Major retailers see store visits rise in Q1

Store visits rose year-over-year at most of the nation's big retailers during the first quarter — with two notable exceptions. 

With the nation's big retailers are on track to report their earnings this week and next, foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai has shared new insights into how the companies performed in terms of visits in the first quarter.  

According to the National Retail Federation, consumer spending increased 2.5% in the first quarter compared to last year. While gross domestic product did not increase as much as previous quarters, consumers continued to spend to start the year.

According to Placer.ai data, the following retailers saw visits increase in the first quarter:

• Q1 visits at Walmart were up 3.9% year-over-year (YoY), and at Sam’s Club, they were up 6.1%. Walmart’s YoY visits were down 2.7% in April, up 7.7% in March, and up 4.4% in February. Sam’s Club’s visits were up 1.9% in April, up 8.2% in March, and up 6.9% in February.
• Q1 visits at Target were up 3.5% YoY. Visits were up 1.4% in April, up 6.3% in March, and up 5.3% in February.
• Q1 visits at Costco were up 8.9% YoY. Visits were up 9.2% in April, 10.5% in March, and 10.9% in February.
• Q1 visits at BJ’s Wholesale Club were up 5.6% YoY. Visits were up 0.4% in April, 9.5% in March, and 8.3% in February.
• Q1 visits at Ross Dress for Less visits were up 1.1% YoY. Visits were down 6.9% in April, up 0.8% in March, and up 1.2% in February.
• Q1 visits at TJX stores were largely positive compared to the previous year. Visits at Homesense were up 9.9% YoY, and visits at HomeGoods were down 1.6%. Q1 visits at T.J. Maxx were up 8.9%, and Marshalls visits were up 7.9%. The most recent monthly visit data shows visits in April were down 1.3% at Homesense, down 2.8% at HomeGoods, up 2.7% at T.J. Maxx, and up 1.9% at Marshalls.

According to the data, the nation's two home improvement giants saw visits decrease in the first quarter:

• The Home Depot’s visits were down 1.1% YoY during Q1. Visits were down 2.4% in April, up 1% in March, and down 0.3% in February.
• Lowe’s visits during Q1 were down 4% YoY. Visits were up 0.2% in April, down 1.1% in March, and down 2.8% in February.