COVID-19 Blog Articles

Foot traffic to malls

Black Friday Suffers Pandemic Blues

December 1, 2020

Malls around the US suffered a significant blow during what is usually the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Foot traffic was down 41% year-over-year on Black Friday and 45% on Saturday.

As we reported in our blog post last week, there was a pick-up in traffic during the first three weeks...

UK traffic by industry

As UK Enters Second Lockdown, New Patterns of Behavior Emerge

November 19, 2020

With the UK now in its second week of nationwide lock-down we are starting to see some familiar patterns of behavior based on analysis of foot traffic data. But there are also some significant differences compared to the first wave.

We looked at 5 indices for key sectors. All of our comparisons...

New York State Migration

Pandemic Migrants Signal Changing Attitudes Towards Living in Major Cities

November 12, 2020

Among the many social and cultural changes that the pandemic has brought about, arguably the most impactful will be the ways in which it has influenced our decisions about where to live. Not just temporary relocations while we ride out lock-downs and WFH, but permanent migration that will alter how...

Foot Traffic at US Hub Airports

Tentative Comeback for US Airports

October 22, 2020

In our recent webinar, we spent some time looking into foot traffic trends at airports in America and Europe.

Location data is a very reliable proxy for airline passengers, since there are few reasons to be at an airport other than to board a plane. Precise mapping can filter out people who...

Avg % change-5 Banks since February

Which Banks are Back in the Office?

October 1, 2020

Are you back in the office? It’s a question many of us find ourselves asking our friends and peers. The answer is, it depends. Each has their own comfort level, and it also depends largely on their role and their employer.

Morgan Stanley announced in May that it would start bringing traders...

YoY % Change in Foot Traffic

Clothing and Accessories Down, Home Improvements Up: Foot traffic indices paint picture of vast differences between sectors in the US

September 22, 2020

What does a COVID recovery look like for businesses? 6 months after the initial lock-down we know that, in the US, the journey has been remarkably different for different types of businesses.

Our foot traffic indices capture trends that show just how varied the path has been. We looked at the...

Foot Traffic at Car Dealerships

Bifurcation in Auto Industry as Detroit 3 Bounce Back Faster than Rivals

September 15, 2020
Recovery in Foot Traffic Levels at Car Dealerships Most Pronounced in Red States

Like many other sectors, the US car industry saw a sharp downturn in business when lock-down orders and business closures were at their peak in late March and April. Combined sales in April 2020 for the Big 3 US...
TA stock prices

TravelCenters of America a Bright Spot for Commercial Real Estate Sector

September 9, 2020
Foot Traffic to Truck Stops Rebounds Post Lock-down

A recent article on Wall Street Journal by Peter Grant took an insightful look at how truck stops in the US have been boosted this year, in part due to the increase in demand for e-commerce and delivery.

Travel Centers of America (NASDAQ:...

Airports Foot Traffic

Foot Traffic at US Airport Levels off Following Tentative Rebound

August 6, 2020

As we near the last stretch of the US summer season, we looked again at foot traffic data for US airports as one measure of the impact being felt by the travel industry.

In our blog post on June 19th, we noted that traffic at US international hubs was severely depressed, with some regional hubs...

Four Hotel Chains Equity Prices

Hotel chain foot traffic a good indicator for performance

July 30, 2020

Heading into earnings season we reviewed foot traffic data at four major hotel chains to help provide insights into likely company performance. We looked at Extended Stay America (STAY), Choice Hotels (CHH), Marriott (MAR) and Hilton (HLT) and compared the percentage change in stock prices over...

Sector: Consumer Discretionary - % Change in Foot Traffic Since late February in 4 States

Path to Recovery Far from Clear - UPDATE

July 23, 2020

As a continuation of our previous analysis Path to Recovery Far from Clear, we updated the data to show how the foot traffic trend at consumer discretionary businesses varies in three states: California, New York and Texas.

The US faces a deep coronavirus crisis as new cases are surging to...