Market researcher Placer.ai said that there were more store visits the week of April 7 as winter ends, spring rolls in and tariffs loom.
For the week, traffic increased by 0.5% at superstores, 4.1% at grocery stores, 6.7% at warehouse clubs, 0.4% at electronics stores, 1.9% at luxury department stores (apparel and accessories) and 7.1% at clothing stores. However, traffic was down at home improvement and home furnishings stores by 1.7%, according to Placer.ai.
In the week prior, grocery store visits were up 1.3% but those in all other categories were down, by 3.6% for superstores, 0.3% for warehouse clubs, 3.2% for electronics stores, 3.6% for home improvement and home furnishings stores, 5.1% for luxury department stores: apparel and accessories. and 0.1% for clothing stores.
R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, noted, “Visitation trends improved across much of the retail sector during the week of April 7–13, 2025. Categories such as grocery stores, warehouse clubs, and apparel retailers experienced solid year-over-year growth, likely boosted by pre-Easter demand. However, home improvement and home furnishing stores were outliers, with year-over-year trends negatively impacted by unseasonably cold weather across much of the country. Consumers are still monitoring tariff news, but aren’t likely to make any tariff-related purchases until there is more clarity about which categories will be impacted closer to the new implementation date.”
