Posts by Thomas Paulson

Kroger traffic - yoy % change in foot traffic

Kroger Is Looking To Get Beyond The Last Few Years of Distraction

March 7, 2025

By Thomas Paulson, Head of Market Insights

To say that this is a dynamic time for grocery retail is a classic underbilling given the inflationary spiral coming out of the pandemic, the substantial share-of-stomach lost by conventional brands to private-label led retailers such as Trader Joe’s and...

Comp traffic - yoy % change in foot traffic

Off-Price Roundup Up – 2024 Ended On A High Note, 2025’s Volatility Creates More Opportunity For The Sector

March 6, 2025

By Thomas Paulson, Head of Market Insights

Ross Stores Inc. reported Q4 underlying sales up +3.5% and gross profits and operating income growth less. Sales growth was driven by Ross Dress for Less comp-traffic (+2.8% per Advan), comp-sales growth (+3%), and the new locations added earlier in...

Comp traffic - yoy % change in foot traffic

Macy’s Finds More Stability As It Replatforms The Business

March 6, 2025

By Thomas Paulson, Head of Market Insights

Macy’s Inc. reported improved holiday results as Advan previewed. Macy’s go-forward 350 reported a comp-sales decrease of -1.6%, roughly in-line with Dillard’s (-1%), and Bloomingdale’s reported a comp-sales increase of +4.8%, roughly in-line with...

Walmart in store traffic

Target: Aiming for a bullseye in 2026 and beyond

March 5, 2025

As expected, Target reported improved results QoQ and issued seemly conservative guidance for 2025. We write “seemly” because of all the consumer and business unease being stirred by the hurricane in Washington. That unease is leading to lower macro activity, which for retail means a lower volume...

ulta traffic

The Beauty Market: Slow Start to 2025

February 28, 2025

This past week brought a lot of news on the beauty market with earnings from Procter & Gamble, e.l.f. Beauty, Estée Lauder, and L’Oréal. The takeaway from those is that luxury part of the market remains robust, but L’Oréal is taking a lot of share from Estée, which is in trouble. The mass part of...

department stores traffic

Department Stores & Beauty Fiscal Q4 & 2025 Outlook: A Mixed Bag Expected

February 28, 2025

Dillard’s is the first of the traditional department stores to report in the earnings cycle, providing a glimpse into the past few months of consumer demand. Dillard’s comp-sales decline of -1% was the most muted of the year, but that leaves the business only 5% above 2019’s level (on a comp basis)...

Competitors traffic

TJX Delivers! Will The Competitors?

February 27, 2025

Looking at the off-price sector overall, comp-traffic was solid and while the rate was slower QoQ, that deceleration largely reflected the abbreviated shopping period this year (five fewer days and one fewer weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas). Sales were likely little impacted as more...

Grocery Outlets traffic

Grocery Outlet’s Outlook – Can They Get Back To In-Stock

February 27, 2025

Grocery Outlet Holding announced Q4 results along with a new CEO, Jason Potter – The Fresh Market’s recent CEO, and a restructuring program. (The CEO change was expected) This follows the appointment of its new CFO / CIO in January -- Chris Miller from Shamrock Foods. The restructuring program...

Traffic Nationwide & State Specific

Home Improvement’s Q4: Lowe’s and Home Depot’s Results Show Floor Has Been Set in Industry’s Cyclical Downturn

February 26, 2025

Lowe’s and Home Depot both noted a very strong December that benefited due to calendar shifts to the detriment of November and January. As shown in the chart above, the traffic in the two weeks following Christmas was very robust. Also of note, the deep drop in traffic ahead of Christmas...

Grocery Traffic

Sprouts Farmers Market – The “Foragers” Deliver The Goods

February 21, 2025

Sprouts reported Q4 results showed sales up +18%, comp-sales up +11.5%, and gross margin up +160 bps. The sales increase was well ahead of Advan’s +15.4% estimate* (+/- 130 bps T4Q Moe, 96% T8Q correlation) although Advan’s estimate did correctly forecast a beat vs consensus**. E-commerce grew at a...

Grocery Traffic

Savers Value Village – Hit By The Northern Ice

February 21, 2025

Savers Q4 results showed US sales up +10.5% and comp-sales up +4.7%. The sales increase was ahead of Advan’s +8.2% estimate* (+/- 40 bps T4Q Moe, 95% T5Q correlation). The 230 bps of outperformance largely reflects a +580 bps contribution from the bolus of new stores opening in the 2H (vs. the...

Walmart vs Target Traffic

Big Retail – Walmart Delivered Big Growth Last Year, But This Year Will Be At A Lower Rate

February 20, 2025

Walmart U.S. Q4 results showed sales up +5.0%, comp-sales up +4.6%, and operating margin up +12 bps. The sales increase was ahead of Advan’s +4.3% estimate* (+/- 90 bps T4Q Moe, 55% T8Q correlation). Excluding e-commerce, curbside, store delivery, and marketplace, comp-sales increased +1.7%....