Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Placer Bytes: Disney World, Whole Foods & Trader Joe's

By 
Ethan Chernofsky
April 20, 2021
Placer Bytes: Disney World, Whole Foods & Trader Joe's
SHARE
Explore our free tools to get timely insights into key industries
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.
Key Takeaways

In this Placer Bytes, we dive into Disney’s theme park recovery and analyze whether to jump back on the Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s bandwagon.

Disney

Disney World is back on the upswing after seeing visits in January and February down just 49.8% and 53.6% year over year, respectively. This is about the level the theme park had been at since the late summer. While visits were actually up 33.8% in March, the number is misleading because it is being compared to a month in 2020 that already saw COVID-related closures.

A better metric for measuring progress is comparing March 2021 visits to the same month in 2019 - the last true comparison that accounts for both COVID and seasonality. And there is clear growth here as well as visits improved throughout Q1 with the visit gap shrinking from 55.5% in January to 52.9% in February and just 48.7% in March when compared to the equivalent months in 2019. Even better, visits do appear to be continuing to trend back towards normalcy.

Looking at weekly visit growth week over week, shows a clear trend of improvement with visits growing consistently since the start of February. Including a 19.4% increase the week of March 29th showing that the increases were growing heading into April, a very strong sign in the months leading up to a critical summer period.

Grocery Comebacks

While a lot of attention has been given to overperforming grocery brands, there are several especially interesting cases among those who struggled. Whole Foods lagged behind the growth of other grocery leaders largely due to a misalignment of the brand’s strengths and the unique environment created by the pandemic. Trader Joe’s struggled significantly early in the pandemic but rebounded impressively as the recovery picked up steam. 

Looking at weekly visits from both compared to 2019 shows that in each case, their respective recoveries are picking up pace. Trader Joe’s has seen comparable visit growth over the equivalent weeks in 2019 every week since the week beginning February 22nd. On the other hand, Whole Foods has seen its visit gap consistently shrink with visits going from down 25.6% the week beginning February 1st to down just 17.9% the week beginning March 29th.

And while Trader Joe’s seems to have found its rhythm again, Whole Foods is also seeing consistent week-over-week visit increases, culminating in a 7.3% week-over-week jump the week of March 29th. 

Will Disney visits continue to rise ahead of the summer? Will Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s continue their return to strength in the spring? Visit Placer.ai to find out.

Learn how downtown regions across US cities are measuring up with our free tools.
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.

Related Topics

Explore our free tools to get timely insights into key industries
Check out the latest trends for
No items found.
SHARE
Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week
Subscribe to the newsletter
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Recent Publications

Get 3 brand & industry breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter
Halloween’s 2024 Retail & Dining Impact – Party City Carries the Season
Checking in With Department Stores: Nordstrom and Macy’s
Superstores and Wholesale Clubs Ahead of the Holidays
Home Depot and Lowe’s Heading Into the Holidays
Starbucks and Dutch Bros: Short Visits Lead the Way
Planet Fitness: Raising the Bar(bell)
Checking in With Full-Service Restaurants: First Watch, Chili’s, and Outback Steakhouse
RBI and Yum!: QSR Resilience in 2024
Boot Barn and DSW: Stepping Up Their Game
Target’s October Circle Week: A Data-Driven Snapshot
Chipotle, Shake Shack & Wingstop: Dining Success in Q3 2024
Playa Bowls and Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Berry Big Business
Cheesecake Factory & BJ’s Restaurants: Full-Service Success
Checking in on McDonald's and Wendy's 
Sprouts Farmers Market: A Specialty Grocer With a Traditional Twist
CAVA: The Craze Continues
Placer.ai Reaches $100M Annual Recurring Revenue
Catching Up With Carter's 
A Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse Showdown
Placer.ai Mall Index: September 2024 Recap – Labor Day Peaks and Holiday Season Predictions
Albertsons Q3 Check-In
Looking Ahead to the 2024 Holiday Season
Trader Joe's: Continuing to Thrive in 2024
Bowlero and AMF: A Ten-Pin Knockout
Recreational Retail: Store Performance in 2024
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – September 2024
A QSR and Fast-Casual Face-Off
Sam’s Club’s In-Store Retail Media Network Opportunity
The Rising Stars: Six Metro Areas Welcoming Young Professionals
Costco in 2024: A Deep Dive
Sherwin-Williams in 2024: Brighter Than a New Lick of Paint
Life Time and Orangetheory: Premium Fitness Flourishing
C-Stores: More Than A Pit Stop
Darden: Dining Dominance Undeterred 
Placer 100 Index for Retail and Dining: August 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2024 Recap – Back-To-School In Full Swing
Auto Parts Retailers: The Traffic Continues
Pumpkin Spice Works its Magic Once Again
School Season Sparks Retail Growth
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – July & August 2024
Big Lots’ Big Rightsizing Move in Four Data Points
Fun Away From The Sun: Checking in With Eatertainment
Domestic Migration and Population Growth: Strong Currents Off The Carolina Coast
The Civic Impact of Summer Events
Retail Trends in College Towns: A Back-to-School Snapshot
Five Below and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet: Consumers Still on the Hunt for Discounts
Macy’s & Bloomingdale’s: Into 2024 and Beyond
Limited Time Only: The Trend Continues
Beauty in 2024: Many Ways to Win
Dollar General & Dollar Tree: Powering Ahead in Q2 2024
The Home Depot and Lowe's Foot Traffic Remodel in Q2 2024
Superstore Update: Summer Savings Spree
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2024 Recap – From Fourth of July to Back-to-School
Placer.ai Office Index: July 2024 Recap
Summer Movie Madness: Blockbuster Films Boost Foot Traffic
Driving Success: Toyota in 2024
Denny’s and IHOP: An All-Day Breakfast Matchup
Warby Parker: Seeing Clearly Now
Planet Fitness at the 2024 Halfway Point
Serving Summer 2024: RBI and Yum! Brands Q2 Foot Traffic
Starbucks, Dutch Bros., Dunkin’: Finding Summer Success
Fast Food and Fast Casual Favorites, Plus CosMc’s Takeoff
Chipotle and Sweetgreen: Fast-Casual in Q2 2024
First Watch, Texas Roadhouse, and Applebee’s: An FSR Roundup
Albertsons Companies: H1 2024 Recap
Teaming Up For Success: Sports Stadium Sponsorships
Limited Time Offers: Price Wars Boost Visits
Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: June 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: June 2024 Recap
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2024 Recap
Inside Out 2: The New Blockbuster Bringing Crowds Back to Theaters
Petco and PetSmart: A Head to Head
Frozen Delights: Exploring Ice Cream Chains Across America
Placer.ai White Paper Recap – June 2024
Barnes & Noble: Writing a New Story
Small Format Stores - Sprouting, Blooming, and Expanding
Retail and Dining on Father’s Day
Thrift Store Visit Scores
Charting Value Grocery’s Visit Growth
Placer 100 Index for Retail & Dining: Introduction and May 2024 Recap
Digging Into Darden: Q2 2024 Update
2024 Retail and Dining Trends Update
TRU and avid: Midscale Hotels on the Rise 
Diving Into Kroger: A Strong Start to 2024
Placer.ai Mall Index: May 2024 Recap – Mall Visits on the Rebound
Placer.ai Office Index: May 2024 Recap
2024 Memorial Day Recap
Las Vegas: A Tourism and Migration Deep Dive
Eatertainment Chains: Full on Food, Fun, and Foot Traffic
The Promise of Luxury Apparel
Catching Up With Ulta Beauty & Gap Brands
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Five Below: Q1 2024 Treasure Troves
CAVA Still Going Strong
Driving Success: Auto Parts Chains in 2024
Checking in With DICK’S Sporting Goods
Mother’s Day Shopping and Dining Trends
Placer.ai Mall Index: April 2024 Recap – Retail Resilience Heading into Spring
Dollar Stores Still Gaining Momentum
Off-Price Apparel Chains After Q1 2024: Demographics in the Balance