Placer.ai

Why is Halloween the holiday of procrastinators? 🎃 The day before Halloween, visits to Target, Dollar Tree Stores, Walmart and Five Below jumped 24–30% above an average October Thursday. On Halloween itself, it was the pharmacy’s turn: Walgreens visits rose 14.5% and CVS Health visits rose 11.7% above an average October Friday. And it wasn’t a one-off. In 2024, the same four chains spiked the day before Halloween, and the pharmacies peaked on the day itself. For retailers, Halloween isn’t won weeks out. It’s won in the final 48 hours.

Exciting news! We're welcoming Or Shani and Tomer Naveh, co-founders of Jigso, along with the talented team of AI and machine learning experts they built, to Placer.ai! Or and Tomer each bring 16 years of experience building real-world AI solutions, and we're excited to have them working alongside our existing AI teams. Together, they'll help accelerate our vision for proactive intelligence: moving beyond analyzing what happened to surfacing insights as they emerge, identifying opportunities in real time, and helping customers make smarter decisions, faster. Welcome to Placer, Or, Tomer, and the entire team! Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/dgaDcEWA

Who said bookstores were dying? 📚 Barnes & Noble, Inc. has grown visits year over year every single month since January 2024, including a 13.2% jump this September. And it isn't just new stores: visits at existing locations rose 11.0% in September. With in-store cafés and room to linger, B&N has become a true third place: somewhere to spend time outside home and work.

Why do some shopping centers thrive while others sit half empty? Join us for our upcoming Placer Discover event as we unpack how tenant mix, shifting consumer behavior, and data-driven leasing strategy are shaping the retail destinations that win. Session 1: What Makes a Mall Work Today Featuring: 🔹 R. J. Hottovy, CFA, Head of Analytical Research, Placer.ai 🔹 Don Tepman, Founder & Principal, TownCentre Capital 🔹 Nicole Larson, National Research Manager for Retail Services, Colliers 🔹 Dannon Shiff, SVP, Real Estate, Dave's Hot Chicken Session 2: Creating Retail Destinations That Win Featuring: 🔹 R.J. Hottovy, Head of Analytical Research, Placer.ai 🔹 Owais Ansari, Research Analyst, Global Think Tank, Cushman & Wakefield 🔹 Kristen Pash, Senior Director of Shopping Center and Mall Leasing and Development, Cushman & Wakefield Register today: https://lnkd.in/dQAg39e6

Did the mall just have its best September in years? Mall visits rose year over year across all three formats in September, with open-air centers up 5.6%, indoor malls up 5.5%, and outlet malls up 4.1%. Labor Day weekend gave the sector a boost, but the data shows malls holding up well against rising gas prices and weaker consumer sentiment. Big thanks to Chain Store Age for featuring our data and Lila Margalit’s insights! Full piece here: https://lnkd.in/e5XRVUHS Jesse Kent Derring-Do Inc.

Congratulations to our co-founder and CEO, Noam Ben-Zvi, on being named to Commercial Observer’s Power Tech & AI 2026 list! 👏 The list recognizes the most consequential figures in real estate technology. Noam continues to expand how decision-makers across CRE, finance, and beyond use location data. Well deserved, Noam! https://lnkd.in/e8rb7ANE Jesse Kent Derring-Do Inc.

What does it take for a retailer to win in today's market? 🔥 On Episode 14 of Anchored, we look at what once made Target the most trend-forward stop in suburbia, how strong stores stay connected to the business, and how Walmart paired old-school merchandising instincts with new tech to pull ahead. Our guest is Walter Holbrook, Founder of Yoda Retail and Head Retail Expert at Rethink Retail. He makes the case that the strongest retail turnarounds start with leadership in the C-suite owning the results. The new episode is live. Link in the comments 🎧

How do Darden's casual dining brands keep visits growing while full-service dining has declined? Darden restaurants' overall visits rose 3.4% year over year in Q2 2026, while full-service dining overall fell 0.8%. Three of its brands - Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - posted overall YoY visit gains in every month from April through August, with LongHorn strongest at 4.9% to 9.3%. Want to know how they did it? Full breakdown on The Anchor - link in the comments.

Is there any room left in the middle of retail? Steve Dennis joined R. J. Hottovy, CFA for our most recent Discover. Steve has been watching "the unremarkable middle" since his Neiman Marcus days. Shoppers go cheap or go premium, and the retailers stuck in between lose to both Watch the full session on demand to find out. Link in the comments.

Discover 2027 tickets are moving fast - don't miss out. Join hundreds of leaders across retail, CRE, advertising, CPG, restaurants, civic, and finance for a day that decodes what's happening in the physical world, and what it means for your bottom line. Grab your ticket before they're gone. Link in the comments 👇