Location intelligence specialists GapMaps has launched a new tool designed to help brands evaluate the potential effects of new physical locations on their existing networks. 
Impact Analysis, within GapMaps Live, is expected to benefit industries including retail, quick-service restaurants, fitness centres and gyms, and lifestyle and entertainment venues.
When assessing potential locations for new premises, Impact Analysis accounts for critical external factors such as road networks, physical barriers, drive-time routes, and customer trip patterns. This comprehensive evaluation, according to GapMaps, equips network planners with detailed projections of how a potential location may influence existing sites, empowering them to make informed, strategic decisions and avoid cannibalisation.
“Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand the importance of understanding customer travel patterns for developing sustainable network strategies,” says GapMaps founder and Managing Director Anthony Villanti.
“That’s why Impact Analysis is a game-changer, removing time-consuming manual processes and offering businesses the ability to quickly estimate how a new location may affect their existing network.
“For retailers, franchise owners and network planners, location decisions are critical to success. In such competitive markets, there’s no room for suboptimal choices, which can have long-term repercussions on profitability, often making recovery a challenge.”
How it works
The GapMaps Impact Analysis tool uses mobile device data to simulate customer journeys to current locations, enabling network planners to evaluate the accessibility of new locations for existing customers.
Key features include:
- Understanding impact. Quantify the effect a new site may have on nearby established locations.
- Scenario planning. Model potential sites to assess how each could impact the network.
- Visualising customer journeys. Gain insights into customer journeys using mobile device data, with convenience lines plotted between current and proposed sites.
- Manual verification. Enhance data reliability through manual examination of routes, customer flows, and projections.