While the current situation with Peloton may seem like an obvious result of the brand’s meteoric rise over the pandemic, just over a year ago it was considered fair to ponder whether physical gyms were on the path to extinction. The idea that the convenience of an at-home Peloton experience could fully replace a group workout class was without question. Yet, those of us that were slightly more bullish on the potential of brick and mortar fitness chains recognized that while connected fitness could become a bigger piece of the puzzle – omnichannel lessons from elsewhere pointed to a larger overall pie, as opposed to a zero-sum game.
In its Q4 2021 financial results report, Chipotle announced that it was raising its long-term target to 7,000 U.S.-based locations – up from the previous goal of 6,000 stores. The company reported that its small-town locations have been “delivering unit economics at or better than traditional Chipotle locations.” The report also stated that 80% of the new venues will include Chipotlanes, as these digitally-enabled drive-thru/pick-up windows “continue to perform very well and are helping enhance guest access and convenience, as well as increase new restaurant sales, margins, and returns.”
The Omicron wave drove record numbers of COVID cases throughout the country. And the impact the variant had on retail was also unique, creating some of the most notable COVID related side effects since the early stage of the pandemic. We dug into the effects of the Omicron wave, and what the early recovery data shows. The wider brick-and-mortar retail sector had seen a steady recovery through the summer with the combination of declining cases, renewed demand and vaccination driven confidence driving visits.
Despite the COVID and supply chain challenges of 2021, several major retailers chose to go public last year. We looked at some of the companies – including Warby Parker, Arhaus, Allbirds, and Dutch Bros. – in our Top 10 Retail Brands to Watch white paper. Here, we dive into two more recently public brands – Joann and First Watch – to see how they finished off 2021 and where they stand in 2022.
Dollar and discount stores gained momentum over the pandemic, and recent data indicates that these superstores are largely holding onto their strength. So while Walmart is still the undisputed leader of discount retail, the rise of alternative value retailers is beginning to impact the power dynamics in the sector. To better understand these shifts, we dove into foot traffic and consumer demographic data for the legacy discount retail giant as well as for Family Dollar, Dollar General, Five Below, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Best Buy and Costco as they kick-off 2022. Best Buy has always been a very Black Friday-centered brand, so the heavy impact on the day’s strength in 2021 was always going to have repercussions. However, once again, Best Buy has proven to be one of the retailers most capable of strategically adapting to new challenges and concerns. In 2020, Best Buy was incredibly effective at maximizing the retail reopening with tactics like appointment shopping improving efficiency. And in 2021
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Planet Fitness to see if the fitness chain can recover from a rough start to 2022 and check in with Dick’s Sporting Goods as it continues to gain strength. While the wider retail sector saw visits down over 4% in January ‘22 amidst record COVID cases, Dick’s Sporting Goods saw visits rise 1.9% compared to the same month in 2020. This followed a 2021 where all but a weather-affected February and COVID-decimated November saw visit growth.
Our latest white paper looks at recent mall performance from a location analytics perspective. Consumer behavior trends indicate that shopping behavior is stabilizing, and foot traffic data shows that visits are bouncing back, with some months in 2021 even exceeding 2019 visit levels. The Mall Deep Dive – 2021 Yearly Review white paper looks at top tier indoor malls, outlet malls, and open-air shopping centers to evaluate nationwide and regional foot traffic trends, analyze the correlation between online searches and mall visits
Off-price foot traffic has been outperforming the apparel average for all through 2021, and recent data shows that visits across the sector are still strong. To better understand the sector, we analyzed overall visit performance and consumer behavior patterns for T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington, and Ross Dress for Less to see how these off-price leaders capped off 2021 and to understand what lies ahead for the sector in 2022.
Like the malls they anchor, department stores were being eulogized long before the COVID pandemic hit American retail. But whereas many malls bounced back already in the summer of 2021, many department store brands continued to struggle to return to pre-pandemic foot traffic levels. Now, with two years of pandemic life behind us, we dove into foot traffic to leading high-end and mid-range department store chains to understand how the “new normal” looks for this critical retail sector.
The home furnishing sector got a boost in 2020 as the excessive amounts of time spent indoors pushed people to upgrade their living space. Since then, the country has opened back up, but home furnishing foot traffic is still booming. To better understand this category, we dove into foot traffic patterns for Tuesday Morning, At Home, HomeGoods, and Floor & Decor to see how these visit leaders performed in 2021 and find out where the sector is headed in 2022.
Home Improvement boomed in 2020 as Americans got started on DIY projects that had been on the back burner for years. Now that routines are (almost) back in full swing, we dove into recent foot traffic to Lowe’s Home Improvement, The Home Depot, and Tractor Supply to see how the sector performed in 2021 and what lies ahead for 2022. We also looked at Lowe’s new collaboration with Petco to understand how this expansion fit into the larger home improvement landscape.
Walmart and Target both enjoyed strong summer visit metrics as the combination of retail’s reopening, pent up demand and limited COVID cases created a powerful opportunity. Yet, the winter holiday season presented a much trickier situation, with labor shortages and supply chain challenges creating a significant obstacle that was only exacerbated by rising COVID cases in December and January. So, how did the two retail giants perform in late 2021 and early 2022?
Athleisure surged in 2020 as the pandemic pushed many to re-evaluate their apparel priorities, and sporting goods retailers also thrived as people stocked up on exercise equipment to make up for the absence of fitness centers. Now that gyms and offices are opening back up, we analyzed Nike, Lululemon, and Athleta’s recent visit patterns to understand how these brands performed in 2021 and where the athleisure and athletic wear recovery is heading in 2022.
The start of any year is about optimism and a fundamental resolution to make the coming annum fundamentally better than the one that preceded it. And the same goes for retail, where the biggest names in the sector look to set the pace for the coming year. However, beyond the standard challenges associated with retail success, 2022 kicked off with the added obstacles of a rising COVID variant, inclement weather, labor shortages, and continued supply chain and inflation issues.
As this second pandemic year wraps up, we dove into foot traffic for leading gyms to understand how the offline fitness sector performed in 2021 and where it’s headed in 2022. Gyms suffered a heavy blow over the pandemic. Safety concerns, lingering restrictions and even the challenge of exercising while abiding by indoor mask requirements kept many people away from gyms long after the initial closures. Meanwhile, a large number of fitness consumers claimed that they were not planning on ever renewing their membership after discovering the cost and convenience advantages of home exercise.
With 2021 behind us, we dove into foot traffic trends at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid to analyze how these pharmacy players performed and uncover changes to consumer behavior. A lot happened in the pharmacy sector over the past year. CVS and Walgreens announced some major strategic shifts, with CVS intending to downsize its store fleet while Walgreens will expand and diversify its physical footprint. And since the spring, the two category leaders have seen significant year-over-two-year (Yo2Y) visit increases, driven by the heightened demand for wellness products as well as the pharmacies’ ability to administer COVID vaccines and tests.
For most weeks of the second half of 2021, nationwide weekly retail foot traffic has been up or equivalent to 2019 levels. But as hybrid work and migration shifts keeps urban occupancy down and travel restrictions continue to limit tourism, some major cities are still feeling the pandemic’s impact. Clearly, some cities have been more affected than others. Of the four major cities analyzed, New York City – where the retail sector relies heavily on tourists and office workers – suffered the heaviest blow.
Our latest white paper dives into 10 retail brands that have shown significant growth in 2021 and are well positioned for an even stronger 2022. Below we highlight two of these retailers to watch – Blink Fitness and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. According to the National Health & Fitness Alliance, over 20% of pre-COVID fitness club locations have permanently closed since the pandemic began – which means that there will be significant unit expansion opportunities for the fitness chains that have managed to weather the storm.
Amazon has emerged as a leading brick and mortar grocery player through its Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh brands. We dove into foot traffic data to understand how the company’s offline grocery ventures performed and interacted with each other in 2021. Over a year has passed since the first Amazon Fresh location opened its doors in Woodland Hills, California. The company now operates over 20 stores throughout the United States, with the highest concentration of Amazon Fresh locations in California and Illinois.
