PHOENIX — COVID-19 lockdowns are in the rearview mirror, and some of the nation’s downtown areas have not only recovered from the pandemic era but have surpassed the foot and vehicle traffic they had in 2019.
However, others, including Phoenix and Tucson, have not.
The University of Toronto obtained weekly cell phone location data from 20019 through April of this year.
It found in the downtown zip codes of Phoenix, cell traffic this past winter was 67% of what it was compared to the winter before COVID-19. Downtown Tucson is faring a little better at 74%.
Compared to other downtown areas, Phoenix device counts have remained relatively stable in the analyzed period from May 2020 to April 2023, hovering mainly around 60-70% of traffic compared to 2019.
Downtown areas that showed recovery throughout the past few years include both New York and Salt Lake City.
Both downtown areas had device counts under Phoenix’s share but both climbed gradually throughout the study period. Downtown Salt Lake City device counts are now well over 100% of what they were in 2019. San Francisco, consistently ranking among the lowest in the rankings, has hovered in the twenties and thirties.
While this data suggests downtown Phoenix has not recovered in foot and vehicle traffic consumer spending data published by dtphx.org shows people are spending more in downtown businesses.
Food and alcohol purchases for last year were 22% higher than in 2019 and over $1 billion in total.
Household purchases were up 44% compared to 2019.
This does beg the question, how much more would consumer spending have risen if foot and vehicle traffic was fully recovered in downtown Phoenix?
