While Macy’s year-over-three-year (Yo3Y) visits per venue were up 5.3% in April 2022, the average visits per venue for the other three brands is still catching up to 2019 levels. Overall visits are down across the board, and while some of the visit decrease is due to store fleet consolidation, foot traffic per remaining store is also lower than it was pre-COVID. This indicates that should these wider economic challenges continue to dissipate, the opportunity for department stores could be exceptional heading into a critical summer shopping season.ĭepartment Store Visits Compared to Pre-PandemicĬomparing department store foot traffic to pre-pandemic trends shows just how challenging the past two years have been, and puts into context the impressive nature of the sector’s recovery. But as inflation slowed down in April, department store visits climbed again, with Macy’s and JCPenney March foot traffic showing YoY growth and Kohl’s and Dillard’s visit gaps almost fully closed. The chart below shows department store monthly foot traffic in the first four months of 2022 compared to the equivalent months in 2021.Year over year (YoY) visits in February 2022 were high for all four brands analyzed – 36.4%, 31.1%, 6.8%, and 32.4% higher for Macy’s, JCPenney, Kohl’s, and Dillard’s, respectively, compared to foot traffic in February 2021.īut with the impact of inflation in March, YoY visits dipped for JCPenney, Kohl’s and Dillard’s, which shows how fragile the department store recovery still is. But from the Omicron wave in January to the more recent economic headwinds in March and April, the start of 2022 has brought a fresh batch of challenges – and these set-backs have impacted department stores’ recovery. By summer 2021, however, many brands, including Macy’s, Dillard’s, and Kohl’s, were nearing – and sometimes exceeding – pre-pandemic levels. Post-COVID RecoveryĬOVID hit department stores particularly hard – even after non-essential business reopened, many consumers still avoided shopping indoors. We dove into foot traffic trends for leading mid-range and luxury brands to see how these iconic retailers are performing in this almost-post COVID world. Department stores have been part of the American retail landscape for decades – but their role in consumers’ shopping routines is changing.

Retail foot traffic 2022