The value of commercial and multifamily starts in the top 20 metropolitan areas of the U.S. gained 12% during the first six months of 2021 relative to the first half of 2020, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Nationally, commercial and multifamily construction starts were 10% higher on a year-to-date basis through six months. In the top 10 metro areas, commercial and multifamily construction starts were up 12% through six months, with only three metro areas – Washington DC, Los Angeles CA, and Austin TX – posting declines.
Parking app performance is popping. Both downloads (new installs) and monthly active users of the top parking apps are above pre-pandemic levels. Parking apps help users locate garages and lots in areas near their destinations, showing them the availability of spots and associated prices. The apps facilitate payment for the spot and in many cases allow users to reserve spots.
Welcome to the August Apartment List National Rent Report. Our national index increased by 2.5 percent from June to July, continuing a months-long trend of rapidly accelerating rent growth. So far in 2021, the national median rent has increased by a staggering 11.4 percent. To put that in context, in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019, rent growth from January to July averaged just 3.3 percent. This month’s spike continues to push rents well above where they would be if growth had remained on its pre-pandemic trend.
The coffee comeback is continuing with Starbucks, Panera Bread and Dunkin’ all seeing visit comparisons to 2019 levels improve. Are these recoveries a sign that the new ‘normal’ has been reached or is even more growth ahead? Since the start of 2021, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Dunkin’ have seen a steady and significant recovery each month. By June, visits for Starbucks and Panera were down just 3.1% and 7.6% respectively compared to June 2019, the best mark for both brands since the start of the pandemic’s retail impact.
Global capacity once again slipped back week on week as everyone settles down for three weeks of Olympian TV coverage and governments around the world once again stop travel, adjust their traffic lights and threaten further restrictions in the next few weeks. Despite increasing vaccination rates around the globe, booking travel remains a gamble for everyone. This week’s 81.6 million is 1.3% down on last week’s numbers and remains 31% below the same week two years ago; this is normally the busiest week of the year, read into that what you will.
COVID-19 cases increased 180% from two weeks ago, at about 45,000 new cases per day. Hospitalizations and deaths are also increasing, by 53%, with 27,000 people hospitalized, and 30% with 252 people now dying every day. Compared to last week, cases were up 109%, hospitalizations up 19% and deaths up 19%. Cases are increasing in every region of the country. The highest rate of change in case numbers is occurring in Massachusetts where daily reported cases have increased by more than 350 percent to 373 per day.
The UK has experienced a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections in recent weeks. Figures from the JHU show that cases peaked on July 20th and have since fallen. The NHS’ Covid-19 app sent a record 607,486 contact tracing alerts in the week ending July 14th. The IHS Markit/CIPS composite PMI fell 4.5% from June to July. Some suggest that high alert-levels are having an adverse effect on the economy as workers and shoppers stay home. The moniker for this new feature of the crisis is the ‘Pingdemic’.
In the week ending 17 July 2021, occupancy soared to 71.0%, its highest level since the Columbus Day holiday week of October 2019. Also for the first time since the week ending 19 October 2019, daily occupancy was above 70% Wednesday through Saturday. Weekend occupancy surpassed 80% for the second time this year but was shy of the high recorded four weeks ago. Excluding STR’s Top 25 Markets, occupancy was 72% and was the best since late summer 2019. Small (under 75 rooms) and medium (75-299 rooms) hotels did even better with occupancy of 73% for the week.
As the travel industry recovers and in-person events—such as Broadway shows, sports games, and live concerts—restart in some parts of the U.S, the major event ticketing platforms have seen rising sales. During the height of shelter-in-place orders in April 2020, overall sales among a select set of ticket marketplaces (Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats, StubHub, and SeatGeek) declined 97 percent year-over-year. Ticket sales remained low through early 2021, as many event venues remained closed. However, since March 2021 the industry has experienced an uptick in sales.
At the start of lockdowns, sales of hand sanitizer surged 838%. Cleaning brands simply couldn't keep up as store shelves were wiped clean by anxious shoppers. Distilleries even pivoted from making bourbon and vodka and started pumping out the disinfectant instead. The sanitizer-buying frenzy has eased since then, but popular cleaning brands Clorox, Lysol, and Purell are betting we won't abandon our germaphobe tendencies after we're vaccinated — at least, not yet. All three brands are advertising more now than they did during stay-at-home orders.
As summer gets underway, which travel platforms are luring eager travelers? Using Earnest spend data we reviewed how Airbnb is performing after COVID disrupted travel, and shone a light on the platform’s extended-stay and quarantine-friendly business model. With continued restrictions on international travel, it’s not surprising Airbnb has maintained its stronghold in the Online Travel Agency (OTA) market, continuing to capture 50% of the sector. By comparison, Vrbo including HomeAway, a clear beneficiary during the pandemic peaking at 32% market share in 2Q20
Fast fashion has become an enduring trend in both North America and Europe. But early innovators like Zara and Forever21 can’t rest on there laurels, as there are even faster e-commerce brands looking to take the crown. In today’s Insight Flash, we look at the performance on Romwe, Shein, and Wish in the US and UK to see which of these brands are most disruptive. Of these brands, Romwe’s UK business has seen the biggest explosion in the last 18 months off a very small base.
Due to reopening, along with an assist from the summer half-term holiday (31 May-4 June), U.K. hotel occupancy came in at 43.1% in May 2021. That was up from May 2020 (23.0%) but substantially below May 2019 (78.9%). Because of the pandemic impact on 2020 data, STR is using 2019 as the recovery benchmark. Average daily rate (ADR) was even further behind the pace at GBP67.33, up from GBP58.69 in May 2020 but down from GBP93.65 in May 2019. However, both the occupancy and ADR levels from May 2021 were the highest in the U.K. since September 2020.
Casinos took a major hit during the pandemic as indoor recreational activities temporarily shut down to halt the spread of the virus. Now, with most restrictions lifted, the industry is coming back to life – but the overall pace of recovery for US public gaming companies has been choppier than for other sectors. We dove into national and regional foot traffic trends for Boyd Gaming, Bally’s Corporation, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Red Rock Resorts, Penn National Gaming, and Wynn Resorts to see how this sector is performing through the reopening.
Money transfer and payment apps are seeing an unprecedented spike in adoption and usage. While these initial surges aligned with retail business closures and statewide stay-at-home orders, the gradual proliferation of contactless payment apps reflects consumers' mounting desire for both convenience and safety in how they manage their financial lives. Today, we'll review how PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App pivoted their digital creative and spending strategies to account for shifting trends in consumer spending habits throughout the pandemic and our fundamental understanding of money.
In some ways, the U.S. agriculture and farming sector is thriving. Agricultural export values are setting new records: they reached [**$59 billion**](https://www.feednavigator.com/Article/2021/07/01/Strong-possibility-of-record-breaking-year-for-US-agriculture-products-such-as-beef-corn-and-sorghum) over the first four months of 2021. With increased foreign demand for products like corn, soybean, sorghum, wheat and animal products, farmers have been able to sell their products at competitive prices abroad. But the industry does face significant challenges—chiefly labor shortages and drought.
We all remember the buzz of back-to-school season as kids: excitement about a new teacher or classroom, reunions with friends and planning that special outfit for the first day. This year, many employees will experience something similar when they return to the office after working remotely during the pandemic. To learn how workers feel about the coming transition, we surveyed 450 employees who have been working from home due to COVID-19.
Chicago Area and East Coast States Remain More Exposed to Pandemic’s Impact During Second Quarter of 2021; Most Vulnerable Areas Are More Scattered Around Nation Than in Prior Quarter; Western States Continue to Have Most Favorable Market Conditions. ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today released its second-quarter 2021 Coronavirus Report spotlighting county-level housing markets around the United States
On Monday, July 19, 2021, Ice Cream brand Ben & Jerry’s announced that it will cease selling ice cream in West Bank. The announcement was followed by widespread condemnation from the Jewish community worldwide, and a stern warning from Israel’s PM to Unilever, B&J’s parent company, that there would be legal and other consequences. But what about the actual customers? How have they reacted? Looking at the recent foot traffic across all 380 Ben & Jerry’s stores that Advan Research covers, there does not seem to be a material effect on customer visits.
I didn’t meet my husband the ‘old fashioned way,’ in a bar. Nope. We met on Tinder. While some may be surprised I found love on a dating app, it’s definitely not the exception to the norm anymore. The online dating industry has grown 23% in 2021 alone. People worldwide are hoping to connect with that special someone and are looking to technology to give them a hand. Case in point: One billion people visited dating and relationship websites last month.
