Visits to McDonald’s took a hit over the pandemic, but since February the brand seems to be on an accelerated path to a full offline recovery. Visits in April, May and June were down -12.1%, -12.5% and -11.1% respectively – an impressive result considering the existing strength in delivery and drive thru, and the lingering COVID effects on ‘normal’ routines. One of the factors limiting a full visit return for McDonald’s this past quarter was patrons’ slow return to their pre-pandemic dining patterns.
The coffee comeback is continuing with Starbucks, Panera Bread and Dunkin’ all seeing visit comparisons to 2019 levels improve. Are these recoveries a sign that the new ‘normal’ has been reached or is even more growth ahead? Since the start of 2021, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Dunkin’ have seen a steady and significant recovery each month. By June, visits for Starbucks and Panera were down just 3.1% and 7.6% respectively compared to June 2019, the best mark for both brands since the start of the pandemic’s retail impact.
Casinos took a major hit during the pandemic as indoor recreational activities temporarily shut down to halt the spread of the virus. Now, with most restrictions lifted, the industry is coming back to life – but the overall pace of recovery for US public gaming companies has been choppier than for other sectors. We dove into national and regional foot traffic trends for Boyd Gaming, Bally’s Corporation, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Red Rock Resorts, Penn National Gaming, and Wynn Resorts to see how this sector is performing through the reopening.
In our latest whitepaper, we analyzed retail giants, their pandemic performance, and their year so far. We looked at the sector leaders and dove into different superstore categories to explore the latest trends, see where competition was heating up, and understand whose dominance remains unchallenged. Costco, Target, and Walmart are three of retail’s most important and impressive players. And while Walmart is by far the biggest of the three—both in terms of numbers of stores and monthly visits—it is also facing the stiffest increase in competition.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into a retailer seemingly at the height of its powers and another that may be on the path to a serious rebound. For a digitally native company ahead of an expected IPO, plans to potentially open hundreds of stores are far from a given. Yet, Warby Parker has become one of the prime examples of the importance and value of owned retail. The eyewear brand has seen visits rebound very strongly during the recovery with visits up 75.6% and 48.1% in May and June of 2021 compared to the equivalent months in 2019.
Grocery stores and superstores carrying food and medicine were labeled “essential businesses” and allowed to stay open throughout the pandemic. Still, COVID affected in-store shopping patterns as shoppers limited their exposure to the virus by limiting their trips and spending more time in stores each visit as they filled bigger baskets – a key mission driven shopping trend. Now, with COVID’s retail impact subsiding, Americans are returning to their pre-pandemic habits. We dove into our Q2 Quarterly Index to find out more.
Casual dining took a major hit during COVID as diners avoided enclosed spaces and states introduced capacity restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. Now, foot traffic analysis of twenty-eight leading casual dining chains shows that the sector is returning to pre-COVID levels. Restaurants were still struggling in Q1 as cold weather made outdoor seating impractical while COVID regulations and customer precautions limited indoor seating options.
Home Improvement received a major boost as Americans sheltering in place focused their time and energy on improving their living space. In contrast, Fitness took what some predicted would be a fatal blow as many Americans discovered cheaper, more time-effective ways to work out at home. Now, it seems that gyms are making a comeback – while home improvement giants continue to hold onto their gains. And the driving force for both seems to be a strong return to ‘normal’ shopping behaviors. We dove into our Q2 Quarterly Index to find out more.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Tractor Supply’s impressive growth, explore Camping World’s strong start to 2021, and look at performance of some of Gap Inc.’s various brands. The Home Improvement sector does not seem to be slowing down, but even within this highly successful sector, Tractor Supply’s growth stands out. Already before the pandemic, the brand’s monthly visits were growing at a much higher rate than competitors
The pandemic created unique challenges for local, state, and regional economies. Downtown retail districts emptied out, businesses shuttered, and tourism ground to a halt as shelter-in-place orders spread across the country. Now, with restrictions gradually lifting, a radically different reality is emerging. While certain sectors are returning to their pre-pandemic vitality, some areas of commercial life are forever transformed.
In this Placer Bytes, we break down the effectiveness of Kohl’s June ‘Wow deals’ push, the continued rise of AMC and Massage Envy’s surprising recovery. For Kohl’s, June marked another significant step in the recovery of offline locations with visits down just 6.4% compared to June 2019. This was the best mark in 2021 and showed a near 2% decline in the visit gap when comparing to 2019. But success of the department leader’s June push becomes all the more significant when analyzing visits at the weekly level.
his mall index includes an expansion of the number of locations analyzed, bringing the number of malls in the index from just over 50 to 100 nationwide. We have also added an outdoor mall category which includes 100 major outdoor outlet and lifestyle centers. Q2 brought indoor malls within striking distance of pre-pandemic levels, serving as a massive testament to the continued power and draw of this critical retail format. Outdoor malls also received a boost in May when the visit gap shrunk to just 0.7%. How did the two formats recover in Q2? We dove into the data to find out.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the shoe sector’s rapid recovery and look at the winners and losers in the crafting space. Like all retailers, the offline shoe market experienced a sharp downturn over the pandemic – but it looks like the sector is bouncing back. Boot Barn in particular has made a swift and impressive recovery, posting positive year-over-two-year growth in monthly visits every month since August – an especially impressive achievement considering the wider situation.
In this Placer Bytes, we explore the supplement sector’s brick and mortar recovery and dive into the liquor sector’s enduring expansion. Although brick and mortar health stores took a hit during the pandemic, rising interest in health and wellness led to increased supplement and vitamin use, with many consumers turning to e-commerce channels for their nutritional supplement needs. Now that restrictions have mostly been lifted throughout the United States, we dove into the data to find out – are customers returning to offline chanels for their supplement needs?
While pharmacies did feel the pain of the pandemic like other retail sectors, they hardly suffered an extended period of weakness. And their recent performance – driven by vaccines and wider reopenings – has put even relative strength into context, as key brands have seen exceptional growth of late. Looking at visit rates for CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid compared to the equivalent months in 2019 shows the sector’s strong position.
Prime Day had yet another huge year in 2021, but while the eCommerce success is almost a given, the offline effects were certainly in question this year. In recent years, Amazon’s Prime Day has had a significant impact on offline retail, with competitors like Best Buy, Walmart and Target driving strong results in July 2019 and even seeing a bump in October 2020. We dove into these competitors, Whole Foods, and even Amazon warehouses to see how 2021’s Prime Day impact was felt in physical retail.
Throughout the pandemic there were certain sectors that enjoyed a particularly strong showing, like [Home Improvement](https://www.placer.ai/the-square/quarterly-indexes/home-improvement/) and [Grocery](https://www.placer.ai/the-square/quarterly-indexes/grocery/). But with the retail recovery continuing at a strong pace, we dove into three segments that could see a better than expected Back to School season. While beauty brands may have taken a hit during the pandemic, the recovery period has been especially kind to the segment. Ulta saw monthly visits up in four of the first five months of 2021 when compared to the equivalent periods in 2019
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Torrid and its peers and take a look at the pet supply sector’s recovery. Plus-sized retailer Torrid Holdings Inc. recently filed for an Initial Public Offering, two years after withdrawing its previous IPO filing. This is huge news for Torrid, and can signal good tidings for the plus-sized clothing sector as a whole. Since Torrid was acquired by Sycamore Partners in 2013, and the same private equity firm (through affiliate Premium Apparel LLC) recently acquired additional plus-size retailers Lane Bryant and Catherines
The wider retail recovery is well underway, but a more nuanced perspective is necessary to properly appreciate the relative rebounds of specific brands. Some sectors saw significantly greater challenges, while others benefitted from the unique retail circumstances driven by the pandemic. We dove into the data to uncover some of the more impressive retail rebounds. The ‘death’ of the department store was an oft-reported trend before and during the pandemic. And while the sector has certainly experienced its fair share of challenges.
In this Placer Bytes we dive into the dining category with check-ins on Chipotle and Darden’s Restaurant portfolio. An emphasis on digital enhancements seemingly helped Chipotle weather the COVID-storm, but how is the brand performing post-pandemic? When comparing monthly visits to 2019 for one of America’s most popular chains, we see visits nearing pre-COVID levels While visits were down 22.1% in January, that visit gap shrunk to just 4.5% for March amid lifted restrictions across the dining category.
