Superstore sector leverages trend of mission-driven shopping to survive COVID

The superstore sector’s resilience indicates how well some retailers leveraged the trend of “mission-driven shopping,” according to a new white paper by foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, which takes an in-depth look at how some of the largest retail stores are performing in the wake of the pandemic, and which brands are still trying to recover.

Customers looking to minimize time spent in a crowd nevertheless came in search of groceries and other essentials and stayed longer for the varied offerings — often leading to fewer, but more impactful visits.

However, the superstore sector did not take the hit other retail sectors took during the pandemic, and foot traffic at the major brands got an additional boost as the country began reopening in the spring of 2021. Still, the growth in foot traffic has been unevenly distributed between the brands.

COVID has unequivocally highlighted the strength of three ruling retail giants: Walmart, Target and Costco.