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If you would have to create a data base for geomarketing applications yourself, what kind of datasets would you purchase/collect? The first goal would be to find new store locations. Another would be to assess the efficiency of advertising efforts in different areas.

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3 Answers

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Just a few off the top of my head

  • street centerlines
  • addresses points
  • parcel polygons
  • census demographic data
  • existing business locations
  • zoning polygons
  • land use polygons
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Aerial photography. NAIP is widely available at decent resolutions for free.

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How do you use aerial photography in geomarketing applications? Is it used for analysis or just for illustration? – underdark♦ Aug 11 '10 at 17:20
Definitely for illustration, it could help you see what's on the ground (at the time of flight of course). People are so used to seeing aerial photography anymore (Google maps, Bing), they just expect to get it. You could also use historic imagery to show land use changes over time. – Chad Cooper Aug 11 '10 at 23:23
They also use it for analysis, though. Here is an excellent article from Aug 2010 about how an investment research company "had been using used satellite services of private-sector satellite companies to gather the comings and goings of the parking lots at Wal-Mart stores." classic.cnbc.com/id/38722872 – RyanDalton Feb 19 '11 at 4:28
And here is a more generic one stating more uses of satellite data for analysis: cnbc.com/id/38738810/… – RyanDalton Feb 19 '11 at 4:33
up vote 2 down vote

Demographics are probably the most important of your data sets in geomarketing. If you are planning on using the US Census/ACS (American Community Survey) be sure to research the proper methodology for using the rolling average that is the ACS. We no longer have a true snapshot now that the census long form is gone. Additionally, there are demographic data providers that create estimates on an annual, bi-annual, and quarterly basis if the Census data does not meet your needs.

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