Last year (2022) marked a significant opening up of retail as the wider landscape enjoyed the first true post-pandemic period. Yet, the upside of finally moving beyond pandemic-driven limitations was quickly offset by a myriad of economic challenges including inflation and high gas prices. Analyzing our Mall Indexes over the past year has shown the impressive resilience of top-tier malls across the three sub-segments throughout the year.
With another Q4 behind us, we dove into nationwide retail foot traffic data and looked at the performance of key categories to understand how the ongoing economic uncertainty impacted this year’s holiday shopping season. Despite the economic uncertainty and ongoing consumer concerns, the 2022 holiday shopping season once again drove consumers to brick-and-mortar stores. Retail visits began creeping up in early November, although early holiday foot traffic was not as strong as it was in 2021, when pent-up demand and inventory concern drove consumers to visit stores significantly earlier than usual.
In an exercise of focused speculation, we kick off 2023 the way we’ve kicked off every year – with a look at the retailers and segments we think are uniquely well positioned for the year to come. The only rule? They can’t have been on the list a year prior, and there must be at least a few “bold” predictions. Last year, we correctly broke down the continued dominance of Target, the uniquely strong positioning for beauty leaders like Ulta and Sephora, and the recoveries for grocery leaders like H-E-B and Costco.
For a moment, it seemed like Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs were on the verge of losing their status as America’s economic and cultural capitals. COVID-19 hit the city particularly hard, and a substantial out-migration had some saying that the city would never recover, with a popular narrative claiming that cities were “over” in favor of the suburbs. But it takes a lot more than a pandemic to keep New York down.
Sports advertising has been around for decades, but thanks to advances in out-of-home advertising technology, advertising during live sporting events has recently become more accessible to brands and more engaging to consumers. But how can companies decide which types of events to sponsor? To help provide an answer to this question, we dove into the location intelligence data for some of the biggest sporting matches held at Madison Square Garden in 2022 to understand how different types of events draw different crowds – and what this means for sponsors and advertisers.
Super Saturday – the last Saturday before Christmas – draws crowds of last-minute gift buyers to retailers across the country. We dove into the data to understand how this day fit into the wider 2022 holiday shopping season and how consumer concern over rising prices impacted this year’s performance. Super Saturday presented a continuation of a trend seen in recent months — a more extended holiday season limits the peaks of any specific day. There is even more time for shopping ahead of the holiday and ample evidence that the lack of major doorbuster deals limits the urgency on any specific day.
San Francisco is one of the country’s oldest and most storied cities. This anchor of the Bay Area has witnessed the Gold Rush, the Summer of Love, and the hi-tech revolution. Now, a shift is taking place. During COVID, the city had one of the highest outbound migration rates in the country, perhaps due to its high concentration of remote-work-friendly companies, rising cost of living, and shuttering of several major offices. And while the trend has begun to reverse, the populations now moving into San Francisco are not quite the same as those who left.
With holiday celebrations around the corner, consumers have plenty of grocery shopping ahead of them. Our recent webinar covered the prevailing visitation trends in the space, including data from Turkey Wednesday. And in order to keep our finger on the pulse, we dove into the most recent visit data for the grocery sector and Publix, one of the leaders in the category.
Our latest white paper, Beauty’s Irresistible Allure, draws on location intelligence and demographic data to analyze three leading beauty brands that are adapting to evolving consumer demand in this growing market. Below is a taste of our findings. When it comes to makeup and perfume, there’s nothing quite like in-person shopping. From finding just the right look to browsing with friends, cosmetics chains offer consumers a chance to find products that make them feel good, while having fun and engaging in social interaction.
Long a popular destination for New Yorkers on the move, Florida boasts an estimated 1.6 million residents hailing from the Big Apple. Warmer weather, inviting beaches, and a lower cost of living have all been cited as factors contributing to the Sunshine State’s draw. With no state income or payroll taxes, Florida is also a preferred destination for many entrepreneurs seeking a more business-friendly regulatory environment.
The workplace recovery has stalled over the past few months, with employees and employers settling into the new normal of widespread hybrid and remote work. Now, with 2022 almost behind us, we dove into office foot traffic data for the past six months to understand where the workplace recovery stands nationwide and in select cities and what may impact the recovery in 2023.
Social media is playing an ever-larger role in consumer shopping habits and marketing strategies. Consumers increasingly seek a more authentic approach to marketing and social media trends that seem spontaneous, viral, and of the minute to resonate with potential shoppers. And while social media trends can help with brand engagement and recognition, they can also impact brick-and-mortar retail performance. Offline engagement, in turn, can promote greater brand awareness and loyalty.
Brick-and-mortar retail has had a tumultuous few years, from the lockdowns of 2020 to the high gas prices and inflation of 2022. Yet, consumer demand for in-person retail and services has remained strong, with key categories bouncing back after each new challenge. Our latest white paper dives into some of the key trends likely to shape the retail landscape in 2023. We examined foot traffic data, migration trends, and office recovery patterns to better understand what the coming year may have in store.
Our recent look at digitally native brands highlighted the unique experiences that can be found in retail corridors – outdoor and pedestrian-friendly clusters of stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues. But indoor malls also house a number of different retail, dining, and entertainment options in close proximity – and yet foot traffic data indicates that visitors treat these two types of hubs quite differently. Here, we take a closer look at the foot traffic trends and consumer behavior data for nine major retail corridors to understand what separates these hubs from indoor malls.
This Placer Bytes takes a look at three very different companies – Nike, lululemon, and GameStop – to see how they fared over the holidays and what lies ahead. Nike has undergone quite a few shifts in recent years, including its pivot away from wholesale to focus on its own retail ecosystem, including standalone Nike stores, Converse, Hurley, and Nike Factory Store. The company’s investments in owned distribution channels include leaning into experimental and experiential retail with its new Nike Rise, House of Innovation, and small-format Nike Live concepts.
When we last looked at malls, there was an expectation that declines compared to 2021 in October could actually signal potential strength in November and on Black Friday. Yet, that potential failed to materialize, with Black Friday and the corresponding weekend seeing visit declines compared to a pre-pandemic 2019 and even 2021. But there’s more to the mall story in 2022, and this could have very interesting implications for retail strategies moving forward.
College towns are bustling once again. After two years during which COVID significantly impacted student routines, most campuses are back to business as usual. And with classes winding down and winter break just around the corner, many students are availing themselves of the various amenities their cities have to offer – both on and off campus.
Tight budgets and a smaller emphasis on extending the holiday shopping season early meant all eyes were on Black Friday 2022 for an indication of what lies ahead for holiday retail. And despite the fact that Black Friday 2021 was limited by rising COVID cases and a concerted effort from retailers to shift focus away from the retail holiday, Black Friday 2022 still fell short for most sectors. Still, the retail holiday continues to attract consumers to brick-and-mortar stores, and comparing Black Friday visits to pre-Thanksgiving foot traffic revealed significant visit spikes almost across the board.
Digitally native brands (DNBs) – or brands that first launch online – take a unique approach to omnichannel business. More than simply drumming up in-store sales, a DNB’s physical presence connects brand and consumers in a way that benefits both offline and online traffic. These stores are well-known for being experiential in nature, and given this past year’s shift in consumer demand from physical goods to experiences, DNBs have the potential to bridge the gap and capitalize during the holiday retail season.
The past few years have been good to the discount and dollar sector. The segment saw heightened visits and store fleet growth in a period marked by a global pandemic and economic uncertainty. Now, we dive into the performance of four major discount chains – Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar (owned by Dollar Tree), and Five Below – to see how the upcoming holiday season might affect visits.
