Finding the right retailer to complement your center’s tenant mix consists of more than crossing your fingers, then plunging into an internet search for likely candidates. You need data, and plenty of it. This means you also need access to a quality database.
A basic database should, at minimum, offer C-Suite members, headquarters locations and the number of operating O&O or franchisee units. However, a high-quality retail database will provide enough information for precise insights into your potential tenants. When it comes to selecting the right database, you need to be sure that database offers two components: accuracy and timeliness.
Retailsphere’s database offers an array of information; facts and figures that are both accurate and timely.
Every retail database company will say they are accurate and that they offer the best, most complete data. They have to say that -- they wouldn’t be in business, otherwise. A quality database will go the extra mile to ensure accuracy. Retailsphere ensures the integrity of its information through the following:
Original data attribution/source links. Data doesn’t come out of thin air. There is always an original source backing that data, such as a document, website or information from a phone call or email contact. Knowing the original source of information is important in a quality retail database; it tells you that the information has reliable backing. Retailsphere obtains its vast array of facts and figures through data mining, web crawlers, crowdsourcing and researcher phone calls. All sources are clearly indicated on the Retailsphere platform, many with links to the original content, just like the fee information below.
Ample, complete information. When you log on to the Retailsphere platform to research a national brand, franchisor or real estate company, you have immediate access to plenty of intelligence, statistics and analysis. Each home page offers contacts to the real estate decision makers (including direct phone numbers and email addresses), along with unit locations, space preferences, target demographics -- and more. Additionally, that information can be cross-referenced to customer relationship management software for tracking, follow-up and analysis. You have the option of either using Retailsphere’s CRM platform linking to your own.
In-depth, competitive analysis. Just knowing the name of your tenant and what it sells isn’t enough to make a profitable, bottom-line decision about whether to include that retailer in your community center or lifestyle property. An understanding of the tenant’s space requirements is important, as is the competition, expansion plans and even customer perception. Retailsphere provides all of this -- and more. For example, Google maps allow you the opportunity to “place” your potential tenant and nearby competitors within a target demographic, while the proprietary Temporal Sentiment Analysis gathers reviews off Facebook and Google, providing customer interaction and feedback with the tenant’s brand.
Your retail database might offer you access to the most in-depth, granular, competition-focused information available. But if that data was collected in 2017, it won’t do you much good in 2020. Even worse -- you might not even know how old that data actually is. A quality database will go beyond dropping the information into your computer, and will let you know exactly when that information was collected, and logged. Here’s how Retailsphere does it.
Clear timestamps. Retailsphere timestamps all data additions and updates, documenting the information clearly and legibly. If a Retailsphere researcher talks to an AutoZone franchisee in Mobile, Alabama at 2:03 p.m. on Weds., July 8, 2020, that is the information you will see on the AutoZone data platform. You will know, at once, how old that data is. Similarly, if the platform has information pulled from public filings, like the financials below, the date of that filing is clearly indicated on that piece of data.
Continual refreshes. While Retailsphere’s team of researchers is dedicated to finding up-to-date intelligence, data is also frequently renewed with help from automated methods and searches. The most recent information, and when it was found, is also clearly delineated on Retailsphere’s platform.
Regular contact updates. There is nothing more frustrating than finding the name of a corporate contact on a database and calling the number, only to find that the person no longer works for the company -- and, in fact, left long ago. Retailsphere avoids this dilemma through frequent phone calls to corporate contacts, as well as direct, crowdsourced information from local markets, via the platform’s feedback mechanism.
The above outlines the essential requirements for a quality database. Retailsphere offers all of the above, as well as the following exclusive elements.
Customized research, on demand. If you find Retailsphere’s information incomplete for your purposes, you can click on the “Request Research” button on the page, and type in the data you need. When you press “send,” that request goes directly to a live, trained researcher, who will find the specific data you need and return it to you within 24 hours. Plus, you get access to a full call log, so you can see how the information was gathered.
Easy-to-navigate interface. An important aspect of any database is the ability to easily access and analyze information. Retailsphere’s platform is easy to navigate, while offering clearly categorized intelligence.
Before you begin researching potential retail tenants, it’s important to do some due diligence on the company that is supplying the data. Just as important is taking time to study the type of data that is being provided, as well as when it was gathered, and how it is presented.
Most retail databases will offer the basics. But, the end goal of finding the right tenant is to ensure the right fit which, in turn, means a better bottom line. Ultimately, your quality retail database should provide the most accurate and timely information available, to ensure you can make the best, most profitable decisions for your property.
Retailsphere goes above and beyond to provide the most up to date and accurate retailer database. Sign up today for a no-obligation demo and see how much simpler your tenant search can be.
