Major retailers, led by major discount retail brands, have witnessed a surge in foot traffic in the second quarter.
Overall, retail visits rose 4.2 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, according to a report from data software company Placer.ai.
Particularly, discount and dollar stores saw the biggest jump in demand, as their lower price points have attracted customers. In the three months through June, visits collectively jumped 11.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
Dollar General, thanks to the thousands of stores it has across the country and its grocery offerings, saw the most consistent traffic in the second quarter. Each month in the period, the discount chain saw visits increase anywhere from 9 percent to 15.9 percent compared with the period last year. Five Below was a little more volatile, with its figures ranging from 4.9 percent to 17.5 percent.
Grocery stores lagged just behind discount retailers, with foot traffic growing 7.6 percent in the quarter.
“Though the sector continues to face its share of challenges, stabilizing food-at-home prices and improvements in employee retention and supply chain management have helped propel the industry forward,” Placer.ai wrote.
Aldi and Trader Joe’s were the two leaders, grabbing 26.7 percent and 13 percent more visits respectively in the second quarter compared to the same period of the preceding year. H-E-B and Foot Lion registered 11.4 percent and 8.7 percent growth.
Fitness establishments overall witnessed impressive growth, considering it’s an expense that consumers can cut by bringing their workouts home if needed. However, Placer.ai thinks rising prices may have helped those establishments. Traffic was up six percent in the second quarter. EōS Fitness and Crunch Fitness led the way with 23.4 percent and 21.4 percent traffic boosts in the second quarter.
Supercenters and restaurants saw smaller gains. Visits were up 4.6 percent and 3.9 percent for each respective category. Smaller cafe chains including Ziggi’s Coffee and Philz Coffee received some of the biggest boosts, with traffic soaring 28.9 percent and 25.5 percent respectively in the second quarter. Mediterranean food chain Cava saw a 26.7 percent gain in traffic. For the supercenters, Costco and Sam’s Club’s traffic increased 12 percent and 7.5 percent respectively.
Home improvement and furnished stores had minimal gains. Altogether, they squeezed a 1.1 percent gain in foot traffic. Interestingly, the gains were not driven mostly from the giants you would expect such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, which only saw 0.6 percent and 1.1 percent more customers in the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago. Harbor Freight Tools and Ace Hardware carried the load, seeing 12.8 percent and 5.4 percent gains in foot traffic.
While restaurants and other major retail establishments faced problems in the second quarter such as inflation and volatility of consumer confidence, Placer.ai said there is “cautious optimism” throughout the rest of the year.