2024 Wrap-Up: Wins, Waves, and What's Next
Short on Time, Big on Insights: Your monthly rundown on the most compelling narratives.
As we wrap up 2024, our team is reflecting on the major trends, milestones, and innovations that shaped the retail, restaurant, and real estate industries this year.
TL;DR for This Month’s TL;DR:
?? Event-driven marketing shines – Brands tapped into cultural moments for major activations.
?? Retail trade businesses rise – Post-2020 surge in retail applications boosted demand for physical spaces.
?? Innovation beats low prices – Retailers combined creativity and value to drive success?
?? Leisure travel booms – Domestic fun travel hit new records, with destinations seeing major growth.
?? Malls evolve – Pickleball courts and hybrid experiences are transforming mall traffic.
?? Personalization and partnerships drive 2024 retail growth – Macy’s, Messi, and Starbucks lead the way.
?? Discretionary categories rebound – Books, crafts, and home décor saw unexpected growth.
?? Loyalty over convenience – Consumers traveled farther for specialty grocery, showing value-driven trends.
?? Less Temu, more growth – Disrupted retail categories recovered with stronger 2024 sales.
Stephanie Atiase , VP of Marketing
Brands Are All In for Event-Driven Marketing in 2024
Brands are leveraging event-driven marketing to create memorable, culturally relevant experiences that deepen consumer engagement. By tapping into trending moments and building immersive events, companies are blurring the lines between entertainment and brand storytelling.
A standout example is Taylor Swift’s partnership with Michaels for friendship bracelet pop-ups. Riding the wave of Swift’s cultural influence, Michaels brought fans together to craft bracelets as a nod to her Eras Tour tradition. These pop-ups merged community-building with brand exposure, driving foot traffic while celebrating a shared cultural moment. Such strategies highlight how timely, creative activations can turn trends into tangible business opportunities.
Brands that align with cultural movements, supported by localized insights and event-based experiences will stay ahead in a competitive landscape, capturing hearts and market share simultaneously.
Ben Witten , Head of Real Estate Strategy
Business Applications in Retail Trade Have Surged Since 2020
The graph below highlights a significant increase in business applications, particularly in retail trade (orange line), following the onset of 2020. While other sectors (manufacturing, transportation, and total NAICS) show moderate growth, the retail trade sector has experienced notable spikes, maintaining elevated levels well above pre-pandemic trends.
Positive Impact on Demand for Retail Space:
R. J. Hottovy, CFA , CFA, Head of Analytical Research
Low Prices Aren’t Enough
As you read through 2024 year-end recaps for the retail and restaurant industries, one word will likely stand out: value. While it’s true that consumers remain focused on deals due to years of compounded inflation and other economic challenges, another factor may have played an even more significant role in driving visits this past year: innovation. The biggest success stories of 2024 weren’t always about the lowest prices but rather about brands that combined competitive pricing with innovative approaches to product development, marketing, or store formats.
Examples of this trend were everywhere: Trader Joe’s continued to attract shoppers with new flavors and products, leading restaurant brands paired value messaging with exciting menu innovations, and off-price retailers thrived by creating treasure hunt atmospheres where consumers found unique items at affordable prices. While the value-driven mindset will likely persist in 2025, expect more companies to follow the lead of 2024’s innovators, demonstrating that creativity and differentiation are just as important as price in capturing consumer attention.
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Ian Ross , Head of Civic
2024 Was the Year When Domestic Travel-For-Fun Made a Full Recovery -?
with strong demand for leisure travel like events, music festivals, and roadtrips, powering the record setting year. Though business travel still hovers around 97% of pre-pandemic levels thanks to online and hybrid professional conferences, it was a huge year to travel for enjoyment. AAA estimated that 70 million people traveled more than 50 miles from home during the summer months alone. And with all this record-setting leisure travel, visitors continued to spend at levels far outpacing last year’s numbers. Leisure destination cities like Bend, Oregon, Tucson, Arizona, and Bar Harbor, Maine received big revenues from visitors across retail, hotel, and restaurant categories. Look to 2025 for new records for both business and leisure travel - especially to cities that feel like destinations.
Caroline Wu , Director of Research
Where one door closes, another one opens and for malls, there is opportunity in evolution.
We’ve seen it at locations like Stonestown Galleria which saw increased traffic after pivoting to a grocery/theater/sporting goods/food hall approach after a department store tenant closed. My eye is on the prize that is pickleball, which, if located properly, has extraordinary stickiness in terms of frequency and dwell time. It’s also a perfect cross-shop partner for tenants like juice bars, happy hour locations, athleisure stores, and co-working spaces. It’s like the new run club for people who don’t run.
Other exciting leasing opportunities include leaning into DTC brands. We’ve seen brands evolve from online only to brick-and-mortar openings that broaden their reach, such as Backcountry. One innovative brand combining the TikTok livestream approach with physical retail is Outlandish, which hosts multiple brands in a Grand Bazaar-like environment, with influencers livestreaming products in real time online, while actual shoppers mill around buying the same products off the shelves. It’s genius and just like a hybrid work situation can combine online flexibility with in-person connection, this philosophy is now being applied to retail as well.
Kevin Ching , Head of Retail, Restaurant and Advertising
Favorite Retail & Restaurant Headlines of 2024:
Elizabeth Lafontaine , Director of Research
2024 was another challenging year for the discretionary side of retail overall, but there were still plenty of signs of life across different categories that left us feeling positive.?
Particularly, categories associated with celebrations and hobbies, like crafts, books, paper and gifts have all shown momentum in visitation growth.?
Some well known banners like Barnes & Noble have had a stellar 2024, a testament to their innovative assortment expansions and strong brand affinity with consumers. We also saw home decor and crafting retailers get a boost from an early demand for fall seasonal and Halloween decor over the summer.
All of these insights point to a consumer that still wants to celebrate, despite value orientation. Whether pursuing a new hobby or signing up for a book club, purchasing a gift for others, or celebrating holidays through home decor, it’s clear that consumers still have a craving for joy and belonging that retailers can provide. Here’s hoping we can see that same consumer spirit extend to more discretionary categories in 2025.
Ethan Chernofsky , SVP of Marketing
My criteria - it got me excited and it gave an indication as to how retail will evolve.
So, my winner is the combination of rising cross visitation in retail categories like grocery and superstores and the willingness of consumers to drive farther for specialty grocery.
Why? First, because it shows that the role of convenience has been exaggerated and that great experiences, perceived value and amazing products can drive visits. Second, it tells us where much of retail strategy will focus in the coming year - how to drive more loyalty and how to own a greater ‘share of shopping list’.
Finally, it’s exciting because it reminds us that the core of great retail is not how quickly I can get something, or how well set up the parking lot is. It’s about finding products that I consider a value that will ultimately enrich my life.
Retail’s impact is so significant because of the role it plays in our day to day lives, and remembering what great retail is starts with focusing on that impact.
Thomas Paulson , Director of Research & Business Development
Santa Claus came early this year and he left retailers a very nice gift -- "less Temu."
Last season, Temu was highly disruptive to lower-income general merchandise sales for many categories of retail including: secondhand, craft, pet, home decor, dollar, and mass. This year, most have called out strong Halloween results in decor and costumes and that improved momentum carried through Black Friday Weekend with dollar stores having a winning result.
With Fiscal Q3 results, these retail categories all cited an improving trend in their general merchandise sales and in consumer engagement and traffic. Looking forward, we see no reason why the "less disruption" won't continue. It seems like last year's Temu Super Bowl ads were "peak Temu" when they spent around $20M per reports.
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