Don’t make decisions without the data. We break down the reasons why location intelligence is essential for retailers looking to super-charge their strategy. 

Location Intelligence 101: A Guide for Retailers

The last three years have not been kind to retail. A constant tide of circumstances beyond – for the most part – the direct control of the retail industry, has influenced footfall traffic, business rates, right through to the spend of consumers once they hit the high streets, retail parks and shopping centres. The tides are, however, receding – and by grasping the opportunities available in location data, retail leaders can make informed decisions that win them market advantage. As a leader in the location-based insights space, Huq is here to empower retail industry organisations with the strategic intelligence to create environments that attract more returning customers, and ultimately uptick sales. Think of us as your personal solution-based advisor. We tailor our approach to your business to drive improved sales results.

Let’s get into it. 

In November 2023, the UK’s British Retail Consortium (BRC) – informed by destination data – observed that consumers are moving away from shopping around; less seduced by the lowest prices, and instead focus-purchasing and paying more to “buy less”. Consumers are adjusting to the inflation-driven cost of living crisis and are making strategic decisions when purchasing. Industry leaders, the BRC concluded, could do well to concentrate efforts on customer loyalty and reaching consumers earlier, to earn customer loyalty and get customers returning more frequently to spend more.

Understanding this shift in consumer behaviour wouldn’t be possible without consumer, location-based data. And this is where Huq comes in. We are the leading provider of rich and real-time geospatial data that can help leading retail strategists stay ahead of the curve, and even predict consumer behaviour to achieve a  competitive advantage. 

Our cutting-edge platform harnesses unrivalled, first hand and third-party global sources to deliver unrivalled insights to our clients. Our unique research data sets, summarised below, ensure you are capturing the right store performance metrics will inform site selection and store KPI evaluation. All delivered with up-to-date accuracy, in real-time. 

Let’s dive in.

Footfall

Our footfall traffic insights can be tailored within our user-friendly, dashboard to provide hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and annual footfall data – right down to a specific location. We have historic location data going back over 5 years – enabling you to look at the curve of behaviour and determine trends. Learn how your local area is being visited and unlock how to best deploy location-based marketing, most accurate sales forecasting, and surface the potential for the best stores.

Density

Pinpoint the busiest regions in a nominated space. Understanding density of visitors highlights the underutilised areas of your space and opportunities for improved utilisation.This localised intelligence can be used to inform retail expansion strategies and geo-targeting the most optimum consumers.

Dwell

Once more, beyond footfall, it’s vital to understand how long individuals are spending in a given place and space. The propensity to shop and spend after all relies on consumers sticking around, and understanding dwell time-to-conversion presents a major advantage. Our dwell time data could be used to inspire retail spatial analysis strategies, as well as leading to customer behaviour and competitor location analysis – and even collaboration.

Catchment

By connecting visitors to geographic movement and – anonymised – demographic detail, retailers can better hone demographic segmentation for products and services. Here’s how you can distinguish which consumer demographics are attracted to some spaces more than others. The combined quantitative and qualitative scope of this data set will empower your operational, financial and marketing teams to create strategies for success.

Don’t take our word for it, we work with some of the market’s largest retailers and hospitality merchants who use our proprietary data insights to make informed strategic decisions that support better business. One such client is JD Sports, who utilised our Catchment Areas insights to measure the size and fit of consumer opportunity. This drives decisions when assessing new store locations – taking into account competitive influence intelligence and the potential impact on nearby outlets – so as not to cannibalise existing customer segments.

This is a significant step-change for JD Sports when comparing data to, say, more generalised drive-time catchment information. As Alastair Browne, Group Head of Site Research and Strategic Insight at JD Sports puts it, “Huq’s Catchment Insights allows JD to more accurately assess the impact of the wider retail catchment area of the sales potential of new store opportunities.”. With 900 store locations, and annual revenue of £10.12bn, Huq’s core products for retail are a staple, and invaluable, tool for JD Sports to remain competitively advantageous. 

Regis Schultz, JD Sports’ CEO, sums it up even more simply, “I don’t approve new stores unless they are planned after consulting Huq’s data.”

How we work with you

Our customer success team works directly with you to ensure alignment with your aims and business objectives, providing a solid environment to create strong strategies and make game-changing decisions. We will support you to create compelling data-driven narratives that support your initiatives for stakeholders including Board, C-suite, internal, external partners and colleagues.

Huq is trusted by over 300 partners, including major retailers, news institutions, the top 5 real estate brands, over 100 Government organisations, and internationally esteemed university research teams. Our experience demonstrates you’re in safe hands when it comes to leveraging crucial cutting-edge technologies – made straightforward by our experienced and personable team.

For Store Planners and Franchisees

Imagine a world where uncertainty fades away, and every decision you make is backed by precision. Huq steps in as your partner, meticulously confirming the potential of new locations through both quantitative and qualitative success criteria. No longer will a location’s performance remain a mystery; Huq unravels the truth through side-by-side ranking with direct sales-informing metrics. Analysing trends across diverse timelines empowers you to discern correlations and take decisive actions with confidence. With a centralised view of all your locations, delve deeper into demographics and competitor capture rates, enabling unparalleled insights for your strategic planning.

For Market Planners and Strategy Leaders

In the realm of market expansion, Huq emerges as your indispensable ally, elevating your strategy with real-time insights to identify and monitor potential locations for exponential revenue growth. Gain an unparalleled advantage by being the pioneer in discovering burgeoning areas before your competitors, supported by Huq’s cutting-edge data. With precision, Huq crafts a curated list of high-quality expansion sites grounded in real-time data insights, ensuring every decision is underpinned by accuracy and trust. Benchmarking crucial KPIs becomes effortless, guiding your vital decisions with a firm foundation of reliable data. Huq isn’t just about expansion; it’s about understanding consumer behaviour intricacies, refining development projects through in-depth consumer movement analysis. Huq empowers you to boost sales predictions, seize lucrative opportunities, and sculpt an expansion strategy that leads the market.

For Optimisation and Portfolio Managers

Huq presents the gateway to unlocking the full potential of your existing portfolio, transcending traditional strategies to meticulously optimise and maximise your investments. Seamlessly identifying gaps and circumventing cannibalization, Huq’s data is built to help you ensure peak performance across your entire estate. It’s not just about identification; Huq delves deep into customer behaviours, distinguishing between successful and unsuccessful patterns to guide your decision-making. Picture a comprehensive ranking of potential locations, empowered by sales-informing metrics that validate your strategies against a myriad of metrics, guaranteeing confidence in every move. Huq doesn’t just stop at identification—it captures your target audience precisely where they are, enabling swift and assured action driven by real-time data. Don’t let opportunities slip away; Huq illuminates the metrics underlying store triumphs or setbacks, giving you the power to optimise and elevate your portfolio to unprecedented heights of success.

For Impact

Retailers must be increasingly demonstrative of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments, and transparent to an ever-demanding consumer and colleague base. New and existing customers smell, see, and sense any deviation from authenticity. And they let retailers know their disapproval through their purchase power, spending with social conscience. 

So, our advice? Make the high-level business decisions easier with the right location, footfall, dwell and density, and catchment intelligence. Leaving you more time to concentrate on product, people, and planet. 

Consider us a colleague and cheerleader – keen to see you put your best foot forward and stride on armed with the toolkit to take on the rest.

We would love to work with you – today – on your retail strategy, informing your leadership team with the insights that mean you can do what you do best. We’ll help you optimise and grow your customer base, and you can ensure colleagues are supported and driven by your company’s success. So, make the right decisions with data as unique as your offering. Visit Retail – Huq Industries to book a demo, call us with your questions, and we look forward to meeting you.