Turning Data Into Furniture Sales: Tip #5 - New Store Locations – Let the Zip Codes Do the Talking

Furniture World News Desk on 9/2/2015

Sharpen your competitive edge with the next store location

Does the old business adage, “location, location, location” still have relevance when the digital marketplace is outpacing their bricks and mortar competition?

Here’s your answer; try and find a parking space at the mall on the Saturday before Christmas.

While online shopping continues to grow, brick and mortar businesses are as crucial as ever to the health and sustainability of a thriving retail business. But to remain competitive, they need to keep a watchful eye as to emerging buying patterns.

Buying Furniture – From Just a Thumbnail?

According to a recent industry study, the traditional furniture buying model is changing in the eCommerce world. Although nothing can replace the sensory experience of touch and color when it comes to buying a new sofa, the bricks and mortars is getting major competition with 24/7 cyber-shopping access. Consumers are now purchasing furniture on the basis of a web image from online retailers.

So to entice those customers to walk through your door, choosing the right location for your next store is more important than ever.

That’s why businesses are analyzing zip code data to find optimal locations based on geographic-based buying behavior. By using customer data, you can pinpoint the exact store location that will give you the strongest ROI, increase your revenue, and appeal to your target market.

And it all starts with converting your customer data into actionable insights as to where to strategically locate your next store.

Step One: Collect relevant customer data

If you have narrowed down your choices to 5 different zip codes, collect customer data from each one. For example, in addition to the physical location, your data should include demographic information like age, gender, income, education, marital status, and most importantly, purchase history and behavior.

Step Two: Look at purchase history based on zip codes

Look for trends in the data in terms of where your most loyal customers live and work. For example, if 65% of the purchases at a particular store were made by customers who live in the 53226 zip code, that zip code may prove the big winner for your next store location.

The key is to identify where your customers are the most geographically underserved. This is to ensure that they are likely to patronize your new location based on their purchase history. Most importantly, now you can customize your inventory to their specific tastes and lifestyle, in a store conveniently located right in their neighborhood.

Step Three: Identify the top-performing zip code

Once you’ve identified trends in the data, narrow down your location choices to the top-performing zip code. What else do the customers in this zip code have in common besides where they live? Use demographic data and purchase history to further pinpoint the exact neighborhood in which to open your new store.

If the most frequent buyers from the 53226 zip code are married, childless couples in their early 30s, the location you choose will be much different than if your top buyers are single retired men over 65.
Consider not only where your customers live, but how they will get to your store, what their parking needs will be, when they’re most likely to shop, and how your business fulfills and complements the needs of their particular lifestyle.

Find out how you can put your data to work in Massa & Company’s retail furniture presentation, “Breakthrough Results.” Click here for your FREE copy.

The following post was written by Bonnie Massa, President at Massa & Company.

Turning Data Into Furniture Sales

Articles in Turning Data Into Furniture Sales