These two retailers got the most back-to-school store traffic

Two “category killers” had the most footfalls in their stores during the back-to-school season.

According to a new study of 2019 brick-and-mortar back-to-school shopping trends in five major U.S. cities from retail intelligence platform Near, Staples and Best Buy were the most popular stores in terms of footfalls. 

Footfalls for Staples were largest at this retailer’s Fifth Avenue store in New York. For Best Buy, San Francisco was the busiest hub of activity. The consumer electronics retailer’s Harrison Street store in Union Square had the highest footfalls among its locations across the country. 

Interestingly, Target and TJ Maxx had the highest seasonal traffic at stores in some of the country’s most well-to-do neighborhoods. Target saw the highest footfalls at its Beverly Hills store in Los Angeles, which represented 48% of its footfalls for the locations studied. That was followed by its Chicago Lincoln Park location, which accounted for about a quarter (26%) of the footfalls of the Target stores.

For TJ Maxx, the highest footfalls during the back-to-school shopping season were at its store on the Upper West Side of New York. That location accounted for half of TJ Maxx’s footfalls during the school shopping season, according to Near analysis.

Other interesting findings include:
•    Overall, more than men than women participated in back-to-school shopping. Almost six in 10 (59%) back-to-school shoppers at Kohl’s were men.

•    Nordstrom’s Glendale, California store had the retailer’s most footfalls during the back-to-school shopping season. 

•    In New York, the highest footfalls for The Container Store, Pottery Barn, and TJ Maxx were from stores located in midtown Manhattan. 

•    The highest footfalls among some of the other retailers Near analyzed were in Chicago, including Bed, Bath & Beyond, Office Depot, and Macy’s. 

•    West Elm saw the most footfalls in Philadelphia. 

•    Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Lincoln Park in Chicago and the Upper West Side of New York were the most popular back-to-school shopping spots overall.