one of the sectors to bounce back fastest – a bold claim at the time. The idea was that an extended period of being “stuck at home” could actually increase our longing for the gym. But, after months of watching the sector struggle as a whole, we backtracked and left even the strongest players off of our updated expected 2020 winners list.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the pharmacy sector with a focus on Walgreens before taking a look at H&M following its announcement it’ll be closing 250 stores.
With the overall economy slowly recovering and the country returning to ‘normalcy’, some sectors have been hit far harder than others. None more so than travel. So with a return en route, we dove back into this space to see how leading players are responding.
Neiman Marcus officially emerged out of bankruptcy in late September, a major feat for the brand and its loyal customers. But, looking at the numbers for the brand does little to inspire confidence that a fundamental turnaround is in store. Even before the pandemic brought store activity to a halt, Neiman Marcus had a mixed start to 2020 with visits down 1.4% in January and up just 2.4% in February even with an industry-wide, late-month surge and an extra day of February due to leap year.
In this Placer Bytes, we analyze IKEA’s surprising surge, the potential next steps for Levi’s, and the impressive performance of footwear retailers. Neiman Marcus officially emerged out of bankruptcy in late September, a major feat for the brand and its loyal customers. But, looking at the numbers for the brand does little to inspire confidence that a fundamental turnaround is in store.
In early May, we noted the unique potential of the off-price apparel sector to buck the trend of the wider space and drive significant returns. And now, deep into the recovery, we are seeing that the return is even more impressive than expected, especially considering the ups and downs being driven by COVID resurgences across the country.
In this Placer Bytes, we check in on office supplies to see if there are signs of life and dive into rising visits to a leading purveyor of wine and spirits. In June, we decided to shake up our annual predictions with an added list that took into account the unique realities and potential opportunities that would come from the pandemic and recovery. And while brands like BJ’s Wholesale Club and Tuesday Morning are repaying that confidence, there is one sector that has left us disappointed: office supplies.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Ascena’s strengths as a means of looking forward, break down Bed Bath & Beyond’s latest and dive into Dunkin’s surge. In 2019, and again this past June, we noted that one of the most interesting sectors in apparel was the plus-size segment. This perspective gave us more confidence in a struggling Ascena as it sits on some of the most exciting brands in the space including Lane Bryant and Catherines.
In July, we broke down the relative recoveries of outdoor and indoor shopping centers and found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the former were recovering faster. The combination of shoppers’ concerns about COVID, limitations on which retailers were reopening, and other factors gave outdoor centers an advantage during the early stages of the recovery.
In this Placer Bytes we dive into the data surrounding JCPenney and Darden Restaurants. Despite filing for bankruptcy back in May and being recently bought out by mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group, JCPenney’s foot traffic has been increasing since the retail economy was allowed to reopen across the country.
In this Placer Bytes, we’ll dive into Costco’s return, Nike’s offline future, and what the loss of Pier 1 will mean for the home goods sector. Costco is amazing at what they do. While competitors like Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale surged, there were questions about Costco visits remaining down year over year. Yet, the moment the economy truly began to open up, Costco’s visits returned.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the impressive rebound of Trader Joe’s, the potential for American Dream’s reopening, and Home Depot’s two-month-long Black Friday. In March, we noted the unique struggles that Trader Joe’s would likely face during COVID. The brand’s pricing, lack of online orientation, and perception as ‘part’ of the grocery picture as opposed to a one-stop-shop, were factors that we felt would limit success.
In this Placer Bytes, we talk about Macy’s move outdoors, Bed Bath & Beyond’s optimization efforts, and the return of the movies. Macy’s is going to test a new format, shifting away from the traditional indoor mall and focusing more on outdoor centers. And while this is a concept many have been discussing, it only takes a quick comparison to department rival Kohl’s to understand why.
When we last looked at grocery shopping behavior, we noted a few key changes. Visits were shifting from weekends to weekdays and from evenings to mornings. And seemingly, these shifts were driving more time in store, along with a significant shift in visit duration for top brands. But now with the recovery in full swing, we decided to check back in on key behavioral patterns in grocery to see which trends have had staying power and which have returned to “normalcy”.
