How mobility data is transforming retail strategy for C-stores

It’s one thing to know who has visited your store. It’s another thing to know where they came from, and where they are going afterward.

Those are the questions that mobility data – but not location data – can answer. “Location data [or footfall data] is good. Mobility data is better,” said Chase Davis, strategic solutions engineer at Arity. He says that mobility data, also known as driving data or driving behavior data, can “uncover growth opportunities that location data simply can’t see.”

With driving data, retailers can better understand their customers based on their end-to-end driving journeys. This newfound access to customers’ routes can help retailers more accurately segment their audiences and cater to the wants and needs of these consumers.

Mobility data, said Davis, offers opportunities that location data simply can’t.

Retailers can not only glean information about their current customers but also discover the potential customers who are passing them by.

Mobility data vs. location data for C-stores

Location data provides merely a glimpse of your customer activity, pulling data only three or four times a day. Davis said that location data “often [misses] the short, fast visits that define convenience retail.” The typical convenience store visit is under four minutes, according to research from National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS); this means that, when you restrict your line of sight to location data, you’re not seeing the full picture.

Mobility data from Arity, on the other hand, is continuous, high-frequency, and high volume.

• Arity has amassed over two trillion miles of driving data
• Arity receives signals every 15 seconds

Arity partnered with a quick-service restaurant (QSR) to analyze customer visits and discovered that its mobility data identified more than twice as many customers compared to traditional foot traffic data.

Driving data can reveal the C-store customer journey

Location or footfall data can capture how many customers come through the door. However, knowing where they have been and where they’re going illuminates the customer journey.

For example, are your ideal customers merely driving by your location, only to shop at a nearby competitor?

Mobility data and insights from Arity reveals the end-to-end customer journey – which could include insights about visitors to competitors. Retailers not only get line of sight into their own customer base but “can see the leakage rate of customers,” Davis explained.

Retailers can not only glean information about their current customers but also discover the potential customers who are passing them by.

Driving behavior data helps you see what you’ve been missing

Location data offers limited insight on consumers and their driving patterns. “The insights that come from sources like location data can often be delayed and fragmented,” said Davis. It’s designed to collect random pings from customers over time.” Traditional location or footfall data merely shows what has already happened which can lead to slow innovation cycles.

Mobility data, however, shows actual driving routes. With that information, C-stores can make strategic decisions based on real-world driving behavior and avoid distortions from less accurate data sources.

Conclusion

Today’s C-stores face many challenges – competition with QSRs, fewer trips to the pump, and more. Adopting mobility data is one way to not only reach your customers today but also to fit into their routes and routines well into the future.