2027 New Years Resolutions Strategy Guide

Overview

The post-holiday mindset drives an immediate, high-intent shift in consumer behavior. As millions of Americans set health, financial, and lifestyle goals, their motivation translates directly into real-world foot traffic, retail spending, and active brand discovery. 

With 43% of adults under 45 planning to set New Year's goals and 89% feeling confident they will stick to them, early Q1 represents a prime window for brands to capture high-value buyers.¹ Advertisers can leverage GroundTruth’s location precision and behavioral data to turn "fresh start" momentum into measurable business outcomes.

The When: Event Fast Facts & Peak Windows

Q1 foot traffic trends show significant Month-over-Month (MoM) surges in January across key goal-oriented verticals:

• Home Improvement / DIY (+13.78% MoM Surge)²: Led all categories into January with 58.6M total visits, driven by early-year commitments to home organization and project resets.
• Fitness Centers & Gyms (+9.27% MoM Surge)²: Generated 19.1M visits during the January resolution push.
• The January "Second Wave" (Late January Peak)²: Gym traffic hits an early surge by Jan 6th (682k visits), followed by a mid-month slump (Jan 11–18). 
• Restaurants (+6.72% MoM) & Retail (+3.45% MoM)²: Drew 216.7M and 531.0M visits respectively, highlighting a broad consumer appetite for healthier dining and lifestyle shopping.

The Where: Critical Destinations & Category Footprints

Resolution intent is heavily concentrated across specific brick-and-mortar retail sectors:

• Top Gym Destinations: Planet Fitness dominated value gymming with a 47.4% share of gym visits, while LA Fitness led commercial fitness with 15.8% share.²
• Apparel & Beauty Resets: DICK'S Sporting Goods anchored activewear shopping with a 61.2% share of apparel visits, while Ulta Beauty captured 78.3% of beauty visits for skincare and self-care resets.²
• Healthy QSR & Grocers: Foot traffic surged at fresh-concept chains like Tropical Smoothie Cafe, CAVA, and Sweetgreen, alongside retail leaders Walmart, Target, and Dollar General.²

The Who: High-Value Goal-Setter Personas

Goal-setting intent peaks among younger, diverse, and lifestyle-focused demographics:

• Gen Z & Millennials (<45 Years Old): Adults under 45 are 2X more likely to set goals than older adults. Gen Z and Millennials make up 58% of all resolution setters.¹
• Hispanic Americans: Lead resolution adoption nationwide, with 47% setting goals.
• Target Audience Mappings:
  • Exercise & Weight Loss (48% / 31%): Planet Fitness Visitors, Health Food Store Shoppers, Nutritionist & Dietitian Visitors, and Activewear Shoppers.
  • Save Money (46%): Discount Store Shoppers, Thrift Store Shoppers, and Tax Preparation Office Visitors.
  • The "Sober Curious" / GLP-1 Consumer: Nearly 50% of Americans tried drinking less alcohol last year (with 58% opting for Non-Alcoholic drinks).³ Additionally, 26% of U.S. consumers (and 37% of Gen Z) plan to use weight loss medications, driving increased visits to gyms (+47%) and healthy dining.⁴

Strategic Tactics & Channel Approach

Recommended Solutions

GroundTruth’s omnichannel approach connects physical and digital behaviors across screens to turn Q1 intent into real-world visitation

Success in Action

A popular footwear brand utilized GroundTruth's standard and rich media Mobile ads to capture Q1 buyers. By combining Proximity Targeting near store premises with Location-Based and Behavioral Targeting, the campaign reached over 4.5M consumers, driving 1.7M store visits and generating an extraordinary 172X Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and $690k in incremental sales. 

Interested in learning more?

Download our full 2027 New Year’s Resolution Insights Strategy Guide by clicking the attachment link at the bottom of this page.

For more support, reach out to your GroundTruth representative or selfservehelp@groundtruth.com.

Sources: ¹YouGov, ²GroundTruth Visitation Data, ³Circana, ⁴eMarketer, ⁵AI Digital, ⁶New Digital Age, 7Acast