Placer.ai: Consumers continued to flock to off-price chains in Q2
Off-price retailers continue to excel at attracting cost-conscious consumers, as visits to major chains increased in the second quarter of 2025.
New data from retail foot traffic data firm Placer.ai reveals that visits to TJX banners, Ross and Burlington locations all increased year over year in the second quarter. For TJX, all five of the company’s chains saw visits increase, with HomeGoods (7.4%) and T.J. Maxx (5.9%) leading the way, followed by Marshalls (5.2%), Sierra (4.1%) and Homesense (3.5%).
July was a strong month for all five banners, with same store visits up across the board compared to the same month in 2024. HomeGoods saw visits rise 9.7% in July, while visits to T.J. Maxx (8.3%) and Marshalls (7.1%) also increased. Sierra (3.8%) and Homesense (2.1%) also had annual visits rise during the month.
[READ MORE: Study: Extreme discounters, off-price retailers lead planned 2025 store growth]
Other off-price chains saw visits rise as well in the second quarter. Overall visits to Burlington, Ross and Citi Trends grew on a year-over-year basis, with Burlington leading the second quarter visit growth at 8.0%, followed by Ross (5.8%) and Citi Trends (4.1%).
Placer.ai noted that same-store visits to Burlington, Ross and Citi Trends were generally elevated year over year between April and July 2025, with visits to Burlington, Ross and Citi Trends up 2.5%, 3.6% and 4.7%, respectively.
The share of returning visitors at the three retailers has grown over the past year, with Ross leading the pack. The share of visitors frequenting the chain at least twice a month in the second quarter grew to 28.9%, up from 27.0% in the first quarter of the year, and up from 28.4% in the second quarter 2024.
Placer.ai noted that Ross in particular appears to excel in attracting high shares of repeat visitors, which could be due to the relatively high median household income in the chain's trade area ($73.0K compared to $68.6K for Burlington and $47.8K for Citi Trends).
“The increase in visitor frequency is likely driven by a combination of today's shoppers' extreme value orientation – with some consumers likely trading down from traditional apparel – and by the treasure hunt experience created by these chains,” said Bracha Arnold, content writer at Placer.ai. “Shoppers know that the inventory can change significantly from week to week, which incentivizes frequent trips.”
