Choosing the right location can make or break a retail business.
And retail site selection consultants play a vital role in this decision-making process. They specialize in identifying the locations with the best performance potential by analyzing customer penetration, competition, area draw, and other important factors. These experts ensure your retail business thrives by aligning the site choice with your long-term strategic goals, making their insight indispensable for any successful retail operation.
Why Do You Need a Retail Site Selection Consultant?
A retail site selection consultant provides critical expertise in crafting a location strategy that aligns with your business goals. Whether you’re expanding into new markets or infilling existing markets, the insights from a seasoned consultant can make the difference between success and costly mistakes.
For instance, if you’re entering a competitive market with limited available space, a consultant can analyze customer penetration, cotenancy, and competitor locations to pinpoint the ideal site. Additionally, when considering multiple locations, a consultant can offer data-driven evaluations to help you select the best one.
Moreover, these consultants bring a level of analytical expertise that is often beyond in-house capabilities, ensuring that your location decisions are strategic and future-proof.
Questions to Ask When Choosing a Retail Site Selection Consultant
Hiring a retail site selection consultant is an important decision. That’s why, when choosing a retail site selection consultant, it’s crucial to ask the right questions to ensure their expertise aligns with your business goals.
A well-qualified consultant should provide insights that enhance your decision-making process, helping you select optimal locations that drive growth. Assessing their experience, methodology, and approach will give you a clearer picture of their capabilities. Here are five questions to ask as you evaluate candidates.
1. Does their level of support match my needs?
There is a full spectrum of support levels offered by retail site selection consultants today, from self-service to full-service. The right consultant should complement your team's size, expertise, and capacity, easing the workload where needed. In other words, the consultant’s support should align with your internal needs. Evaluate how well each consultant can bolster your teams without overextending internal resources.
2. How advanced is the analysis that they conduct?
Consultants will conduct some form of analysis to help you evaluate potential sites, but the type of analysis may vary. Is the analysis simple “napkin math” based on demographic data that you could do yourself, or does it use advanced statistical methods and datasets that help you understand a site’s potential in more detail? High-quality site selection consultants typically offer more sophisticated analysis, providing a deeper understanding of the site’s potential.
High-quality consultants also go a step further, leveraging advanced analytics platforms that not only answer your immediate questions but also allow for ongoing analysis. This technology enables continuous refinement of your strategy, rather than relying on a one-time assessment.
3. Does the firm have my long-term interests at heart?
Great site selection consultants care more about your long-term success than short-term gain. This means they offer unbiased advice and refrain from pushing certain sites that offer them financial benefits. As you evaluate firms, consider whether they own property or are affiliated with a brokerage network.
4. Do they approach site selection from a retailers’ mindset?
The best site selection consultants are often those who have “walked the walk” and know what it’s like to open retail stores. This influences the type of recommendations that they make since they marry data with industry insights. To better gauge their expertise, ask them to share case studies of their work in the retail industry. Reviewing the case studies will provide a clearer picture of their process and the results they’ve achieved for similar clients.
5. How much experience do they have?
At the end of the day, a consultant’s level of experience is a defining factor in your success. Experienced site selection consultants have seen every type of site selection scenario imaginable and the final results of those decisions. This allows them to provide insights that less experienced consultants cannot.
A great site selection consultant will help you simplify the retail site selection process, maximize return on investment, and reduce risks. They help you do your work faster and with an improved level of accuracy.
Get Started with Buxton
If it’s time for your firm to hire a retail site selection consultant, consider Buxton. Our large support team, advanced analysis, unbiased recommendations, retail mindset, and more than 30 years of experience help our clients make confident growth decisions.
To learn more, contact us today.
Related: Retail Site Analysis Guide to Choosing the Right Solution Provider
