The Greensboro, N.C. Big Lots was one of many picked up by Variety Wholesalers.
HENDERSON, N.C. — When Variety Wholesalers revived Big Lots earlier this year, it did so with the intent of bringing it back as a bargain shopping destination.
Early data from location intelligence and foot traffic data analytics group Placer.ai shows that the strategy is working.
Between January and May, Placer.ai noted that discount and dollar chains experienced positive year-over-year growth in visits and average visits per location, which it said reaffirms Big Lots‘ decision to reinvest in the liquidation-based model.
“The off-price retail model, one that Big Lots has leaned into in newly reopened locations, really fits the needs of today’s shoppers in combining exceptional value, unique product offerings and treasure hunt behavior,” said Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai. “If consumers can rely on always finding something new when they shop in-store and know they will leave with better product savings than shopping full-price retail stores, it spurs repeat visitation and higher levels of loyalty, even as consumers grapple with pulling back on discretionary purchases.”
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While Big Lots reopened its first stores April 9 and had plans to have some 220 stores open by June 5, it’s already drawing bargain-conscious customers. Placer.ai analyzed locations that had opened by May 1 and observed that Big Lots only trailed Ollie’s Bargain Outlet in share of visits lasting more than 30 minutes in May (43.7% to 34.2%), and that its share of weekend visits (36.1%) was neck-and-neck(-and-neck) with Ollie’s (37.9%) and Five Below (37.1%).
Placer.ai also observed that Big Lots is drawing shoppers with greater median household income than Variety’s other names. In May, Big Lots captured median HHI of almost $61,000, outpacing Roses ($51,400), Super Dollar ($49,400) and Maxway ($48,800) among Variety’s stable of brands, while drawing near Ollie’s median HHI of $64,600.
