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As the pandemic worsens, the foot traffic to retail stores rises. However, the recovery is not yet clear, and this is a strong indicator of the industry’s direction. Though visits were limited during the first few months of the year, the sector has started to see a steady recovery.
During the pandemic, people avoided going to grocery stores and superstores due to the decreased foot traffic. Since vaccines became widely available, many people have bought their groceries online.
The number of superstores declined in the second half of 2019, largely due to the Thanksgiving and Black Friday week sales decline. The category also experienced a few low lifts due to the changing nature of the business.
During the pandemic, almost every major grocery store and superstore had an offering similar to or better than Amazon.com or Walmart.com. This will likely stay in high demand even if in-store traffic declines.
The rise of online shopping has made apparel the ideal target for consumers who are cutting back on in-store purchases. This could mean that the sector will never fully recover from its pre-pemic conditions.
Despite the sector’s desperate state, the overall segment will still be resilient in 2022 as it continues to deal with the effects of COVID shifts and supply chain concerns.
The category is evolving, and as a result, people will continue to shop for brands and products. However, they won’t reach pre-plunging levels.
During the pandemic, the fitness industry has also changed immensely, with brands like Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas gaining momentum as consumers started adopting the idea of home exercise.
This decline in traffic is most likely caused by the fear of continuing with Covid-19. It is now trending positive, with last week’s gain marking the first positive week since 2019.
The slow recovery in traffic for apparel and fitness shows that consumers are no longer looking for physical goods as much as they used to. This is also one of the reasons why many malls are reimaging and diversifying their offerings to attract more physical retailers.
The drop in foot traffic has seen shoppers go online to stores like The Iconic. The Iconic have a wide range of products and you can save with a The Iconic discount code.