With its high concentration of government institutions, universities, and thriving art scene, Washington, D.C. has long attracted out-of-towners willing to relocate to take advantage of the city’s unique professional, academic, and cultural opportunities. And while the population influx slowed over COVID, domestic migration trends appear to have fully bounced back, with both D.C. and its surrounding counties looking stronger than ever. We took a closer look at migration patterns and demographic trends over the past three years to explore who is moving in and who is moving out of the capital city and its surrounding areas.
With the announcement of Macy shuttering some additional stores in 2023, we dove into the location intelligence data to understand the rationale behind the brand’s store fleet optimization strategy. Macy’s first announced its Polaris transformation strategy in February 2020 – a month before COVID-19 upended the brick-and-mortar retail landscape. The three-year plan involves closing 125 stores – mostly in malls or in underperforming locations – along with opening smaller, stand-alone venues, revamping the brand’s loyalty program, and ramping up investment in private labels.
It isn’t just the December chill rolling in. The frosty winds of recession are blowing steadily and prompting many companies to brace against a global financial downturn. While many in the tech sector are opting to cut costs through staff cuts and hiring freezes, companies without such a payroll cushion are seeking ways to squeeze value from every asset they have.
For most junior employees, the culture in which they work is defined by their managers. We previously covered how Toxic Corporate Culture was a main driver of The Great Resignation and how Gen Z is redefining work culture as we know it today. Today, we look at whether excess management has a negative effect on company culture. And if so, what is the business impact of being a top-heavy company?
For over a century, grocery shopping has been an essential part of our daily lives. And because inflation has led many Americans to opt for more meals at home, supermarkets have become an even bigger part of our routines. But that doesn’t mean that grocery shopping has to be a dull affair. Thankfully, many exciting experiences can be found at grocery stores across the country, and perhaps the most exciting development is the infusion of technology into how we shop for food.
This week MediaRadar reviewed ad buys from the week of January 2, 2023, and compared them to ads that ran the week of December 26, 2022. While we highlighted four categories in this article, you can see the shifts in ad spend among all categories here. We look at Quarter-Over-Quarter (QoQ), Month-Over-Month (MoM) and Week-Over-Week (WoW). Here are some key weekly takeaways from advertising shifts that took place. Travel advertising increased over 15% WoW. This represents over a $75mm investment during the first week of 2023.
Total construction starts jumped 27% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.185 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. During the month, nonresidential building starts increased 51%, nonbuilding starts increased 30%, and residential starts rose less than one percent. Across 2022, total construction starts were 15% higher than in 2021. Nonresidential building starts rose 38% over the year, nonbuilding starts were up 19%, and residential starts were down 3%.
Convenience stores (c-stores), once dismissed as uninspiring places to grab a quick cup of coffee or a sugar-laden snack, are re-inventing themselves as go-to, affordable places to shop, pick up tasty, ready-made meals, and splurge on low-cost treats. In the face of rising prices and shifting post-pandemic work routines – with more people working from home and commuting less often – this positioning has helped the sector sustain remarkable growth despite economic headwinds.
When we last checked in with McDonald’s and Chipotle, both were outpacing their category peers and introducing new initiatives to help drive foot traffic and sales. With 2022 in the rearview, we dove into the quarterly performance of both chains and consider what might lie ahead for them in 2023. McDonald’s and Chipotle enjoyed impressive foot traffic growth all months analyzed. Much of this success is tied to the expansion both chains have undergone – Chipotle has grown from around 2,500 stores in 2019 to nearly 3,100 in 2022, and plans on opening an additional 250 locations in 2023.
3G has been a major legacy network overhead and consumer of spectrum bandwidth in the US. But as 5G moves into high gear the Big 3 wireless carriers needed to reallocate capacity to fully support the 5G network, and free up resource for the development of 6G and beyond. AT&T stopped 3G services in early 2022 and T-Mobile started to retire its older networks last summer. This month, Verizon became the last of the Big 3 to shut down its 3G network – meaning 3G has effectively ended in the US.
Beauty companies like Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) have been in the spotlight over the past several months, in response to rising cosmetic sales in the wake of high inflation and economic uncertainty (a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the “lipstick effect”). In fact, Ulta recently surpassed investors’ expectations in its third quarter earnings report and even boosted its holiday sales outlook. So how did the beauty retailer’s holiday sales fare? Using consumer transaction data, Bloomberg Second Measure analyzed holiday spending trends at Ulta and its LVMH-owned competitor Sephora.
FTX’s collapse has had a domino effect on the cryptocurrency market, leading to a series of crypto-related bankruptcies. As expected, these events have had negative impacts on workers across the crypto space. However, signs of decline appeared in the crypto workforce well before the 2022 crash. Attrition from crypto companies began to increase as early as July 2021. Meanwhile, employee sentiment in crypto companies started to decrease with the dip in crypto prices in January 2022.
The past couple of years haven’t been easy ones. But the uncertainty and stress brought on by the pandemic and the rising cost of living haven’t stopped consumers from seeking out fun things to do with friends and family – in fact, quite the opposite. Even though budgets are tight, many have a new post-pandemic appreciation for going out and continue to prioritize recreational activities as a way to de-stress and find joy and fulfillment. We analyzed foot traffic for three leading brands – Dave & Buster’s, Bowlero, and X-Golf – and broader entertainment categories in order to take a closer look at the impact demand for fun is having on visits.
Placer.ai’s Q4 Quarterly Index Report presents location intelligence data for beauty & self care brands, discount & dollar stores, superstores, grocery brands, malls, fitness chains, and offices. Using yearly, quarterly, and weekly visit patterns, the report reveals how these key categories fared in 2022 and what their performance tells us about consumer behavior and brick-and-mortar retail in the new normal.
Chinese-owned discount online marketplace Temu reached half as many weekly active users as the largest US fast fashion brand Shein in only three months according to Earnest’s Vela transaction data. The Pinduoduo owned newcomer to the US market achieved customer growth levels that took Shein four years and a pandemic to reach. Temu offers basement bargains for everything from Lenovo earbuds to 99 cent holiday outfits. Its market entrance comes on the heels of hyper-discounted and social media hyped fast fashion brand Shein’s rise.
The top 10 quick-service restaurant apps in the U.S. were downloaded 11.6 million times in December, 1.4 percent more than those the month prior. Year-over-year in the month of December, downloads of the top 36 quick-service restaurant apps are up 6.6 percent. A download represents a new user and the first conversion on the mobile app customer’s journey.
Somehow, another year is gone. 2022 was a somewhat challenging period for the multifamily industry, especially relative to an historic 2021. With 2023 now ahead, some of the defining features of last year persist, and others have begun to fade. These changes, as well as new dynamics that will emerge this year, have the industry on a path to another fascinating year on the heels of three years that will be discussed well into the future.
Sandalwood China Auto Insurance data indicates below-seasonal level car deliveries of Tesla in December at 37,723 as of Dec 25. Hangover effects from strong November delivery and weak consumer demand despite additional subsidies are likely the main culprits. Model Y continues to take the lead. 27,480 and 10, 243 units of Model Y and Model 3 were delivered respectively MTD.
With 2022 in the rear-view mirror, we checked in to see how the grocery sector is faring at the start of the new year, zooming in on two chains that are outperforming industry averages: H-E-B and Trader Joe’s. Since H-E-B is located in Texas, we focused our analysis on the Lone Star State. Despite somewhat different strategies, both chains have succeeded in garnering highly devoted and loyal customer bases, thanks in part to their focus on in-store customer experience.
Earnest Analytics Spend Index powered by Orion transaction data decelerated in December, as a deceleration in In-store more than offset a slight Online acceleration. Gyms, Workout Classes, Garden & Outdoor, and Air Travel grew fastest in the month. Active & Athleisure, Off-Price Department Stores, Footwear, Sports Gear, and Casual Dining also stood out with the fastest acceleration since November.
