At a Glance:
- HomeGoods‘ traffic increased each quarter in 2025, spiking in Q2 with growth up 11.2%.
- Homesense saw even higher traffic gains, peaking at 25.4% growth in Q1 2025.
- Walmart‘s store visits slackened during the summer but rose 2.3% in Q4 and 4.1% in January 2026
- Target‘s traffic declined in most of late 2025, with weekends showing steeper drops..
Covina, Calif. – HomeGoods and Homesense saw strong 2025 traffic growth, while Walmart gained momentum late in the year and Target faced continued store visit declines.
HomeGoods logged year-over-year traffic increases in each quarter of the calendar year 2025, according to market intelligence firm Placer.ai. Visits were up 8.5% in Q1, up 11.2% in Q2, up 9.1% in Q3 and up 6.3% in Q4.
Homesense, its sister chain, saw even greater growth: up 25.4% in Q1, up 22.2% in Q2, up 19.4% in Q3 and up 11.9% in Q4.
“Although consumers may not be financially positioned for large-scale remodels, we are now five years past the pandemic, and many residents (many of whom still work from home) are looking to refresh their living spaces,” Placer.ai noted in its report about the Top 10 Brands to Watch in 2026.
Although Walmart visits were essentially flat year over year for all of 2025, the trajectory picked in the final months of 2025. The retailer’s store traffic softened a bit over the summer but so far has been making gains each month from October on.
Q4 traffic rose 2.3% year over year, with visits up 3.1% in October, up 2.4% in November and up 1.4% in December compared to 2024.
That momentum surged in January, with store traffic up 4.1% year over year.
“Walmart’s recent performance puts new CEO John Furner in a position of strength. Traffic and sales gains support his focus on value, digital growth, and higher-margin revenue streams like advertising – though maintaining store performance and margins will be critical as those efforts scale,” Placer.ai reported.
Target, by comparison, is still trying to dig out of the hole. Traffic declined in all but one of the six months in the back half of 2025. In October, the only month during the period with year-over-year growth, store visits rose just 0.8%. In December, traffic fell 4.2%, according to Placer.ai’s report comparing Walmart’s and Target’s performance in 2025.
Weekends have posed a particular problem for Target, which saw steeper traffic declines during weekends than during weekdays.
“Because weekends likely capture more browsing-oriented, discretionary trips at Target, the disproportionate weakness during these periods may highlight where the retailer is most exposed,” Placer.ai suggested. “And these traffic patterns help explain why improvements to assortment and the in-store experience have become central to efforts to rebuild momentum.”
