Foursquare's
data scientists examined the foot traffic of a panel of U.S. users who have been active on the Foursquare City Guide or Foursquare Swarm apps (
as well
as partner apps) for at least the past year, have
opted - in to provide background location awareness, and have visited at least one of the analyzed chains within the research time frame (January 2017 - December 2017).