Some analysts see the world as a set of zero sum games. This view holds that the expansion of e-commerce means the demise of brick and mortar stores; the growth of at-home fitness means that gyms will soon be obsolete; and the rise of streaming services means that the demand for movie theaters will disappear. These voices grew especially strong over COVID. Many predicted that consumers would become so accustomed to shopping, exercising, and consuming entertainment from the comfort of their homes that they would no longer return to physical stores, fitness centers, and cinemas post-pandemic.
Mobile games sustained strong momentum from the pandemic surge — reaching new heights at $116 billion in 2021 alone. Prior to 2020, mobile gaming was already in a league of its own — with record breaking levels of downloads and consumer spend across the app stores. But the following two years took engagement to new heights. Read our latest State of Mobile Gaming 2022 Report to uncover the phenomenal year gaming had on mobile:
It should be no surprise that the home of Buckingham Palace and the Crown Jewels is no stranger to luxury sales. But what are luxury trends like across different countries in the UK, and which price points are most appealing to UK shoppers? In today’s Insight Flash, we dig into these questions using our new UK Cohort dashboards to track luxury sales by country, average price point by country for US-based brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, and how Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren sales are distributed across ticket buckets.
Monthly active users of the top personal financial tracking and budgeting apps in the United States have hit an all-time high in February 2022. People are trying to get their shit together in 2022, and it could partially be due to TikTok. We're looking at apps like Mint, Truebill and EveryDollar. These apps help people organize and manage their personal finances. I think the combination of the r/wallstreetbets storyline last year, the rise of crypto in popular culture, and "finfluencers" on social media, has created more interest and more savvy in the personal finance space.
data.ai’s State of Mobile 2022 report contains the top 10 keywords across 11 app categories and 15 countries. Want to peer into the collective mind of the world's mobile users? There's only one place to look – the App Store search box. Whatever the public is interested in, it's all The Quick ASO Checklist to Increase App Downloads there in the keywords they enter every day. And this makes the search box of great interest to mobile marketers.
If there’s one thing consumers have a ton of, it’s options. From department stores bespoke boutiques to online hype hubs, there seems to always be a new must-have brand on the rise. As the number of consumers continues to grow, so is the popularity of one-stop online marketplaces that offer everything from beauty and personal care, consumer electronics, food, apparel, and more. Different marketplaces have specific requirements, product categories, audiences, and listing fees.
Our latest white paper features seven brands from a range of sectors, from furniture to apparel to entertainment, that have been largely written off by leading retail or Wall Street analysts – but their foot traffic data indicates serious comeback potential. Below is a taste of our findings. One retailer to keep a close eye on is Macy’s. The reasons for concern are also fairly evident – Yo2Y visits down every month since January 2021. But the data offers a major glimmer of hope.
Are you wondering where CBS All Access went? It didn’t go anywhere—it just became Paramount+. On March 4, 2021, ViacomCBS launched Paramount+, the rebranded version of CBS All Access. With the rebrand, Paramount+ began its uphill battle to attract both consumers and brands. But was it too little too late, especially for a streaming service on its second life? Maybe not. With 32.8 million subscribers at the end 2021 and $55 million in ad buys, Paramount+ might be onto something.
Talk to any Gen Zer and ask them about the last commercial they saw. Chances are they don’t even watch cable. Gone are the days when you were forced to watch “whatever’s on”. Now, we live in the golden age of video content with endless options of digital entertainment available to watch whenever, however, and wherever we want. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and museums, malls, and other outlets shut down, the need for entertainment at your fingertips boomed, and with it, the number of digital streaming options to choose from.
The pizza industry has been busy in the first quarter of 2022. In recent weeks, Little Caesars raised the price of its Hot-N-Ready pizza for the first time ever, Domino’s CEO announced his upcoming retirement, and Papa John’s CEO described 2021 as the biggest year in the company’s history. Consumer spending data reveals that Domino’s (NYSE: DPZ) is still the big cheese when it comes to national pizza chain market share, but Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) has experienced the most sales growth among major pizza companies since 2019.
TJX, which operates off-price chains in categories ranging from apparel (T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) to recreation gear (Sierra) to home furnishings (HomeGoods), is a retail powerhouse. Foot traffic to the company’s portfolio brands was strong in 2021, and early 2022 data indicates that this year will be just as robust. We dove into foot traffic trends and consumer demographic information to better understand the secret to this heavy hitter’s success.
The top 10 quick-service restaurant apps in the U.S. in February were downloaded 7.8 million times, 21.7 percent less than those the month prior. This is a big drop, but it’s a seasonal one. December, and Q4 in general, tend to be the strongest time for QSR app activity. Adjusting for seasonality and looking at year-over-year data, downloads for top QSR apps in February are up 13% as customers become more mobile savvy and brands invest more heavily in digital real estate.
The beauty sector saw a surge in visits in recent months as consumers stocked up on makeup and skincare products to celebrate their return to school, work, and social engagements. We checked in with sector visit leaders Ulta, Bath & Body Works, and Sephora to find out how these brands are performing and what lies ahead for the beauty category. Ulta Beauty, one of the largest beauty retailers in the United States, has seen a clear visit boost since the easing of pandemic-related restrictions last summer.
The Dodge Momentum Index increased 4% in February to 158.2 (2000=100), from the revised January reading of 151.9. The Momentum Index, issued by Dodge Construction Network, is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. In February, institutional planning rose 9%, and commercial planning moved 1% higher. The Dodge Momentum Index rebounded from three consecutive monthly declines that followed a 14-year high in October 2021
As Home Improvement spend growth slows in the UK, which home improvement brands have the strongest foundation? In today’s Insight Flash, we examine consumer DIY trends for Kingfisher’s B&Q and Screwfix as well as The Range and Homebase using our new UK Cohort dashboards to see spend trends versus the industry and subindustry, where cross-shop is strongest, and what an analysis of B&Q ticket buckets implies about the shopping basket.
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.
Breakfast spending is back to near pre-pandemic levels at Starbucks, but midday and afternoon are the fastest growing dayparts. Visits to Starbucks locations in suburban, drive-thru formats outperformed downtown visits up to 50% in some New York City locations. Starbucks’ average ticket growth accelerated in 1Q22 sharply as inflation adjustments were passed along to customers. Starbucks North American revenue grew 23% YoY in 1Q22 on a 12% YoY increase in transactions and a 6% YoY increase in average ticket, directionally consistent with Earnest Research transaction data.
UK shoppers over the years have taken advantage of ordering online to save themselves the time and effort of going to stores. Yet, the joy of cooking is one effort they’re still willing to make. Grocery delivery services like Ocado and meal kit purveyors like HelloFresh and Gousto have managed to take advantage of both sides of the coin to give consumers fresh foods delivered straight to their homes.
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.”
It’s been more than two decades since Netflix’s founding and more than a decade since Hulu and Amazon Video entered the picture. However, it wasn’t until the last two years that the streaming world really started getting crowded. We can attribute a lot of that to the push from media companies into the OTT world, with the likes of Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount+ all fresh off their launches. One media company was slower to join the movement: NBCUniversal (NBCU). That changed in 2020 when NBCU introduced Peacock and began its quest to attract both consumers and advertisers away from other platforms.
