How to assess a location before opening a store

Start with the decision you need to make

Before looking for premises, write down the business you want to open, its intended customers and the constraints it must meet. A neighbourhood shop and a business people travel to deliberately may need different catchments. Treat this as a hypothesis to test within your project: the customer and purpose of the visit guide how you read the area.

Prepare a shortlist of addresses and the information you need: asking rent, floor area, access, actual availability and condition. Territorial analysis adds context and helps organise the comparison.

Define a consistent catchment

In Theorem©, start with a point and configure the area reachable using the travel modes and times available in the configurator. It follows the travel network and may differ from a circle or a neighbourhood boundary.

When comparing addresses, use consistent business categories, modules and catchment criteria. Record changes: a difference in results may also reflect the configuration.

Read population, competition and context together

• •Demographics: describe who lives in the territory considered. ISTAT territorial bases and census variables distinguish census sections and other subdivisions: check the indicator’s geographic level.
• •Competitors and points of interest: help explore the offer recorded in the data. Check the relevance, location and current situation of businesses that matter to your project.
• •Pedestrian passages: when included, these are estimates. Turning a passage into a visit or purchase requires a separate assessment.
• •Property listings: add information about the offer found. Asking price, agreed rent and the total cost of opening are different quantities.

The Data sources page explains origins. A source being available does not mean that all its data is present in every catchment.

A clearly fictional interpretation example

Imagine two addresses for a neighbourhood shop. The first has more residents in the chosen catchment; the second is near a transport stop and has a lower asking rent. Who would buy, how would they reach the premises, and which costs would fit the operating plan?

Use the comparison to prepare a site visit. Observe access and passages at relevant times, inspect the premises and compare costs with the operating plan. The example illustrates a reading method; it does not describe a customer or an economic result achieved with Theorem©.

From comparison to the next step

Theorem© brings maps, indicators and summaries together in a report you can view and export. Choose useful modules and review the quote before starting. Read the results alongside the site visit and the project’s economic and technical checks.

To see this process applied to your area, book a free demo: the meeting includes an area analysis and a report to keep.