August 2020 US Retail Traffic and In-Store Metrics: Traffic Declines by 41%, Easing Toward the End of the Month

What's Inside

Coresight Research’s monthly reports keep you up to date on US and UK retail sales, US retail traffic and in-store metrics, and key global consumer indicators. Click here to view our full collection of Monthly Reports.

Complementing our monthly reports, the Coresight Research US Retail Sales Databank brings together retail sales data to help you understand the scale and trajectory of US retail.

In this report, we assess US retail traffic in August 2020, covering weekly shopper traffic trends, traffic by retailer vertical, regional traffic trends and traffic by retailer location type.

We also present key findings from the recent RetailNext Retail Executive Pulse Survey, including expectations of a retail recovery and the top challenges currently facing retailers.

Highlights from our August 2020 Retail Traffic report:

• August saw a year-over-year decline in store traffic of 41% as nonessential businesses continued to reopen and some states revisited their reopening plans on indoor malls amid a slowdown in new coronavirus cases toward the end of the month.
• The footwear sector experienced the greatest decline in traffic, followed by apparel.
• Declines varied by region due to the mixed approaches to mall reopenings taken by different states.
• With many malls remaining closed following a surge in coronavirus cases in July, non-enclosed storefront locations continued to performe better than traditional enclosed shopping centers.