If you didn't post a selfie on Facebook at the gym, did you really work out there?
Facebook ($FB) keeps track of relative foot traffic at businesses through a "were here" count, which updates for every check-in, mobile device share, photo location tag, status post, or more made at a location owned by a specific business. Given that over 25% of the world is on Facebook, the were here count makes for a statistic worth tracking for businesses, or for sheer curiosity of where people in the world are going.
Up until October 31, Facebook users were still found to be at places where there is plenty of time to post a status. This includes movie theaters, such as those owned by Regal Entertainment Group ($LON:CINE), chain restaurants and coffee houses, such as Starbucks ($SBUX) and McDonalds ($MCD), and, of course, gyms.
| Username | October Were Here Count (Average) |
|---|---|
| RegalMovies | 42,534,761.22 |
| Starbucks | 37,102,873.40 |
| McDonalds | 32,757,210.22 |
| McDonaldsUS | 32,660,564.00 |
| amctheatres | 28,533,916.56 |
| OliveGarden | 27,682,818.10 |
| applebees | 27,119,787.30 |
| cinemark | 25,095,792.00 |
| 24HourFitness | 25,069,321.60 |
| Chilis | 23,865,134.33 |
| hilton | 23,458,265.22 |
| texasroadhouse | 21,243,934.80 |
| walmart | 20,278,482.44 |
| BuffaloWildWings | 19,283,763.90 |
| LAFitness | 18,974,836.63 |
| Disneyland | 17,672,625.40 |
| redlobster | 17,442,265.70 |
| OfficialChuckECheeses | 16,434,982.25 |
| planetfitness | 16,010,818.22 |
| crackerbarrel | 15,052,068.00 |
Not much has changed between September and October in the top-20 rankings, save for Cinemark ($CNK) jumping 24 Hour Fitness (PRIVATE:$24HOURFITNESS) by one spot.
Planet Fitness Has Biggest Were Here Count #Gains
While its competitor 24 Hour Fitness suffered a minor fall in the rankings (but not a drop in were here count), Planet Fitness ($PLNT)
| Username | September to October "Were Here" Count Change |
|---|---|
| planetfitness | 421,530.22 |
| famousdaves | 416,192.15 |
| RegalMovies | 343,292.09 |
| hilton | 269,492.09 |
| cinemark | 266,124.00 |
| McDonalds | 245,081.82 |
| texasroadhouse | 201,779.69 |
| McDonaldsUS | 199,910.25 |
| BuffaloWildWings | 196,582.01 |
| OliveGarden | 183,433.72 |
Given Planet Fitness' recent trajectory, it's reasonable to understand an uptick in its were here count. In its recent Q3 report, the company announced 41 clubs opening in the past three months, as well as a 40.2% growth in revenue year-over-year. Translation: there are more gyms and more people at said gyms, which correlated with a bigger change in were here count.
This all weighed heavily on Planet Fitness' huge gain on the stock market where, after the Q3 report was announced, its stock jumped up 16.8%.
The Curious Case of Famous Dave's
When looking at percentage change of were here count — essentially finding the businesses with the most dramatic increases in that statistic — Famous Dave's BBQ ($DAVE) topped the list with a staggering and borderline ridiculous amount of growth.
| Username | September to October Change |
September to October Change (%)
|
|---|---|---|
| famousdaves | 416,192.15 | 73.25% |
| delta | 106,965.56 | 17.33% |
| BowleroBowl | 78,466.29 | 11.00% |
| ritzcarlton | 54,216.35 | 9.76% |
| TGIFridays | 69,154.28 | 8.08% |
| JollibeePhilippines | 40,413.73 | 5.66% |
| disneyland.hk | 38,903.00 | 5.52% |
| ilovekickboxing | 114,854.18 | 4.57% |
| KFC | 152,196.78 | 3.98% |
| planetfitness | 421,530.22 | 2.70% |
Famous Dave's hasn't gotten too much press lately; their next earnings call is on November 13, and institutions, not individuals, own more shares in the company (82.75% to be exact).
What's even more puzzling is that despite this growth, the number of Likes on its official Facebook page have been on a decline since November 2017.
Although there is not enough to infer from this odd anomaly, the data still shows that there were plenty of posts about BBQ and biceps (or triceps, or glutes, or quads) in October.
Subscribers who'd like to see the top-250 businesses when it comes to foot traffic can click here for the full dataset.
