While it might be tempting to just follow the gut instinct when it comes to planning a new retail store business, there’s a lot more that can be considered to guarantee success. From competitor analysis to catchment area data, leveraging everything at their disposal will help expansion managers make informed decisions and enable them to get under the skin of a neighbourhood to understand if it’s the right location or not. Here are the top tips for smarter retail expansion. 

When planning the next retail store business, it might be important to inject a local flavour. Creating exact duplicates of the original store is great for branding. But especially if it comes to international expansion, you might need to connect with local shoppers’ habits and cultures. It’s why McDonalds, for instance, caters its menu according to local tastes – fancy a slice of Malaysia’s Cookies & Cream Pie, or to chow down on Switzerland’s McRaclette Burger?  

The same logic might also explain why Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world, failed to make an impact on the coffee-obsessed Australian market. Its blend was too sweet for cultured locals who were brought up on espresso from Italian and Greek immigrants and the company was forced to close 70% of its stores in 2018. Starbucks is slowly making a comeback in the country, aiming its wares at tourists, but it learnt the hard way that doing your research is key. 

It’s a fact of life that some locations do better than others, but when armed with the right insights, expansion managers can make a more informed choice from their desk, saving them the agony and expense of trial by error. If you’re a restaurant, for example, you’ll really want to drill into the foot traffic data: Is this area busy during the day and evening? Will there be lunch and dinner customers walking past? Are there good public transport options and car parking nearby?  

It is important to discover if a site is attractive by analysing how many potential customers can reach a location in a reasonable amount of time according to how they travel there.  Also the area’s key points of interest are essential and whether it, and they, are a good fit with the brand and product. The more data available, the better and sooner informed decisions can be made about whether the area is a good fit for the intended purpose.  

But finding the right data isn’t an easy feat either. Public data about the area may be unavailable, coming from untrusted sources, or fragmented by different sources (as an example, Germany has 16 official sources of public data). Although some businesses may need data scientists, you will want to choose a tool that can pull the data you need from trusted sources and integrate it with the data you already own. 

Once you’ve discovered everything there is to know about the area through location data, it’s equally important to get to know your potential customers. This means that you should learn more about the demographics of the area and see if this aligns with your target customer research. What did you learn about the audience of your existing shop that you can implement to improve the performance at the new location? Is your target audience likely to visit your new location? What competing businesses is your audience visiting in the area of your new shop? These, and more, are all the questions you need to answer before committing to a new location. 

But collecting data about the location and about your audience is not going to be enough to make an informed decision. You will have to clean, organise, prioritise, and analyse the data at hand. In other words, you will have to put the data to use. 

A tool such as the TargomoLOOP integrates numerous data variables such as demographics, purchasing power and foot traffic from trusted sources. Then sophisticated algorithms calculate what demand you can expect for a specific location and the entire branch network, and whether your stores may be cannibalise each other. You can even marry our location intelligence with your own business data to uncover correlations. You can try out different scenarios and instantly see which options are best for your next retail business. 

Interested to learn more about the analytics platform TarogmoLOOP? Request a demo and free trial. 

With only a couple months into his new role as Business Developer, Dylann Joffard has already managed to make quite the impression at Targomo. Originally from the Parisian region of Seine-et-Marne, Dylann now lives in Berlin, Germany, where he’s brushing up on his German language skills. Currently, he’s reading a book on the topic of balanced working, which has only furthered his German comprehension.

With a BA in Geography and an MA in Urban Planning and Urban Policies, Dylann’s expertise in  the Geographic Information System (GIS) is undoubtedly a huge asset in terms of developing the French market for Targomo. Although he has yet to work on a larger-scale project, his career goals run the gamut—from identifying the markets who need GEO-AI location analytics to being able to forge solid relationships, he looks forward to helping successfully expand the company in France.

When asked about what advice he’d give to someone wanting to work in the field of business development, he says, “be curious and never be afraid of the ‘no.’” Understanding the why behind what problems someone is trying to solve is key, he explains. So if a prospective company ends up not being interested, it’s either because the company hasn’t identified a problem yet or you weren’t able to identify it. 

When he’s not busy growing the French market, you can find Dylann taking art photos. In fact, he had his first exhibition in Lyon, France, in early 2022. His goal? To express a message on a variety of topics (gender, racism, etc.) and work with inspiring people, no matter if they’re a professional or an amateur. 

As for his everyday motivation, it’s simple: for work, it’s about building trust with clients and meeting their needs. For his personal life, it’s being able to create and build relationships with people. 

With the rise in rapid grocery delivery, dark stores have emerged as fulfilment centres placed close to large populations for ultra-quick orders. But how are they different from supermarkets, how do you plan a dark store, and what does the future hold?

By 2023, e-commerce sales are expected to hit $6.5 trillion. That’s more than the GDP of Germany and India combined. In fact, in the five years between 2021 and 2026, e-commerce is expected to grow by 55% globally.

The world was always going this way, but the Covid pandemic certainly helped accelerate the change. According to Capgemini research, online sales in the UK surged 61.8% year-on-year during Covid, with Amazon sales in the UK up 81% in 2020 compared to the year before.

With such unprecedented change comes new opportunities and infrastructure to service these growing demands for near-instant delivery. One of those is the concept of the “dark store”, a term probably unfamiliar to most but which anyone who has ordered online will have had some touchpoint with.

Similar in layout to a supermarket, dark stores are brick-and-mortar warehouses laid out in aisles and stocked to the rafters with goods. But that’s where the similarities between the two ends.

Generally not open to the public, though some do act as click-and-collect centres, dark stores have emerged out of consumers’ unprecedented appetite for convenience and online shopping. Put in a quick commerce order, and the chances are it will be fulfilled at a dark store, and sent to you quite possibly the same day.

Another key difference between a supermarket, in the traditional sense, and a dark store are their catchment areas, and how that is defined. With a supermarket, its catchment area is estimated, because its customers can ebb and flow. In other words, the buyer goes to the seller, and they use many different forms of transport to get there, so accessible multi-modal transport routes have to be taken into consideration when defining the catchment area. Supermarkets are also situated to take advantage of passing trade, often near complementary businesses where customers can visit multiple shops from one area.

With dark stores, the opposite is true. The seller goes to the buyer, mostly fulfilled by a delivery agent who will bring the purchase to your home or business address. Because of this, the dark store can accurately determine what its catchment area is. This is defined by three elements: the dark store location (within the proximity of a wide range of potential customers), the type of transport used (mostly vehicles or e-bikes), and the promised delivery time.

Like supermarkets, location is crucial for dark stores. But while supermarkets have to take into consideration multi-modal transport and high foot traffic, for dark stores the data foundation when it comes to a decision for or against a location is different. It’s much more important to be placed strategically and geographically in order to service areas with high population densities and the right demographic profile, quickly. 

Space requirements can also be different.  Dark stores don’t have to lay out stores based on customer psychology. In a supermarket, for instance, fresh produce is placed near the front, and promotional items on the end of aisles. Instead, dark stores can maximise the space to their full advantage. For example, prioritising items that are frequently ordered by making them easier to reach and closer to the front of the store for even more efficient delivery.

As we know, close proximity to the customer base is key to fulfilling promises of speedy delivery. But with many micro-fulfilment zones placed in close proximity, there’s a danger of cannibalisation through overlapping delivery or fulfilment zones.

This is where location technology can help. With tools such as TargomoLoop you can really drill into the detail of your chosen area, from catchment size, to demographic data, allowing you to accurately pinpoint your potential market, creating zones that work in harmony with each other, and potentially avoid cannibalisation. 

A great example of this is Yababa, a grocery company that specialises in Turkish and Middle Eastern products. Using our powerful demographic location data, it was able to determine the optimum sites from which to service its unique customer base in Berlin, Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany.

Our software can also allow you to optimise based on other demographic criteria, such as household size, purchasing power and consumer profiles. For instance, if you are targeting younger customers with higher incomes, you can find out where these people are in relation to your store, and how many you can deliver to within an allotted time.

In the restaurant industry, the concept of ‘Ghost kitchens’ has been around for a few years now. They allow restaurants or fast food outlets that don’t have a physical location with guest space, to service customers from kitchens with delivery-only or kerbside pick-up locations. The same principle is now appearing in other industries. Supermarket chain Kroger and tech platform Ocado have partnered to help Kroger expand into territories where it currently doesn’t have a presence, and without the need to create expensive public-friendly brick-and-mortar stores.

Then there’s the hybrid model, where online and offline sales merge under one roof. Alibaba has been trialling this concept in China with its smart supermarket Hema. Here, customers can browse physical products, scan them to purchase, have them delivered while they shop and even order food to be cooked and be ready for the end of their shopping trip.

Gorillas, an app-based delivery company with presence in Europe and the United States, uses Targomo to plan delivery zones and map fulfilment areas. Recently it added in-store pick-up as an option, reports the New York Post. At its 18 locations in New York, customers can now order online and pick-up in store at a time that suits them.

In Germany, supermarket chain REWE is doing something similar, introducing collection stations that are open 24/7 and allow people to pick up groceries that they have previously ordered on the app.

While e-commerce sales are booming, consumer demand for instant shopping gratification and the chance to connect more physically with their purchases means a hybrid model where we see the supermarket and dark store merge could be the next big revolution in the world of retail.

Discover how the power of location intelligence could help you plan your next retail location.

Location decisions are far-reaching and are rarely made alone. Various parties and hierarchies are usually involved. Therefore, a crucial part of the decision-making process is to share facts and insights about potential new locations with the relevant stakeholders.  That’s when location reports come into the game.

Our location analytics platform TargomoLOOP lets you create reports on locations and download them as PDFs. The location reports present the essential facts and analysis results about a site. They help share the analysis results with colleagues, supervisors and partners, and can be used for archiving purposes. 

We have now improved the functions and layout of the reports to make it more relevant and more pleasant to read so that you can communicate your findings even better. 

The first page provides an overview of the core information about the location. This includes the address, the rating within the location network and an overview of the selected catchment areas, which are also visualized in a map.

Targomo offers the possibility to make multimodal catchment analyses. This means that the analysis covers several catchment areas, each determined by a different mode of transport. TargomoLOOP offers, in addition to the modes of car, walking, cycling or public transport, the possibility to set the speeds individually, which is why additional modes of transport such as e-bike can also be mapped. 

On additional pages, the report contains the analysis results broken down for each individual catchment area. Here you will find details on the points of interest, the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the area and other data points that were added to the analysis. 

Also customer specific data can be integrated. This can include past or estimated guest counts, orders, the size of the location or the number of employees.  

Would you like to see the analytics platform TargomoLOOP in action? Book your demo here.  

A graduate of China University of Geosciences, Yue Luo sits within our data sciences team, where she is responsible for analyzing data to generate detailed, actionable insights and predictions that ultimately help influence decisions for Targomo customers. 

Yue’s road to Targomo was quite linear. A background in Geographical Information Science (GIS) and merging spatial statistics with machine learning methods led Yue to further her studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo. There she obtained a PhD in Geography, before leaving academia behind to relocate to Germany and join Targomo. “My passion for GIS was strong from the very beginning, and I’m lucky to have found the perfect opportunity at Targomo that allows me to pursue it professionally while continuously enhancing my skills and knowledge. As one of the leading locational intelligence companies, I love that Targomo acknowledges the importance of utilizing spatial statistical methods to find solutions for a variety of industries.”

In other words, Targomo is the perfect professional fit for her particular skill set. “It’s my first full time role, and as expected, it’s quite different from academia. Professionally, the pace is much faster, and the deliverables are of course results-oriented. In the academic world, it’s the exact opposite. It’s more about taking the time to research topics, and thoroughly understanding and articulating the process to derive results. With that said, while my role at Targomo is challenging, it’s equally as rewarding, thanks to my supportive, approachable, and inclusive colleagues that constantly motivate me.”

Aside from preparing data to continuously explore models and implementing new ideas to optimize methodology performance, Yue spends her days on everything from routing and location selection to revenue prediction and driver analysis. “I like that Targomo offers me the luxury to be creative, and the freedom to try and experiment with ideas.” The one aspect of her role she loves the most? “Receiving customer feedback in real time. I’m able to see how beneficial my work is to their business, and how I was able to help improve solutions based on their specific needs.”

Lastly, data isn’t her only passion. Outside of the office, Yue starts each morning moving through a vinyasa flow to set her intentions and prepare for the day. After hours, Yue loves to explore international great food. “I love sharing good food with friends and coworkers!”

Berlin-based location intelligence startup Targomo is in the midst of an international expansion of its location analytics platform. Users now have access to information on locations in a total of 24 countries, seven of them outside Europe, and including the US.

Last year, Targomo relaunched a retail-optimized version of its TargomoLOOP platform with data for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “From the beginning, we designed our platform for global use,” says Henning Hollburg, founder and CEO of Targomo. “The huge demand from customers has surprised us and is fueling the growth of our platform, where we have now integrated more than 350 data sets – and more are being added every week.”

Much of Targomo’s expansion success is driven by German-based customers who are also taking advantage of the analytics platform in their international expansion, whether in retail, quick commerce, or planning for gyms, restaurant chains, and Ghost Kitchens.

The analytics platform is also successfully used in the health and beauty sector. “We use TargomoLOOP to optimize our network as well as for expansion. We can use reliable data sets and discover new areas to set up new partnerships”, says Fabian Zimmermann, Teamlead Retail Management & Expansion at DrSmile. The dental care startup distributes its invisible aligners through a network of partner dentists and now also uses TargomoLOOP in France, Spain and Italy.

TargomoLOOP is an AI-powered location network analytics platform. The analyses are based upon precise travel time calculations, which are combined with socio-demographic statistics, movement data, point-of-interest (POI) data and geo-related company data. By pulling in a full range of business relevant datapoints and linking them directly to mobility patterns, the platform helps companies identify success factors and quickly make data-based location decisions.

“TargomoLOOP allows us to plan our locations much more effectively and quickly. We used to spend weeks researching, now we can make decisions in a matter of days,” reports Luukas Castren, Head of Expansion at Finnish Ghost Kitchen provider Huuva.

A media management graduate of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Luisa Sieveking is currently heading up our marketing and communications team, where she is responsible for the marketing strategy and its implementation.

Skilled in integrated strategic communications, digital strategy, social media marketing, media relations and European campaign execution, a steady career in marketing was always in Luisa’s purview. “I started my career in B2B/B2C communications agencies communicating for all kinds of products,” says Luisa. “What I liked most about agency work was the variety of tasks and topics I was given. But soon I realized that communicating complex issues suits me more than making a big tam-tam about the launch of a new shampoo.” So Luisa continued to specialize in tech topics, freelancing for tech startups and then working for an international funding program that introduced her to some of Europe’s coolest deep tech startups. 

Then she joined Targomo.

What she values most about working for Targomo? Again the variety of tasks, enhanced with the opportunity to take ownership. “We are still a very small team in marketing at Targomo. That’s where good opportunities open up for individuals to take ownership of topics and drive them forward independently. At the same time, it’s very exciting to be in an innovative pioneering role. We have a great technology that has the potential to disruptively change industries. That makes communication challenging and fun.”

Luisa cites lifelong learning as the biggest key to success in her field. “In the marketing sector, new technologies are constantly coming onto the market,” explains Luisa. “Trends are changing and new channels appear. In this race for attention, it’s important to keep a cool head (particularly for the B2B sector) and always ask yourself how relevant these new channels for your specific target groups are.”

The aforementioned confirmation comes when the team’s hard work pays off, and a media article is published, a new client is secured or an award is won. Her advice? Thoroughly enjoy it. “If you work for days and weeks on a project and finally you get the phone call telling you that you are in – let your heart make a big jump!

When she’s out of office, Luisa moonlights as a mountain hiker and used to participate in countless races in and around Berlin. Her runner motto? “The time doesn’t matter; being there is everything… How you feel is most important!” Recently, she has had to slow down her running pace further and instead goes for walks several times a day with her new housemate, a young crossbreed dog who keeps her on her toes.

Retail as we know it has been around for millennia, but as tech innovation continually evolves so too does how people shop. Understanding these patterns is the key to unlocking future growth. 

When we think of modern retail, that really started in the 18th century, no better example is the expansion of the United States of America.

As new towns and settlements popped up, so too did an abundance of “mom and pop” stores; small, local, independent, family-owned businesses selling everything from food to medicine. But as large population centres expanded quickly in the mid 19th century, along with innovations in transportation and electricity for power and lighting, European cities like those in the US contributed to the disruption in retail. In the late 1800s, the first department store was born in central Paris, a consequence of this urban transformation, when Le Bon Marché was set up by Frenchman Aristide Boucicaut.

Now, unlike the clusters of small shops that were so prevalent during the gold rush era, in Europe, customers could experience a wide range of goods and services under one convenient roof. But these department stores didn’t just sell items, they provided experiences like demos and in-store entertainment that took the shopping experience to a whole new level. Soon, household names we’re still familiar with to this day began popping up in major cities across the world. Names like Harrods, Macy’s and Sears.

At around the same time, the cash register was invented – and this was more than a device to store notes and coins in. The cash register meant businesses had a better way of working out whether they were making a profit or loss. Today, the cash register is a sophisticated, connected touch point that continues to revolutionise retail.

Then along came the car and retailers were quick to adapt to the growing trend of out-of-town shopping experiences and people living in the suburbs. In the mid-20th century, as car ownership grew, so too did shopping malls, those large “one-stop-shops” that sold everything we could possibly need under one roof.

Even before the advent of cars, other means of transportation made new ways of selling goods possible. It was the completion of the continental rail network that gave rise to the development of general merchandise mail-order shops. According to Britannica, “the ability to sell a variety of merchandise to farmers, at comparatively low prices, a postal rate structure that encouraged the dissemination of mail-order papers and catalogs, and the establishment of the parcel-post system in 1913 all contributed to the expansion of mail-order operations”.

Nevertheless, the bricks-and-mortar concept continued relatively unchallenged until not so long ago with the advent of the internet and a new golden age of shopping. Companies like Amazon have changed the retail landscape more in 25 years than anything else in the last couple of centuries. 

At the click of a button, you can now have anything from a pair of shoes to a new TV delivered to your home, in many cases the same day. According to a recent report, it’s hardly surprising to learn that 96% of Americans these days shop online while only 65% of shopping budget is spent in-store. Not so long ago our ancestors were shopping in markets, now 43% of people are making their purchases from bed. 

But as great as it is to get almost instant shopping gratification without leaving home, the joy of browsing, holding and interacting with goods has been diminished. The social aspect of shopping has been lost. And it’s why, especially in small towns, there’s a growing trend for local commerce, a trend gaining strength as people make more sustainable choices.

Just as we’ve seen throughout history, pivotal inventions, trends and consumer behaviours will continue to shape retail as we know it. As a society, we now have access to more data than we ever thought possible.

As Britannica writes: “Retail analytics is the process of using big data to optimize pricing, supply chain movement, and improve customer loyalty. Big data analytics in retail enables companies to create customer recommendations based on their purchase history, resulting in personalized shopping experiences and improved customer service. These super-sized data sets also help with forecasting trends and making strategic decisions based on market analysis.”

Successful retailers use analytics to understand how the demand for their products changes over time and in different locations. When they add consumer spending data to their models, they can discover how to meet customers where they are and stock their products more efficiently based on supply and demand.

Locations and territories play a crucial role in the success of any brick-and-mortar business. Geomarketing links location business data with information about regional markets, analyzes it and derives correlations. This way, geomarketing allows business to weigh up risks and potentials and thus to make quick decisions.