Pedestrian flow analysis, location intelligence and point-of-interest categorization have revolutionized the way retail and wholesale industries implement expansion, commercial and operational strategies in the pharmaceutical sector.

Thanks to these analytics, businesses gain a more detailed picture of their store performance, while predicting and estimating brand positioning, customer behavior, market trends, turnover and site selection models, both their own and those of their competitors.

By applying geomarketing techniques through geospatial data mining, it is possible to collect valuable information about the number and classification of people visiting an establishment or location of interest, the hours and times of day where there is more traffic, the time spent inside the stores, the count of visits, the market potential of points of sale or other points of interest (POI), etc., leaders can use this information to make more efficient and concise decisions that generate greater profitability by maximizing revenue and optimizing costs.

The correlation between pedestrian mobility, visitation, sales and the success of pharmaceutical chains has been studied and proven, so the development of this type of analysis has become a priority in the site selection process and in modeling the expansion of retail chains.

Case Study: Farmacias San Pablo vs. Farmacias de Guadalajara, Tlalpan, CDMX, Mexico

At PREDIK Data-Driven we carried out a detailed study of two popular pharmaceutical chains in Mexico City, Mexico, Farmacias San Pablo and Farmacias de Guadalajara, both located in the Tlalpan Delegation.

In this case study we analyze the mobility and pedestrian traffic inside and outside the pharmacies, with the objective of understanding the behavioral patterns of consumers visiting both brands. This analysis aims to answer the following questions:

How are visits distributed within pharmacies?


Using location intelligence, the points of interest are located and a heatmap is applied based on the mobility patterns of the visits, which makes it possible to observe the internal distribution of consumers.




This provides very useful information when conceptualizing the design of the infrastructure and internal architectural plans that make up each chain, so that leaders can implement strategies that improve the customer journey and implement more efficient expansion models, maximizing the shopping experience and sales conversion.

Which of the stores is the most visited?

Percentage distribution of visits recorded in the month of December 2020:



When analyzing mobility within both pharmacies using the established time period, we identified that 82% chose to visit Farmacias San Pablo, while the remaining 18% preferred Farmacias de Guadalajara, which has a correlation with the location of the stores and consumer preference when it comes to choosing health products.


By doing this, it is also possible to observe the evolution of visits over time, which can be very useful to identify patterns of mobile customer behavior and market trends in high and low seasons.

What days of the week are the most visited?


One of the most interesting applications of mobility analytics is that it allows to know in detail day, hour, month or yearly consumer behavior patterns, offering valuable insights to design marketing campaigns and commercial strategies based on pharmacies' power hours.



This analysis is very useful to know what the performance of the establishments is during the busiest hours of the day.

What is the foot traffic mobility pattern around both pharmacies?

Although foot traffic is related to the performance of any retail location, it is not the only key factor for success. Another fundamental aspect that must be analyzed is the environment of the outlets, as it allows for comparisons and estimates of the number of visits, potential revenues, strategic and operational movements of the competition.

By gathering information on the competition's potential customers, it is possible to carry out a more detailed benchmarking and generate strategies to capture the competition's customers.



This analysis of the environment gives us a more general picture of the surrounding areas and the mobility patterns of people moving around. This data, combined with other factors, provides deep insight into predicting the revenues of any retail establishment.

What other insights can be gained by analyzing footfall at a retail outlet?

Understanding which customers visit both pharmacies

By analyzing data over a given period of time at a specific location, such as a pharmacy, it is possible to estimate the percentage distribution of consumers who visited the stores.


These solutions benefit any type of business, an example of this is another case study that was conducted to compare two of the club-type wholesale chains in Mexico City, Tlalpan, Mexico, the results were more than interesting. Read more about this case: Footfall analytics: Costco Wholesale Vs. Sam’s Club

Customer profiling

Another possible analysis is customer profiling, since it is possible to know in which other places (stores, restaurants, shopping malls, residential areas, among others) the people who visited an establishment were. Thus, both brands can know how their customers behave, and know where and how long they were inside and after visiting a pharmacy.


Identifying ideal areas for establishing new points of sale

With data from the Wealth Index Global, collected by Facebook, it is possible to estimate the socioeconomic levels of the inhabitants, their age and their profile. At the same time, by applying geospatial data analysis techniques, corporate buildings, residential areas, schools, etc. can be located, which makes it possible to clearly understand the behavior of the people who pass through a given area, their tastes, preferences, socioeconomic level and purchasing potential.







What is the turnover potential of my competitor or of a point of sale?

Through machine learning models, it is possible to predict the turnover of a specific point of sale. With these models, Farmacias de Guadalajara could get to know what is the potential turnover or visits of its competitor Farmacias San Pablo in a specific week, month, or year. These models can also be used to predict the potential of a new location to be opened. This is ideal to complement feasibility studies of new points of sale in expansion plans.

All these insights are generated by applying location intelligence and mobility analysis, if you are interested in learning more about them, we conducted a study where a characterization of a luxury shopping center Plaza Fiesta in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico is made.

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