Expansion teams in retail, restaurants, fitness, and hospitality increasingly rely on footfall data to evaluate sites. But not all datasets are created equal. The difference between rough estimates and validated, high-resolution pedestrian counts can mean opening a location that thrives, or one that quietly underperforms. 

This article explains how Targomo’s foot traffic data is structured, why it is trusted as one of the most accurate sources on the market, and how expansion leaders use it to reduce risk and make confident, data-based decisions. 

Expansion is a high-stakes process. Lease negotiations, build-out costs, and staffing investments mean a simple miscalculation on location can set a business back for years. Yet many decisions are still made using surface-level indicators: a street with active pedestrian movement, proximity to a landmark, or access to large demographic groups. 

However, a busy street doesn’t always mean busy sales. A street may only be crowded at certain times of day. A high-traffic corridor may consist mostly of commuters rushing past, which won’t drive sales for fashion retail, for example. Without precise, validated insights, expansion becomes guesswork. 

Footfall data measures how many people walk past a specific location on an average day. Targomo’s Foot Traffic data answers the practical questions expansion teams usually consider: 

With these insights, expansion is no longer based on assumptions. Teams can benchmark performance across cities and countries, identify the sites with the highest potential, and optimise existing locations to capture maximum revenue. 

Not every passerby is a potential customer. That’s why Targomo distinguishes between two complementary datasets: 

This distinction between movement and dwell is critical. Visitor data shows how many people spend time in an area daily and what they are there for: shopping, commuting, or leisure. Together, Footfall and Visitor data provide a full picture of both reach and relevance. 

City-wide averages hide the details that determine success. Granularity is Targomo’s key advantage. The hexagonal grid measures pedestrian flows at 28 metres for Footfall counts, and at just 4 metres for the Footfall Index. This ultra-high resolution is unmatched in the market. For more precision, the Footfall Index ranks every cell from 0 to 100, with 100 marking the busiest spot in a country. This makes it possible to: 

For businesses in seasonal or tourist-heavy markets, Targomo extends its analysis with Tourism Footfall Data. By combining booking platform data, official tourism statistics, and pedestrian flows, the dataset distinguishes tourists from locals. This segmentation enables businesses to match location strategy to audience composition. A premium café may succeed in a tourist corridor, while a grocery chain benefits more from local commuter flows. 

One common concern with pedestrian mobility data is reliability. To address this, Targomo’s Foot Traffic data is: 

The results consistently show very high correlation across daily totals, seasonal variations, and even hourly peaks. This means expansion teams don’t have to trust our data blindly. Instead, they receive a dataset that has been benchmarked against established data sources  

The trustworthy insights are then easily translated into strategy: 

Footfall data isn’t just a nice-to-have; it is the difference between opening in the wrong location and unlocking sustainable growth. With Targomo’s Foot Traffic data, expansion teams in retail, restaurant, and fitness can make location decisions that are both data-driven and customer-centric. The result? Smarter site selection, optimised operations, and a competitive edge in today’s high-stakes expansion landscape.