Site Selection: Location Is Everything – But Not Always In the Way You Think

You already know location is everything when choosing a retail location, but an effective site selection search requires more than just checking out the demographics and letting your real estate broker show you a few appropriate places.

Whether you are building a new store from the ground-up or remodeling an existing building, the investment in a new location is significant – and not something that can be recouped easily if you make a poor choice.

This is a decision you need to get right the first time.

Retail location selection has been transformed by data analysis

Location, location, location. You don’t need us to tell you it’s a decision that can make or break your company. Site search is also a decision-making process that has changed dramatically over time.

Many business development executives look at location as a combination of physical factors: does this site have the right visibility? Is it close enough to the highway? Is there enough parking?

Others rely on economic indicators such as growth trends and average household income as well as demographics like age, family composition and work status.

Those location factors are still important, but if that’s the only way you are thinking about retail location you are missing the big picture.

Physical factors, demographics and economic development trends continue to play a powerful role in determining whether a particular site will support your retail location, but there is a much more predictive analysis that will make site selection less risky.

Site selection should put your data to work for you

What you need to know about location isn’t always what’s on the surface. Physical factors and basic demographics can’t predict success the way effective site selection analysis can. By identifying the factors that have contributed to your past success you can make an empowered decision about the future.

By using what works – for your business – you can identify areas for growth potential much more effectively than just visiting locations and looking at economic trends. At OpenDoorData we’ve developed an exclusive data-based program that will identify those areas and help ensure your company’s long-term growth.

At OpenDoorData we know data – and how to use it

Our site selection analysis is a two-phase process. Here’s how it works:

• In phase one, information about your existing locations and the relative success of each is collected. We’ll use that data to identify your top performing locations – as well as the ones that aren’t performed quite as well. Then we’ll integrate more than 100 psycho-demographic and demographic variables, from companies like Dunn & Bradstreet, Axciom and ARC GIS to create a model. Using machine learning and analytic expertise that model identifies the factors that predict success.
• Once that model is created, phase two puts it to work. Let us know the geographic areas you’re considering and we’ll integrate the data sets about that area to your model, creating an actionable report that predicts how each potential area will perform for your company.
• In the future, we can continue to use the model for years to come, helping you and your business thrive for the long-term.

Just starting out and don’t have existing data to compare? No worries, we can help. We can compare like businesses and identify potential locations, giving you a launching pad to future success.

Contact us today and turn our data expertise into the right retail location

Ready to take you site selection to the next level? Schedule a free consultation with us today by clicking here.