Are Americans Prioritizing Health? Foot Traffic Trends: Gyms, Pharmacies & Health Stores // pass

Are Americans spending more time and money on health and wellbeing? We’ve taken a look into the data.

First off, physician visits have increased – not exretemly, but enough to be notable. From 2020 to 2025, physician visits have increased by 2.9%. In 2024, physician visits amounted to a value of $1.2 billion. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic have increased awareness of health issues and during the height of the pandemic visits increased by over 5%.

But the doctor isn’t the only place people go to when they want to look after their health. Health and wellbeing stores, gyms and pharmacies are also top places for Americans looking to improve their health. Let’s see if the data works out.

Key findings:

Retailers experienced a fall in visits in Q1 2025 across the board with January failing to bring in foot traffic.
LA Fitness has seen a vast increase in visits in 2025.
Pharmacy average visits decreased by 0.52% in Q1 2025.
Visits by Millenials to health and wellebeing stores decreased by -1.75% year on year, while the Silent Generation visited a bit more consistently with an average of -0.98%.
On average, Millenial visits to gyms remained relatively consistent year on year (0.52%).
Gen Z visits to Pharmacies decreased by -1.54% year on year, while visits from Boomers remained consistent year on year (-0.57%).

At pass_by, we offer the highest in market accuracy with 94% correlation to ground truth, over 15 data inputs, and a full 90 days of predictive feeds. Sign up to our newsletter so you never miss a report.

Demographic shifts

Visits by Millenials to health and wellebeing stores decreased by -1.75% year on year, while the Silent Generation visited a bit more consistently with an average of -0.98%.
On average, Millenial visits to gyms remained relatively consistent year on year (0.52%).
Gen Z visits to Pharmacies decreased by -1.54% year on year, while visits from Boomers remained consistent year on year (-0.57%).

The fluctuating patterns in consumer visits highlight notable trends across different age groups. Millennials have shown a slight decrease in their engagement with health and wellbeing stores, illustrating a shift in priorities or perhaps an inclination towards digital solutions for their wellness needs. The Silent Generation, while often less involved in the digital realm, has maintained their presence more consistently at these stores, suggesting traditional shopping habits still hold strong appeal for them.

In contrast, Millennials’ gym visits have remained relatively stable, pointing to a sustained commitment to physical fitness among this age group. This consistency may reflect a broader societal emphasis on maintaining an active lifestyle as an integral part of overall wellbeing.

Meanwhile, the younger Gen Z demographic has decreased their visits to pharmacies, perhaps indicative of an adaptation to online services or differing healthcare needs compared to older generations. Baby Boomers, however, continue to frequent pharmacies at a steady rate, underscoring their ongoing reliance on in-person pharmaceutical services and personal health management.

Overall, while digital conveniences and changing lifestyles influence these trends, there remains a solid demographic commitment to face-to-face engagement with health and wellness services though some retailers are scoring more wins in 2025 than others.

Health and wellbeing stores

Overall, visits to health and wellbeing storeshave fallen year-on-year with a few exceptions. The Vitamin Shoppe started 2024 with a dramatic decrease of over -10% in visits compared to 2023, but was relatively steady afterwards. Other chains such as Whole Foods have experienced decreases in every quarter.

What all these retailers have in common are health, organic and wellbeing products that seem to not be pulling in the foot traffic compared to previous years.

Visits by Millenials to health and wellebeing stores decreased by -1.75% year on year, while the Silent Generation visited a bit more consistently with an average of -0.98%.

Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts claim around 90% of their products are free of artificial flavors, food coloring, preservatives, and synthetic ingredients. For the health-conscious consumer, this is an appealing and promising a shopping experience filled with wholesome choices. However, Sprouts have seen foot traffic decrease year on year in each quarter since the start of 2024. It seems the boost many retailers experienced from the pandemic has peetered out and visits have begun to slow.

Visits to Sprouts increased by the Silent Generation year-on-year by +9.03% – the highest of any demographic.

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s, renowned for its eclectic and gourmet selections, has carved out a niche for health-conscious consumers. This popular chain offers an array of products tailored to different dietary needs, including organic, gluten-free, and vegan options. Over recent years, Trader Joe’s has consistently been a go-to destination for those seeking unique, high-quality ingredients at affordable prices.

In early 2024, Trader Joe’s benefited from a slight uptick in foot traffic. However, that has decreased as the trend of consumer visits to health and wellbeing stores decreased. In Q1 2025, Trader Joe’s had one of the largest decreases in visits out of all its competitors.

Visits to Trader Joe’s by the Silent Generation decreased by -5.94% year-on-year from 2024 to 2025.
Visits to Trader Joe’s by Millenials remained consistent with only a slight neglible in foot traffic of 0.18% from 2024 to 2025.

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods is a household name but households are visiting Whole Foods less. Q1 2024 was the worst quarter by far for Whole Foods when visits decreased by over 7% compared to 2023. Things have stabilised in more recent quarters, but growth has yet to be achieved.

One explanation for this is the trend of recession recipes going viral primarily on TikTok and Instagram. While budget recipes have always been popular, the recent trend recession recipes which use budget ingredients and state the cost per serving have captured public attention. As costs rise and consumer interest shifts, higher cost markets such as Whole Foods may see fewer visits than before.

Year on year, visits from those above the age of 50 decreased in every generation: Gex X (-1.06%), Boomers (-1.65%), and the Silent Generation (-2.00%).
Younger generations visited Whole Foods consistently year on year: Gen Alpha (+1.22%), Gen Z (+0.03%), and Millenials (+1.26%).

The Vitamin Shoppe

While sales of vitamins and supplements increased during the pandemic as consumers rushed to improve their immunity and overall health, vitamin retailers aren’t achieveing that same level of growth. Like Whole Foods, Q1 2024 was a rough start for The Vitamin Shoppe though later periods proved far better.

Year on year, visits from those above the age of 50 decreased in every generation: Gex X (-0.99%), Boomers (-1.89%), and the Silent Generation (-2.46%).
Younger generations visited The Vitamin Shoppe consistently year on year: Gen Alpha (+0.07%), Gen Z (+0.18%), and Millenials (+1.55%).

Vitamin World

Like many retailers, Q1 2024 was a rough start for Vitamin World. Compared to 2023, consumers were visiting vitamin stores less and less. Q2 2024 was a slight bright spot when visits stablised, but since then Vitamin World has seen decreases each quarter.

Visits from all age groups have decreased year on year for Vitamin World. The largest decrease yoy is from Gen Z whose visits decreased by -17.30%.
Visits by the Silent Generation to Vitamin World decreased by -11.46% year on year.

MOM’s Organic Market

Compared to many of its competitors, MOM’s has seen a relative stable year. Unlike some, Q1 2024 was relatively stable. But in the last few quarters MOM’s hasn’t been immune to the trend of consumers turning away from health markets and Q1 2025 was a particularly unfortunate quarter for visits for this retailer.

Visits to MOM’s Organic Market increases year-on-year from every demographic, though the Silent Generation and Boomers favoured these stores the most.
Visits increased by: Gen Z (+5.28%), Millenials (+4.76%), Gen X (+5.42%), Boomer (+5.76%), and the Silent Generation (+6.92%).

Gyms

Time is precious and where consumers choose to spend their everyday activities is a big competition. Gyms have benefitted in the past from health and wellbeing trends, New Year’s Resolutions, and a number of loyal consistent visitors. 2024 and 2025 have been less kind to gyms, though there is one notable exception.

It seems Americans may be spending more of their time elsewhere and saving money on gym memberships by working out at home. The exception to this is LA Fitness which has proven popular with Americans looking to work out compared to other chains – other gyms may look to this brand to see what they can learn.

On average, Millenial visits to gyms remained relatively consistent year on year (0.52%).

LA Fitness

With over 610 locations across the U.S, LA Fitness is one of the largest and most popuar gym chains. With a large presence in North America, the east coast, and Florida, these consumers seem to be rushing to the gym in the last few quarters compared to last year. In Q4 2024, visits to LA Fitness jumped by +32.17% making this chain the top performer not only in this quarter but for the entire year – despite a rocky start to 2024.

2025 also seems to be going well for LA Fitness with gym-goers visits increasing by over 22% in the first quarter.

Visits to LA Fitness increased across all generations year-on-year, particularly by Millenials (+24.45%) and Gen Z (+24.35%).

Planet Fitness

When considering the foot traffic trends at Planet Fitness throughout 2024 into early 2025, it’s evident there’s been some fluctuation in consumer visits. The initial quarters of 2024 marked a decline, beginning with a -3.61% decrease in Q1, followed by a further dip of 5.11% in Q2. Surprisingly, the third quarter witnessed a slight resurgence, with a modest increase of 0.50%. These figures indicate a challenging period for Planet Fitness, with a generally downward trend in foot traffic despite intermittent improvements.

Visits to Planet Fitness decreased year-on-year for all generations, but the largest decreases were from Gen X (-2.98%) and Boomers (-2.78%).
While visits did decrease for every generation, Millenials (-1.57%) were the most consistent in visits year on year.

24 Hour Fitness

Although the third quarter saw some stabilization, with a lesser decline of 7.81%, it was followed by another significant drop in the fourth quarter, with a decline of 11.07%. This trend continued into the first quarter of 2025, where the foot traffic fell further to 14.43%.

The continuous decline in foot traffic at 24 Hour Fitness suggests that either consumers are favoring other fitness options or external factors, such as economic conditions or seasonal factors.

Visits decreased from every age demographic apart from the Silent Generation which visited 24 Hour Fitness +3.73% more year-on-year.
Gen Z (-17.03%) and Gen X (-17.28%) both turned away from 24 Hour Fitness in favour of working out at other gyms or spending time on other hobbies.

Any Time Fitness

Examining the recent foot traffic trends for Any Time Fitness reveals a rather fluctuating performance over the past five quarters. In the first two quarters of 2024, the gym experienced notable declines with traffic dropping by 6.79% in Q1 and 7.96% in Q2.

However, Q3 saw a slight improvement, with a modest increase of 0.64%, suggesting a potential shift or adaptation in consumer behavior during mid-year. Despite this brief uptick, the trend did not sustain, as Q4 saw another drop of 3.21%. Fast forward to Q1 2025, and the struggle continued with a decrease of 4.11%. This pattern indicates a possible need for new strategies or offerings to boost consumer engagement and maintain consistent visitor levels.

Visits fell across all generations, particularly by Gen Z (-4.84%), Gen X (-4.44%) and Millenials (-4.00%).

Orangetheory

When you look closely at the foot traffic trends for Orangetheory in recent quarters, a clear picture of slight declines emerges. In Q1 2024, foot traffic dipped by -4.90%, setting the tone for a challenging year. As we moved into Q2 2024, the traffic decline grew more pronounced, reaching a significant decrease of 8.37%. This pattern suggests possible seasonal fluctuations or external factors impacting attendance, such as reduced spending power and lack of interest in working out.

However, in Q3 2024, there was a slight recovery, with a minimal increase of 0.94%. Overall, while there are moments of recovery, the overarching trend for Orangetheory appears to be a struggle to maintain consistent foot traffic, prompting a need for strategic improvements and renewed engagement efforts.

Visits fell across all generations year on year, particularly by Gen Z (-6.02%) and Millenials (-5.19%).

Pharmacies

When Americans are feeling unwell, the pharmacy is one of the first places they go. During the pandemic, visits to pharmcies were higher than ever as consumers bought tests, painkillers, and other necessities. In 2024 and 2025 however, the feverish visits to pharmacies have begun to cool down gradually.

Gen Z visits to Pharmacies decreased by -1.54% year on year, while visits from Boomers remained consistent year on year (-0.57%).

Average visits to pharmacies decreased by 0.52% in Q1 2025. Costco Pharmacy is experiencing the most consistent year-on-year visits, while Publix and Kroger have been a little more volatile.

Kroger Pharmacy

Examining the foot traffic performance of Kroger Pharmacy over the specified period reveals some notable ebbs and flows. Kicking off in Q1 2024, there was a decrease of- 2.43% in foot traffic. By Q4 2024, foot traffic increased by +1.43%, further indicating a positive trajectory as the year closed. The holiday season likely played a role in this uptick, with consumers perhaps focusing more on health and wellness purchases and last-minute preparations.

Unfortunately, the beginning of 2025 saw a sharp decline of -4.21% in Q1 foot traffic. This could potentially be attributed to post-holiday stall, where consumers return to lower spending or reduce external purchases after holiday expenses.

Visits to Kroger Pharmacy decreased year on year from the younger generations: Gen Z (-2.19%), Milenials (-1.51%), while visits from other generations remained very consistent.
Gen X (-1.00%) Boomers (-0.66%) and the Silent Generation (-0.55%) visited Kroger Pharmacy at consistent numbers.

Costco Pharmacy

Analyzing the foot traffic at Costco Pharmacy over the specified periods reveals an interesting trend. At the beginning of 2024, the first quarter shows a decrease of -1.62%, with a continued decline of 0.99% in Q2. This downward trend escalates in Q3, reflecting a significant dip of -1.92%.

However, by Q4 2024, there’s a slight reversal with a small but positive growth of 0.25%. This uptick might indicate a seasonal adjustment or the effectiveness of promotional strategies driving consumers back to the pharmacy during that period. Unfortunately, the positive bump doesn’t seem to last, as Q1 2025 shows another reduction in foot traffic by 1.73%.

Compared to other pharmacies, visits to Costco Pharmacy were consistent from Gen Z (+0.73%) and Boomers alike (+0.97%) showcasing Costco’s solid loyal base of customers even if growth seems more difficult to achieve.

Publix Pharmacy

Examining the foot traffic trends for Publix Pharmacy, there’s a noticeable decline from the first quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2025. A downward trend continued into the fourth quarter, with a 3.91% decline, and further intensified in the first quarter of 2025, with a notable 4.39% decrease. This analysis highlights a consistent downward trajectory in customer visits, potentially signaling a shift in consumer habits or preferences toward alternative pharmacy or health solutions.

Gen Z visits to Publix Pharmacy decreased by -3.17% year on year.
Only the Silent Generation visited Publix Pharmacy relatively consistently (-1.87%) year on year, while all other generation visits decreased by over 2%.