Placer.ai has released its forecast for the best performing retailers in 2021. Some of the names on the list are no surprise, like grocers and home goods stores, which have both benefitted during the pandemic. Others are a surprise. Planet Fitness, for example, landed a spot on the list, as did indoor malls. These retailers, according to Placer.ai data, are well positioned for strong performance next year.

Traditional grocers Albertsons, Kroger and Publix have all had a strong 2020 with visits up from January through November 5.3%, .7% and -1.7% respectively. Isolating for June through November, all three chains had an increase in visits. In addition, the duration of visits increased 7.1% on average for all three brands, which Placer.ai says is typically an indication of larger basket size.

HomeGoods, At Home and Tractor Supply are driving performance in the home goods retailer category. At Home visits were up 25.9% from June to November, while HomeGoods had an average 6.7% year-over-year increase in traffic from July through November. Tractor Supply visits increased 14.6% from January to November, impressive considering January visits alone were down 3.4% year-over-year. It is worth noting that Home Depot and Lowe's are not included in this list because they led the same category for top retailers in 2020, and we not eligible for the repeat title.