Mobility data analytics are transforming the way commercial strategies are defined in the retail business, and supermarket chains are no exception.
Understanding what consumers think, what they want and what they do is critical for companies in the retail sector. This is where Big Data tools play an important role, as it is possible to measure the affluence at a location and customer behavior, among other aspects.
New data management methodologies now allow retailers to take advantage of even the smallest piece of information to generate valuable insights that help optimize their marketing and customer loyalty strategies.
What promotions do we do to get more customers to the point of sale?
How do we make them stay longer in the store?
How do we improve the customer experience so that they buy more at each visit?
In the digital age, location intelligence and foot traffic analytics based on mobility data are changing the retail business, giving many retailers an edge over their competitors.
Location intelligence is defined as a methodology for understanding and visualizing mobility data to help solve a wide variety of retail problems.
Foot traffic analytics is derived from location intelligence, helping retailers to obtain a better understanding about how people move around physical locations and enabling new visibility into consumer behavior patterns by presenting a visualization of people's movement within a physical area, even segmented by the infinite type of consumers who pass near a store.
Through the management of large volumes of data, it is possible to understand the pedestrian mobility of an area or city, and from this, predict the sales potential of a business according to its location and the characteristics of consumers who pass through the surrounding area.
Currently, companies in the retail and mass consumption sector that have opted to develop "data driven" work teams have found in Business Intelligence and Geomarketing solutions a new way to understand the dynamics of their business models.
In the last week of May 2021, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Guatemala were the economies in which the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was considerably higher than the figures reported before the pandemic.
In the first five months of the year, and in the context of the reactivation of commercial activities, more Central American consumers have visited locations identified as supermarkets and pharmacies.
El Mismo Precio, a store located in the Pradera Concepción shopping center in Guatemala, has a potential market of 136 thousand consumers within a 15-minute drive, of which 13% are interested in discount stores.
Using the Geomarketing solutions we have developed for our clients, CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence Team analyzed the environment of some of the main locations of low cost stores operating in Central American countries. Below is an excerpt of the study's findings.
In the first week of April 2021, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Guatemala were the countries in the region where the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was higher than the figures reported before the pandemic.
Over the course of the months and in the context of the reactivation of commercial activities, more Central American consumers have visited locations identified as supermarkets and pharmacies.
Analyzing the offerings of a supermarket, department store or convenience store and examining what type of consumers frequent those establishments is key to establishing which chains a company's products should be present in to increase their profitability.
By analyzing large volumes of data, it is possible to combine information on the products that commercial establishments sell with details of the types of consumers that are attracted to the different chains.
Determining if the highest possible profitability is being obtained at each point of sale and if the establishments with the greatest billing potential are being reached, is part of what can be solved with geomarketing solutions.
Through Big Data management techniques, it is possible to collect, validate and analyze large volumes of information for all types of points of sale, such as convenience stores or grocery stores that operate in Central American countries.
Finding out how many people live in the surroundings of the establishment, their income levels, their ages and their tastes and interests, is fundamental information to measure the potential of a supermarket's location.
Using the Geomarketing solutions we have developed for our clients, CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence team analyzed the environment of some of the main supermarket locations operating in Central American countries. Below is an excerpt of the study's findings.
Whether it is a restaurant, a coffee shop, a hotel, a supermarket, or an auto parts store, location is, if not the most important, one of the most decisive factors in determining the success or failure of a business.
Real estate companies, restaurants and retail chains know better than anyone how valuable and decisive it is for the success of a business to find the best location. Technology, together with the new Big Data analysis methodologies, now allow to simplify part of this complex process of location selection, analyzing in detail the pedestrian flow in each location.
Understanding consumers' lifestyles, hobbies, ages and the places they go to, in order to attract a very specific sector of the population, is fundamental to reduce the risk in the investments made for the opening of new specialty stores.
For some years now, the retail sector has been undergoing a transformation, which has been driven by changes in consumer habits and the rise of e-commerce.
Keeping online inventories as close as possible to their customers through the strategic location of emerging distribution centers, micro-distribution centers and dark stores is currently one of the most important challenges for companies.
Due to the change in consumer habits, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and the popularization of online commerce, companies are busy optimizing their distribution channels for Internet sales.
At the end of January 2021, Nicaragua and El Salvador were the only two countries in the region where the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was similar to the figures reported before the pandemic.
As the months have gone by and in the context of the reactivation of commercial activities, more Central American consumers have visited locations identified as supermarkets and pharmacies.
Typical frozen foods, traditional beverages from the countries of origin and vacuum-packed fresh vegetables are some of the products that have sales growth potential in U.S. supermarket chains.
There are many opportunities for companies in the region, since it is estimated that two out of every three products placed on the shelves of U.S. supermarkets are of Latin American origin.