The pandemic weakened apparel store, but traffic is recovering quickly, according to Placer.ai’s Apparel Quarterly Index 2021: Q2. Visits to apparel retailers’ stores increased 29.1% from the first quarter to the second and 198.1% year over year. There’s still room for improvement, though, as visits were 6.7% lower than during the second quarter of 2019.

Placer.ai’s index tracks foot traffic data at Belk, Burlington, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, Hibbett Sports, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Lululemon, Macy’s, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, Ross Dress for Less and T.J. Maxx. Big winners include Macy’s, which saw a 42.6% increase in foot traffic from the first to the second quarter; Belk, which improved 44.2%; JCPenney, up 40.6%; Nordstrom Rack, up 39.4%; Kohl’s, up 33.5%; Lululemon, up 29.9%; and Dillard’s, up 29.4%.

9 more tenant updates you should know

• In August, Ulta Beauty boutiques will begin rolling out at more than 100 Target stores around the U.S. The companies plan these shops-in-a-shop in 800 U.S. Targets in the coming years. Ulta Beauty at Target consultants will be on hand to provide beauty advice and product guidance.

• Victoria’s Secret will open 10 off-mall stores this year. They will be smaller than the 10,000-plus-square-foot Victoria’s Secret prototype. A few will be located in outlet centers. The retailer, which is spinning off from L Brands into its own publicly traded company, also will open three test stores with more inclusive imagery and mannequins than its supermodel-focused imagery has embodied to date.

• Bed Bath & Beyond has redesigned its New York City flagship to modernize the in-store experience. The 92,000-square-foot space has undergone a complete transformation since December, part of a $250 million, three-year project to remodel 450 stores, said president and CEO Mark Tritton. In place of the dizzying stacks of merchandise that created “shopping paralysis,” Bed Bath & Beyond has put in lower sight lines, wider aisles, neat arrangements of products and a residential experience, he said. An example: tile flooring in the bath section. The flagship also takes advantage of floor-to-ceiling windows that let natural light pour in.

The flagship also features experiential brand tie-ins, including mattress maker Casper’s first shop-in-a-shop, a SodaStream Bubble Bar where mixologists provide customers with drink ideas and lessons, an interactive vacuum display and a La Colombe coffee shop.

Omnichannel features include an in-store mode on the retailer’s mobile app that helps customers navigate the store and allows them to see additional product information and create registries. Prominent QR codes make it easy to shop for additional colors, sizes and products. A scan-and-buy feature enables customers to make purchases as they shop and therefore bypass the check-out line. There’s also a dedicated pickup area for online orders, and customers can choose curbside pickup to occur within an hour of placing the order.

• Foxtrot — a chain of upscale, delivery-focused corner stores and cafes — will add 50 stores within two years. According to Foxtrot, the stores will “amplify the a.m.-to-p.m. neighborhood experience from locally roasted espresso in the morning and discovery-based shopping throughout the day to a cozy wine shop and bustling bar in the evening.” Foxtrot will open units in streetfront locations in dense urban neighborhoods in Austin, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City. The chain, which offers 30-minute delivery and a five-minute pickup service, operates 12 stores in Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

• E-tailer BBQGuys — which sells upscale grills, grilling accessories and outdoor living products — will open its first physical location, in Atlanta, to serve custom builders, remodelers, interior designers and architects.

• Batteries Plus Bulbs is having its best development year in the almost three decades since it began franchising, having signed 52 locations to date for the year. In fact, it exceeded 2020 store signings in mid-April 2021. The retailer is on pace to surpass 75 franchise signings by the end of the year. During the second quarter, it inked the largest multi-unit deal in company history, which brought the brand to Raleigh-Durham. The 2021 signings will bring the brand into new markets like Yuma, Arizona; West Lebanon, New Hampshire; and Long Island, New York. Batteries Plus Bulbs also opened eight stores during the first half of the year.

• Dollar General is adding skincare products to its Believe Beauty range, which debuted in 2019, and it launched an in-house vegan and cruelty-free beauty line called Root to End this year. The private brands are part of Dollar General’s emphasis on over-the-counter medicines, dental and feminine hygiene products and other health products.

• Specialty running retailer Fleet Feet said 2021 is on pace to be the biggest sales year in its 45-year history. For the first half of the year, sales at its 185 stores are up 42% year over year. Brick-and-mortar sales are crucial to the retailer’s expansion, as Fleet Feet uses 3D-foot-scanning and pressure-mapping technology to customize insoles. Between 2022 and 2023, the retailer plans to add 36 stores. This year it has opened four, and locations in Austin; Charleston, South Carolina; and Port St. Lucie, Florida, will open before year’s end.

• “Chipotlanes” are paying off. Chipotle has opened 56 locations and closed five during the second quarter, and 45 of the new restaurants have drive-thru lanes specifically for customers who ordered online. Chipotle’s same-store sales climbed 31.2% year over year in the second quarter. They had declined 9% year over year in the second quarter of 2020. Chipotle executives forecast same-store sales will grow by low to mid-double digits year over year for the third quarter.

Send news to bboswell@icsc.com for consideration.