Finding the right retail destinations for your brand can help you optimise profitability and reduce the risks associated with moving into a new market.
The concept of retail destinations has become increasingly important since the advent of the digital age.
Retailers can no longer compete on price and quality alone. With this in mind, you need to make your brick-and-mortar stores part of a compelling customer ‘experience’.
This means positioning your locations alongside similar brands (e.g. a luxury shopping quarter) or complementary businesses (e.g. a food vendor in a shopping centre).
Here, we will outline the benefits of finding the right retail destinations. Then, we’ll explain how to get started using location intelligence.
What are the advantages of positioning your locations in established retail destinations?
Positioning your locations as part of a larger retail destination enables you to:
- Increase overall customer numbers and time spent in-store
- Create a more rounded, attractive and less mundane shopping experience
- Cultivate customer loyalty to assure repeat visits
- Encourage higher average spend per customer over time
Aside from these benefits, if you position your locations in a retail wilderness, you will soon lose out to competitors who have adopted a different tack.
How can companies use location intelligence to get set up in ideal retail destinations?
These are some of the ways you can use location intelligence software to identify and take advantage of optimal retail destinations:
1) Discover and compare local demographics
Uncover and analyse key locational attributes to identify markets with the most potential for your brand, including typical:
- Age
- Income
- Educational status
- Profession
Also, think about how your brand would fit the local aesthetic, and analyse social media posts made locally to qualitatively assess brand sentiment.
2) Calculate local footfall and transport links
Plot all major public and personal transport entry/exit points within the area to gauge accessibility.
Create heatmaps of pedestrian routes within the area to find out where potential customers are typically travelling from/to in order to capture passing trade.
For drivers, you can plot available parking amenities and automatically calculate accurate drive times for the entire catchment of your retail location to ensure it is positioned centrally.
3) Optimise retail locations for local markets
Maximise ROI by adapting your products, services and brand aesthetic to better fit with local customer profiles and nearby retailers/amenities.
Pair this with a more personalised approach to marketing. Hone your marketing message based on the demographical analysis discussed previously.
Then, identify locations where adverts or salespeople are most likely to be visible to your key customer base.
4) Plot everything intuitively on a single map
Before opening a new location (or adapting a current one), you need to gain a macro-perspective of your insights.
Periscope® enables you to carry out all the actions listed above. You can plot these insights alongside your locations, your competitors’ and known complementary businesses on your very own corporate, secure version of Google Maps.
So, now you know about the benefits and how to adapt your processes, use Periscope® to make finding your ideal retail destinations as simple and effective as possible.
Gain a presence in prime retail destinations and position your brand for growth with Periscope®. Request a 10-minute demo today.