Retail 2022
Gear Up For Holiday Retail Therapy in 2022
Overview & Methodology
In this report, we take a closer look at shopper behavior and foot traffic patterns to retail stores in December 2021 (compared to December 2020) to help retailers identify and capitalize on what to expect and look forward to in the 2022 holiday season.
Foursquare analyzes consumer behavior based on foot traffic data from millions of Americans that make up our always-on panel. For the purpose of this report, all data is anonymized, aggregated and normalized against U.S. Census data to remove any age, gender and geographical bias.
Definitions
- Analysis Period: December 2021 & December 2020
- Indexed Affinities: indicate the times (or percentage) more or less likely than the average U.S. consumer to visit a given category or chain, where 1 represents the average U.S. consumer’s visit propensity.
- Penetration: calculated as the percentage of holiday shoppers (based on retail store visits) who visited a given category or chain at least one time during that analysis time frame.
- Indexed Foot Traffic: We've examined foot traffic trends on a national level and used indexed foot traffic to demonstrate the relative growth or decline in visits to warehouse stores, where visits during the first week of November 2020 = 100.
Insights & trends to expect for the 2022 holiday shopping season
Holiday shoppers are more eager (and comfortable) shopping in stores.
91% of Americans visited a physical retail store in December 2021, signifying increased willingness to brave crowded shopping venues. Holiday shoppers are visiting more stores on average and staying out later. This attraction to in-store shopping is expected to continue in 2022.
Retailers will rely more heavily on last-minute holiday shoppers.
Retailers saw the biggest uptick in traffic on Christmas Eve, up +44% compared to visits on an average day in 2021. The week of Christmas accounted for roughly 21.5% of total retail traffic in December 2021.
Retailers drew more female shoppers in-stores for the holidays.
Visits among female shoppers accounted for roughly 55% of total retail traffic in December 2021, indicating a trend towards more females shopping this 2022 holiday season.
Supply chain disruption is impacting shopper behavior & preferences.
Shoppers visited roughly 6 distinct retail chains on average in December 2021, a +30% increase from the variety of retailers visited in December 2020.
Home Improvement is on top-of-mind.
48% of holiday shoppers visited a hardware store in December 2021. This trend is expected to continue in 2022.
Holiday shoppers are searching for the best deals in-stores.
In 2022, holiday shoppers are seeking more value in-stores. Discount stores saw significant YoY growth in the volume of in-store holiday shopping.
Trend 1: 2022 holiday shoppers are more comfortable shopping in stores, and in many cases consumer behavior is returning to 'normal'.
Retailers will draw more in-store shoppers during the 2022 holiday season
Retailers saw a notable increase in visitors in December 2021 compared to 2020 (up +11 % points).
91%
of Americans that visited a retail store at least 1x in December 2021, up from 80% in December 2020.
All retail categories drew more in-store shoppers in December 2021 compared to the previous holiday season
| Retail Categories | December 2020 | December 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Large format (non-essential) | 77% | 69% |
| Shopping Malls | 61% | 53% |
| Clothing Stores | 54% | 52% |
| Hardware Stores | 48% | 47% |
| Discount Stores | 29% | 19% |
| Warehouse Stores | 40% | 30% |
| Department Stores | 25% | 20% |
| Electronics Stores | 23% | 24% |
More holiday shoppers will brave crowded shopping malls & department stores
Shopping malls and department stores saw significant growth in the volume of holiday shoppers who visited in December 2021 compared to December 2020.
52%
of holiday shoppers visited a shopping mall in December 2021, up from 43% in December 2020.
61%
of holiday shoppers visited a department store in December 2021, up from 53% in December 2020.
2022 holiday shoppers will visit more stores than usual
The average shopper visited roughly 15 stores on average in December 2021, up from only 11 stores visited on average in December 2020.
2022 holiday shoppers will visit retailers later in the day
Many consumers showed increased comfort levels shopping later in the day despite bigger crowds in the afternoon.
Trend 2: Retailers will rely more heavily on last-minute shoppers during the 2022 holiday season.
Retail stores rely heavily on last-minute holiday shoppers.
Retailers should capitalize on top shopping days throughout the holiday season. Retailers saw the biggest uptick in traffic on Christmas Eve: +44% on December 24.
Retailers should expect even more traffic during the week of Christmas in 2022
Retail traffic during the week of Christmas accounted for 21.5% of total visits in 2021, up from 20.7% in December 2020.
Trend 3: Older shoppers are returning to stores for the 2022 holiday season; Retailers rely more heavily on female shoppers in December 2022.
Less traffic from Gen X shoppers and more traffic from Gen Z & 55+ shoppers
Higher share of visits amongst older shoppers, ages 55+, with a notable boost from Gen Z shoppers, ages 18-24.
Retailers rely even more heavily on female shoppers in December 2022
Trend 4: Supply chain disruption is starting to impact consumers' behavior in stores.
2022 holiday shoppers are visiting a larger variety of retail stores
Retail shoppers visited roughly 6 distinct retail chains on average in December 2021.
2022 holiday shoppers traveled further to shop in stores compared to 2020
Median distance from home to visit a retail store increased to 7.5 mi in December 2021.
Trend 5: Consumers are increasingly seeking value while shopping in-stores, especially during the holidays.
2022 holiday shoppers are seeking more value in stores
47% of holiday shoppers visited a discount store in December 2021, up from 39% in December 2020.
Wholesale retailers will have significantly more traffic during the 2022 holiday season
Foot traffic to warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club will continue to see a notable increase in traffic.
Trend 6: Location data reveals top trending retail categories amongst 2022 holiday shoppers (hint: home improvement prevails).
Opportunity: Segment & engage holiday shoppers based on their foot traffic patterns and interests.
BEAUTY: 22% of holiday shoppers visited a cosmetics store in December 2021.
SPORTING GOODS: 23% of holiday shoppers visited a sporting goods store in December 2021.
HOME GOODS: 29% of holiday shoppers visited a home / furniture store in December 2021.
GADGETS: 24% of holiday shoppers visited an electronics store in December 2021.
Trend 7: Beyond shopping, consumers who visit retail stores in December 2022 are generally more 'out & about' (for dining, travel, entertainment) during the holidays.
Opportunity: Connect with consumers when they're not shopping during the holidays.
2022 holiday shoppers are keen to catch the latest movie releases in theaters
18% of holiday shoppers visited a movie theater in December 2021.
More holiday shoppers are going out to dinner in December 2022
We anticipate more consumers to shop in stores during this holiday season. 82% of holiday shoppers visited a fast food restaurant in December 2021.
Key Learnings & Opportunities
Key learnings & trends from the 2022 holiday shopping season
- Holiday shoppers are more comfortable shopping in stores.
- Retailers rely more heavily on last-minute shoppers in 2022.
- Retailers rely even more heavily on female shoppers during the holidays.
- Supply chain disruption is impacting consumer behavior in-stores.
- Home Improvement is even more top-of-mind for 2022 holiday shoppers.
- Retailers attract more bargain hunters in-stores for the holidays.