GameStop’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report is due after the market closes on Tuesday. Data from Placer.ai indicates foot traffic trends at the stores were mostly steady in January, but were rebounding in recent weeks.
Placer.ai tracked visitor counts, observing that GameStop’s (ticker: GME) weekly visits were down around 18% year-over-year during the week of Dec. 28. That decline narrowed to 12% the next week, but visitor trends declined for the following four weeks.
The retailer has seen improving trends following the week that started Feb. 15, when foot traffic was down 26% year-over-year. Weekly visits were only down 3.9% during the week that started March 8. The firm notes that’s the narrowest year-over-year gap for GameStop in months.
“GameStop has returned to visit levels found in early January and appears to be on a strong recovery trajectory heading into the spring,” Ethan Chernofsky, vice president of marketing at Placer.ai,wrote in a post.
While a reduction in Covid-19 restrictions in some states, in tandem with less severe weather could be the major factor driving improved visits, Chernofsky notes the brand could also be seeing a boost from renewed attention from the recent GameStop stock saga.
Wall Street’s consensus estimate calls for same-store-sales growth of 4.7% year-over-year during the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in January, according to FactSet. The company announced on Jan. 11 that same-store-sales were up 4.8% during the nine-week holiday period, which ended Jan. 2. Still, e-commerce sales were up 309%, meaning foot traffic may not give the full picture.
The team at Placer.ai note that AMC Theatres also saw a rebound from a year-over-year decline of 79.2% during the week of Feb. 15 to a year-over-year decline of 47.9% during the week of March 8.
AMC Entertainment Holdings stock (AMC) has rocketed 489% year-to-date, while GameStop stock is up 932%.