When you’re forced to spend several months quarantined in your own home, it’s only natural that you’ll come to identify a few areas for an upgrade. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, the wider home goods sector has been enjoying a significant uptick in traffic during the retail recovery. In fact, it’s so strong that this could be one of the few sectors to view 2020 in a far more positive light.
It’s no secret that the restaurant industry has been hit hard by COVID-19 and it will take a significant amount of time for many to bounce back to normal levels under ongoing restrictions. In fact, many thought that the combination of the pandemic and already struggling brands could signal serious problems for sit-down chains.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the recovery for two particularly interesting brands, Nike and Tuesday Morning. Then we break down four Darden restaurant chains to analyze their post-pandemic trajectories. Nike is a critical retail trendsetter. One of the most important narratives that had been driving retail in late 2019 was the rise of product and DTC brands expanding their owned offline presence, and no brand exemplified this trend better than Nike.
Apparel was among the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic, with potentially huge ramifications coming from this downturn. So, we decided to break down the early recovery and highlight three sectors that could surge in the coming months.
At Home is in the midst of a significant expansion, and the results are looking incredibly strong. In-store activity kicked off strong in 2020 with visits in January and February that were up 7.7% and 13.5% year over year. The pandemic then drove a major drop in March with visits plummeting to a 56.4% year-over-year decline and bottoming out in April.
The grocery sector has been among the most interesting to analyze during the pandemic. During the crisis, some brands grew, while others struggled. And even when looking at the visits that did happen, consumer shopping patterns changed significantly. So as the US begins to reopen, how has the grocery sector been affected?
In this Placer Bytes we dive into the rebounds of Five Below and Macy’s and try to reinforce the bull case for the office supplies sector. Five Below is a brand that was hit hard by the pandemic. Visits surged in February, growing by 16.8% year over year, before taking a 45.9% drop in March and falling completely flat in April. Yet, the rebound is underway.
Pre-COVID, Lululemon was one of the most exciting brands in the apparel sector, with 2020 kicking off in incredibly strong fashion. January and February saw year-over-year visits grow 8.8% and 15.3% respectively, before March’s 61.0% decline and visits completely disappearing in April.
