This month’s data represents the clearest indication yet that rent prices are rebounding in markets across the country. Our national index increased by 0.7 percent over the past month, the largest monthly increase since the summer of 2019. The data continue to exhibit significant regional variation, but the days of plummeting rents in pricey coastal markets appear to be coming to an end, with cities such as San Francisco and Seattle experiencing positive month-over-month growth for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
WW International (formerly Weight Watchers) reports its Q4 and full year earnings on Feb. 25 after markets close. Ahead of the print, WW shares are flat on a three-month basis. Last quarter, the global wellness company reported mixed results with a revenue miss. WW cited declines in workshop fees and overall product sales as a result of COVID-19 pressures. Investors are also anxious about up-and-coming players like weight-loss app Noom and food-tracking monitor Lifesum.
It’s that time of year again. No, we’re not talking about college basketball season — it’s tax season. _Womp womp._ This year, filing your taxes will involve jumping through even more hoops than usual with social distancing requirements, stimulus checks, and unemployment. Tax season officially started on February 12, but TurboTax has already been ramping up for what's ahead, releasing over 100 new creatives since January 30.
Activity in the U.S. commercial real estate market stumbled in January after an end-of-year surge in apartment, industrial and office sales had led December 2020 deal volume to a record level, the latest edition of US Capital Trends shows. Transaction volume fell 58% in January from a year prior, similar to the declines seen in the second and third quarters of 2020. By contrast, December deal volume had increased 8% year-over-year to broach the $80 billion level for the first time, according to RCA records.
Relying on quantitively calculated, real-time air ticketing data, this week we reveal Russia as a travel market worth investing in. In 2020, there was a rise in demand for domestic travel and some markets even recovered to 2019 levels.
Digital Heat is an easy-to-use heatmap to help you quickly identify at scale which industries and companies are most impacted by the current economic environment. The report tracks in near real-time year-over-year (YoY) weekly website traffic trends. On a macro level, it highlights directional trends – industries that are poised to benefit, and those that remain vulnerable. On a micro level, this monitor can help isolate differences within an industry.
Credit Benchmark have released the February Credit Consensus Indicators (CCIs). The CCI is an index of forward-looking credit opinions for US, UK and EU Industrials based on the consensus views of over 30,000 credit analysts at 40 of the world’s leading financial institutions. Last month suggested improving sentiment for EU Industrials, but this month’s CCI has dropped back below 50 and sits lower than the US CCI.
Digital Heat is an easy-to-use heatmap to help you quickly identify at scale which industries and companies are most impacted by the current economic environment. The report tracks in near real-time year-over-year (YoY) weekly website traffic trends.
On a macro level, it highlights directional trends – industries that are poised to benefit, and those that remain vulnerable. On a micro level, this monitor can help isolate differences within an industry.
Direct-2-consumer (D2C) businesses have grown considerably over the last decade-plus. When companies such as Warby Parker and Allbirds launched, their mission to deliver goods big and small to customers’ front door was a unique option that piqued busy Americans' interest. Today, virtually anything you need or crave is now available for delivery online — dish sponges, glasses, socks, cleaning supplies, mattresses, deodorant, luggage, even your groceries for the week.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the surprisingly strong performance of Best Buy, Big Lots ongoing opportunity, and the trajectory of Sprouts and Kroger. A resurgence of COVID cases right before Black Friday should spell doom for a brand that is heavily oriented around that specific day. Yet, while Best Buy certainly felt the impact in offline visits, the company seems to have weathered the storm quite effectively.
With alcohol delivery sales reaching new heights in the pandemic, American Airlines has recently announced its plans to start a wine delivery service to sell some of its surplus wine that isn’t being consumed on flights. However, an increasingly crowded category and rising consumer demand means that market share among DTC wine companies has shifted over time.
In December 2020, Chick-fil-A led its competitors in chicken sandwich online spend, with Popeyes trailing a distant second. The battle between quick service restaurants for chicken sandwich sales has yet to lose any steam entering 2021. Both Popeyes and KFC have recently publicly expressed their efforts of “playing to win” in the fiercely competitive market, while Taco Bell has also announced intentions to join the fray.
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.4% in January after rising 1.2% in December. In January, the index equaled 114.6 (2015=100) compared with 113.1 in December. “Over the last four months, the tonnage index has increased a total of 3.3%, which is obviously good news,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
As we previously covered, the iPhone 12 is finally allowing Apple enthusiasts to connect to 5G. We’re back with fresh data to see how user adoption and new 5G rollouts have affected performance worldwide. After the launch of various iPhone 12 models, the daily count of unique devices worldwide that are capable of connecting to 5G spiked significantly compared to the year as a whole.
Once upon a time, people could only buy deodorant and cold medicine from their local pharmacy or wholesale club. That was then. Now, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) have carved out a nice space for themselves in the online marketplace. So much so that close to one in four U.S. households buy their food and beverages exclusively online. Even more, the number of consumers ordering their health and hygiene products online could double within a year.
In this Placer Bytes, we dive into the impressive results from the TJX portfolio, and the Q4 performances from Dillards and Macy’s. The wider TJX portfolio had an exceptional end to 2020 and a very strong start to 2021. Visits to T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods locations quickly overcame a visit drop between October and November as COVID cases surged and then sustained the positive momentum into 2021.
The European defence industry is making a strong recovery from the effects of the pandemic as worker activity reaches its highest level since the outbreak began. On-site staffing has reached over 70 percent of pre-Covid 19 figures, and are continuing to rise ahead of the wider European industrial sector.
In order to properly assess the performance of companies across borders, it is important to understand the different macroeconomic contexts in which the companies are operating. Consumer Edge recently enhanced its dashboard tools for industry and subindustry-level data, allowing for easier analysis of 26 industries and over 100 subindustries on both sides of the Atlantic.Major differences emerge in the spend breakdown between the US and UK over the last year.
On December 29, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began to distribute initial direct deposit payments for the second round of stimulus checks to consumers as part of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS sent check payments beginning the following day, on December 30, with an official payment date of January 4. According to the IRS, most recipients would receive payments via direct deposits. The second round of payments were generally $600 for single individuals and $1,200 for married couples filing a joint tax return. Those with qualifying children should have also received $600 for each child.
U.S. consumer spending has been altered by the coronavirus pandemic. Our data reveals that consumers are changing the way they pay for goods and services, with some industries seeing spending shift toward online purchases. Additionally, the pandemic has changed the types of purchases consumers are making, with stimulus recipients increasing their spending on big-ticket items. By analyzing industry-level data, consumer spending trends can provide insight into which sectors of the economy are recovering fastest. Overall, consumer spending in January versus the same month in 2020 is up 28 percent across all sectors, an aggregation of over 5,200 major U.S. companies.
