Retail pedestrian visits have been mixed, signaling cautious optimism about consumer behavior.
According to foot traffic data collected by MRI Software between March 2 and April 5, downtown foot traffic was up nearly 21% and shopping mall traffic increased by 4.3%. The report described these trends as encouraging, especially given the later timing of the Easter holiday this month. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, early spring weather and spring break travel also likely contributed to the uplift in foot traffic in March.
Meanwhile, on a year-over-year basis, downtown pedestrian traffic rose by 0.7%, while shopping mall traffic fell nearly 6%. The report noted that early evening foot traffic in downtown areas surged by 3.5% year-over-year. This could be the result of social and leisure outings, as well as after-work activities, according to MRI Software.
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For weekend traffic, both downtown and mall locations jumped on a year-over-year basis. Downtown traffic was up 5.1% annually and mall traffic rose 5.4%. Weekday downtown traffic, on the other hand, grew just 0.9% year over year and weekday mall traffic fell sharply by 8.1%. This may suggest that discretionary spending is becoming more targeted and more leisure-based, according to the report.
Despite the overall positive trend lines noted, the report outlined a few concerning developments that warrant monitoring. In addition to the decreased mall foot traffic reflecting increased consumer caution, the impact of tariffs may be weighing on consumer sentiment. The report suggested Americans may have pushed spending into February in light of tariff policies and may now be pausing to reassess their budgets. Foot traffic patterns will be telling in April, as later spring break activities could sustain some momentum, especially in leisure-focused downtown cores, according to the report.
“The Easter holiday will likely boost foot traffic in downtowns and malls, while the postponement of many international tariffs may further prompt some ‘preparatory’ shopping sprees, especially for big-ticket items,” said Carla Hinson, vice president, North America solutions at MRI Software. “You could describe these sprees as a sort of ‘buy now; tariffs later’ approach. At the same time, better weather should improve foot traffic in downtown areas. That said, it’s unclear how economic uncertainty will affect consumer spending and associated effects on April foot traffic.”
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
