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Category Archives: post-pandemic

Our March Leisure eNewsletter is now available

This month’s issue looks at what past and current trends indicate the “new normal” may be for out-of-home entertainment in the post-pandemic world. It’s for sure we won’t be going back to the pre-pandemic 2019 normal. The two-year pandemic has … Continue reading

Update on the current surge and comfort going out

Is the current surge a temporary phenomenon? Are regulars more likely to return? Continue reading

The consumers that went into the pandemic aren’t the same ones coming out

The consumers that location-based leisure venues knew in 2019 are gone and never coming back, even when things are fully open. Continue reading

Is a return to out-of-home entertainment and its previous normal on the horizon or a mirage?

Major changes that took place with consumers during the pandemic will have a long enduring impact on the post-pandemic location-based entertainment competitive landscape. Continue reading

Some bad and some good news

Here’s some bad and good new about people returning to out-of-home entertainment and arts venues Continue reading

Will we need post-coronavirus resocialization lessons?

Will we need post-coronavirus resocialization lessons? Continue reading

An update on when we might reach herd immunity and post-pan normality

Although the percentage of Americans who will need to become immune to Covid-19 to reach herd immunity may be higher than originally anticipated, a new survey on the willingness to get vaccinated indicates it still appears plausible in 2021. Continue reading

The other side of accelerated economic inequality – Americans who have become better off during the pandemic and its implications for out-of-home entertainment & arts

There will be two Americas in the post-pandemic world. There will be the people currently going through financial hell and there will be Americans who have become better off during the pandemic. Continue reading

When will the out-of-home entertainment and arts industry recover?

Here’s discussion and my projections on when and to what extent the out-of-home entertainment and arts industry will recover. Continue reading

When will we be able to take our masks off and return to normalcy? – part 2

Here are several caveats to if and when we might reach herd immunity based on the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. Continue reading

When will we be able to take our masks off and return to normalcy?

When can we stop social distancing, take our face masks off and again safely return to school, workplaces and public places to socialize, party, play, be entertained, shop, exercise and dine and drink? Continue reading

Prepare for the 21st Century’s roaring 20s. The human desire to socialize and have fun IRL will survive the pandemic.

If history is a guide, we should eventually make it to our own Roaring 20s when consumption and out-of-home socialization will come back with a vengeance Continue reading

Will increased cooking at home, restaurant takeout, and meal delivery become the post-pandemic future normal? If so, what are its implications for location-based entertainment?

How the pandemic has changed our dining behaviors and its impact on our post-pandemic dining and visits to location-based entertainment venues. Continue reading

Hometainment’s impact on the post-pandemic entertainment landscape

When the risk of the coronavirus finally disappears, will our current levels of hometainment continue or will our out-of-home entertainment return to its 2019 levels? Continue reading

Covid-19 accelerates the socioeconomic bifurcation of out-of-home entertainment and arts

If you thought the 2019 out-of-home entertainment and arts market was gentrified, just wait for how gentrified the post-pandemic market becomes Continue reading

Increase in work-at-home creates a shift in site selection strategies for location-based entertainment

More people working at home has shifted site selection strategies for location-based entertainment. Continue reading

The gap in comfort between millennials and all adults starts to widen for some activities.

We’re seeing an uptick in Millennials’ comfort visiting different out-of-home entertainment and cultural activities Continue reading

Will Uber-Bunkering, an acceleration of a decades old trend, stay uber post-pandemic?

Time at home has been on the increase for decades. The pandemic has caused an abrupt and dramatic acceleration of that trend. Now, almost all socialization, entertainment and cultural activities take place at home. Post-pandemic, will things go back to the old normal? Continue reading

How Covid-19 is reshaping the out-of-home leisure competitive landscape

The pandemic has reshaped the competitive out-of-home leisure competitive landscape, changing the leisure activities people will choose to do. Continue reading

What does death of the buffets mean for location-based entertainment?

What does death of the buffet mean for location-based entertainment? Continue reading

The illusion that a vaccine is the magic bullet to the post-pandemic era (and if it is, the timeline is much longer than anticipated)

The illusion that a vaccine is the magic bullet to the post-pandemic era (and if it is, the timeline is much longer than anticipated)
Continue reading

The post-Covid out-of-home entertainment competitive landscape

Pre-Covid LBE and FEC business models are all facing a true existential threat. Their existing business models will all suffer accelerated Darwinism if they don’t adapt and innovate for the new post-pandemic future with customers who are fundamentally different than the ones we knew before. Continue reading

Is Chuck E. Cheese’s bankruptcy a bellwether for the decimation of the LBE/FEC industry?

The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for the location-based entertainment (LBE) industry. Why I predict that at least 30% of FECs will go out of business and be permanently closed by the end of 2021, perhaps sooner. Continue reading

Consumers’ comfort visiting leisure activities falls with Covid-19 infection surge

Consumers’ comfort levels visiting leisure and entertainment activities has declined with the Covid-19 infection surge. Continue reading

What impact will the Covid-19 pandemic have on births?

If you thought all the people stuck at home with their romantic partners during the lockdown and/or self-quarantining would reverse the trend and lead to a baby boom, you are probably wrong based on the lessons from history and what researchers are predicting. Continue reading

It’s a long road ahead for location-based entertainment to recover to pre-pandemic business levels

There’s been a lot of press coverage on consumers returning to reopened restaurants, location-based entertainment (LBE) and other businesses. Yes, the trend is up with increasing attendance. However, moving up from zero attendance doesn’t mean you will soon be at 100%. Here’s what all the polls and research is telling us about a recovery. Continue reading

To recover the fastest, location-based businesses need mandatory mask wearing

Now that businesses are being allowed to reopen, they need to make sure they are doing everything possible to attract customers back as soon as possible. In the coronavirus era, that includes a new criterion, “Is it safe to visit? … Continue reading

Peoples’ Covid-19 fears and its impact on out-of-home entertainment & dining activities

Following is some very recent polling data that I sorted through from multiple sources on the current state of consumers’ fears that they or a member of their family will catch coronavirus and the impact of this fear on their … Continue reading

Who will be the first to return to which out-of-home leisure/entertainment activities?

Here’s my latest research and thoughts on which customers will be the first to return, to which out-of-home entertainment/leisure activities, and at what frequency. Continue reading

When will people return to out-of-home entertainment and dining based on their income, education, generation & age?

Here’s some very recent data on when adults expect to return to restaurants and out-of-home (OOH) entertainment and cultural venues based on their incomes, education, generation and age. Continue reading

When, if ever, will location-based entertainment become profitable again?

There are a number of factors that will determine when LBEs will be profitable again including the share of the population at high risk of Covid-19. Here’s the latest data and predictions. Continue reading

Covid-19 is accelerating the migration of entertainment & socializsation to the metaverse

The acceleration of our use of virtual entertainment and socialization during the pandemic will have a long-term impact on out-of-home entertainment. Continue reading

Who’s ready to return to out-of-home entertainment and cultural experiences?

Now that states are starting to allow businesses to open and the lockdown is winding down, will people return to out-of-home (OOH) entertainment and cultural experiences? Our company has access to a large number of national U.S. polls with very current data. So, I dug into the data of some of them to see what people are saying. Continue reading

The accelerated digitalization of place is disrupting the real estate landscape

It was first back in 2015 in our company’s Leisure eNewsletter that we wrote about the growing trend of the digitalization of place – that the internet and digital technology is making it possible to acquire things or to have experiences at-home … Continue reading

The inconvenient truth – almost all location-based entertainment business models are now obsolete

Our company prides itself in using research to identify trends and guide our clients to future-proof their location-based entertainment centers (LBEs), which includes the categories of family entertainment centers (FECs), social eatertainment venues and agritainment/agritourism farms. As they say in … Continue reading

Will no longer doing some things we used to do pre-Covid become a permanent habit?

While bunkered down at home, I’ve been taking long walks everyday whenever the weather permits. Here in Kansas City in the Spring, it’s a great time to take walks as all the greenery is emerging. Winters here are very gray. … Continue reading

Will your entertainment or cultural venue be ready for the post-lockdown guests?

Now is the time to start thinking about what changes need to be made to both facility design and operations to attract the post-lockdown consumer. Continue reading

Predictions on the post-pandemic location-based entertainment landscape

What will the post-pandemic out-of-home entertainment competitive landscape look like? Continue reading

The impact of virtual entertainment experiences during the lockdown on the post-pandemic entertainment landscape

What might the long-term impact be on our out-of-home entertainment behavior once the corona-crisis is over? Continue reading

The post-pandemic future of America’s location-based entertainment

The coronavirus is likely to devastate large portions of the location-based entertainment industry. Businesses that survive should expect a less-saturated market with a changed consumer base and market size. Continue reading