Overall foot traffic remained rock-solid in the fourth quarter for a very important sector of retail.
Visits to “superstores” were up 6.8 per cent quarter-over-quarter, 10.9 per cent compared to the year-ago period and 5.7 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, according to foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai’s Superstore Quarterly Index. The company defines the sector as including retail giants, wholesale clubs and discounters.)
Three retailers in particular all saw massive foot traffic during the quarter. Big Lots saw visits grow by nearly 34 per cent quarter-over-quarter, Five Below saw growth of almost 32 per cent and Dollar General of a little under 9 per cent.
Visits to Sam’s Club were up 2.4 per cent quarter-over-quarter and 8.5 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Visits were up 6.8 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, at Costco. At BJ’s, visits fell 1 per cent quarter-over-quarter, but were up 8.7 per cent from 2019.
