See how foot traffic changed in your favorite KC grocery store throughout the pandemic
As the pandemic lingers on, grocery shopping has continued to be a cautious task for many. While some people might opt to get their goods delivered, grocery stores runs are still a pivotal part of most weekly chore lists.
As the year progresses and the COVID-19 case numbers fluctuate, the number of people in stores also change.
Between March 2020 and November 2021 the number of in-person grocery shoppers per month in Kansas City stayed between 28,000 and 41,000 people. After Nov. 1, 2021, the number of monthly visitors jumped from slightly over 38,000 to more than 100,000 people in January 2022, according to data from SafeGraph.
Local Hy-Vee stores also saw a significant increase in traffic around the end of 2021. In March 2021, Hyvee stores in Kansas City had around 3,224 monthly visitors compared to 8,500 monthly visitors by Dec. 1, 2021.
While most stores saw an increase during the holiday season and into the new year, some brands like Price Chopper and Sun Fresh saw a drop in major jump in visitors after Dec. 1 and a significant decline in visitors after January 1.
At Price Chopper, total monthly visitors in December rose from nearly 11,000 visitors to more than 22,000 visitors. In January, Price Chopper’s foot traffic dropped to around 11,000 people again, according to SafeGraph. A similar trend can be seen in Sun Fresh’s monthly foot traffic.
The decline in January could be due to the surge in COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the year.
