BENCHMARK TRAFFIC REPORT

COVID-19 Special Edition

Continental United States

May 2021 Compared to 2019*

MONTHLY SUMMARY

May Monthly Trends

Monthly Summary May 2021 finished -27% compared to 2019, slightly better than April’s performance. Sales were only down 10.4% to 2019, impacted by continued strong CVR, ATV, and SY at +4.2% pts., +4.7%, and +27.9% respectively. Traffic performed the best in Week 1 but then declined the most in Week 3 at -28.4%, impacted by the shift in the Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend from Week 3 to Week 4. Traffic trends improved towards the end of the month as Week 4 declined -26.5%. The continued rollout of stimulus checks and vaccines along with many states lifting restrictions boosted purchasing. May Monthly Trends

Retail Reopenings

 

Retailer Category Type Trends*

While brick-and-mortar stores experienced an overall -26.7% traffic decline in May, performance across categories was mixed. May key highlights include:

Apparel (-25.3%) Although Apparel had the softest performance of the published categories in May, it outperformed the national average. As CDC says fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk and people start to prepare for the upcoming summer vacation, we are likely to see improvementsin this category.
Home (-20.5%)  Home continued to be the best performing category in May declined by only -20.5% compared to 2019. Week 1 performed the best with declines of -17% before consistently declined three weeks at -21%
Health & Beauty (-22.8%) Health & Beauty outperformed the national average with declines of -22.8% compared to 2019. As more states are easing mask mandates, lifting restrictions and customers are engaging more often in social activities, this category isstarting to get more attention
  Jewelry (-21.4%) Jewelry was the 2nd best performing category in May compared to 2019. Weeks 1 and 2 performed the best with declines of -18.9% and -20.5% respectively, likely impacted by the gift shopping for Mother’s Day.
Footwear (-24.2%) Footwear declined by -24.2% compared to 2019. It performed the best in Week 1 with declines of -21.3% and declined towards the end of the month as Week 4 declining at -26.7%.

Regional Performance

Regional Traffic Trends

COVID-19 cases has been consistently declining in May. Although the vaccinated population kept increasing, the rate of vaccination has been slowing down. To reach community immunity sooner, several states and companies started incentive programs, offering opportunities to win big prizes including $1 million dollar and college scholarships for those who get vaccinated.

Key U.S. Regional Takeaways

o With a decline of -29.0%, the Midwest, had the 2nd lowest comp in May. Week 3 had the largest declines of any region at -32.1%, likely impacted by the shift in Memorial Day Weekend in 2019.

o Improved from April, the Northeast declined at -29.1% in May compared to 2019. Similar to Midwest, traffic trends declined gradually over first three weeks and improved from -30.1% to -26.8% in Week 4.

o The South continued to have the best traffic trends this month with a decline of only -21.2% compared to 2019. Several states including NC and VA, affected by the pipeline cyberattack, contributed to the declines in Week 2 traffic trends.

o The West had the second-best traffic trends in May at -25.5%. Weeks 1 and 2 had the best performance with declines of -23%. Traffic trends declined towards the end of the month. As Governor Gavin Newsom set June 15th as reopening date, we are likely to see continued improvement in traffic trends in June.

*May weekly and MTD numbers are compared to 2019 as stores began closing in 2020 March due to COVID-19 1. Kallingal, M. (2021, May 28). States have been offering big prizes for those who are vaccinated. Companies are now doing the same. Retrieved from:

RETAILER LOCATION

Coronavirus Retail Reopenings by State**: • AZ continued to have the best traffic trends of any published states with declines of -9% compared to 2019. NY had the lowest traffic comp by state with declines of -42%. • Impacted by the pipeline shutdown due to the cyberattack, several South states had declined traffic trends in Week 2 including GA, NC, VA and TN.

                                              

Retailer Location Type

Mall traffic in May continued to outperform non-mall traffic with declines of -25% and -27%, respectively, however the gap continued to shrink. Outdoor locations performed better this month with a decline of -23% while indoor locations declined at -26%. Strip Malls continued to outperform other location types, with a decline of only -12%. Other and Street Front/Freestanding had the largest declines of -31%, followed by Outlet and Luxury. Traditional Malls and Lifestyle Centers outperformed the national average with declines of -24% compared to 2019. 

*May weekly and MTD numbers are compared to 2019 as stores began closing in 2020 March due to COVID-19 **States that do not pass integrity or have monthly data will be marked as grey on the map. 

GLOSSARY

Sales: Customer sales net of returns

Traffic: Total number of shoppers

Conversion (CVR): Sales transactions as a percentage of traffic

Average Transaction Value (ATV): Sales divided by transactions

Shopper Yield (SY): Sales divided by traffic

Transactions (TRN): Sales transactions and returns transactions

%Returns: Returns transactions as a percentage of total transactions

METHODOLOGY

7+ million shopping trips were analyzed in data sets across specialty and larger format retail stores the Continental United States. Data starting August 2020 reflects updated benchmarking methodology which includes updated weights to reflect the national retail landscape. Periods defined according to Fiscal 4-5-4 Retail Calendar May 2019 and May 2021:

o Previous Period: May 5th 2019 – June 1st 2019

o Current Period: May 2nd 2021 – May 29th 2021

By RetailNext

Giải pháp đếm người - Shopper Count là giải pháp đếm người tự động với độ chính xác cao nhất và hệ thống báo cáo phân tích dữ liệu chuyên nghiệp, với các chỉ số có tính định lượng, trả lời cho các câu hỏi cơ bản đối với hiệu quả hoạt động và các động lực chính ảnh hưởng tới kết quả đó. Cùng với tỷ lệ chính xác cao nhất; dễ dàng lắp đặt và vận hành đơn giản; khả năng tương thích và tích hợp với các hệ thống ứng dụng hiện tại. Giải pháp đo lường và báo cáo về số lượng khách hàng tới trải nghiệm và mua sắm, xây dựng bức tranh thực tế về lưu lượng và hành vi của khách hàng theo thời gian thực, hàng giờ, hàng ngày, hàng tuần và hàng năm.