Network Planning

Customer base, location and store attributes are among the key factors on which the success or otherwise of a retail business pivots. IPS Consultants can give you a competitive edge by providing the information on these crucial elements you need to maximise your success.

When it comes to customer demographics in retail — building up a picture of the potential customer base and their spending ability – we use the premium network planning software tool: Pitney Bowes MapInfo GIS and Cameo® data. Through modelling, analysis and visualisation we deliver a uniquely detailed insight into the customer potential for any given location, down to fine detail such as ‘drive time’.

OUR PROCESS

We begin by geo-mapping existing or potential sites, capturing a wealth of detail such as customer sales data and addresses, number of visits, floor area, site configuration, parking, lighting and ambience, signage, pedestrian counts and traffic flow. Then we build up a picture of competitors and how their businesses compare.

This data is analysed to develop Success Measures: benchmarks which can be used to meaningfully compare the success of one site against another. (Simple examples of Success Measures are for a café the ratio of dollars spent per customer and for a retail mall store turnover per square metre compared to industry average.) These benchmarks enable us to identify any factors preventing a store or site under consideration from achieving its potential.

Customer demographic analysis and network planning can be done for individual stores, or sites of interest, or for entire store networks.