Category: Resources

After several dispiriting years of pandemic-related travel restrictions, tourism in Europe is back in full swing and booming more than ever this summer. With the revival of this important economic sector, local businesses in tourism-focused industries such as dining and hotels are experiencing significant growth. The European Travel Commission estimates that tourists will contribute a record €800 billion to Europe’s economy this year—a 37 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels.

While the surge in visitors is not without controversy for the countries hosting them, the influx of tourists is undeniably revitalizing the tourism sector in ever-popular destinations such as London, Paris, and Rome, as well as emerging hotspots in southern and eastern Europe. 

This raises the question: what does the economic boom look like on the ground? By analyzing our Point-of-Interest (POI) data, we’ve uncovered trends in business growth across the region, particularly in Paris. The city is currently welcoming athletes, their families, and fans from around the world for this year’s Summer Olympic Games. 

Regional Trends To Watch

The highest growth percentages in the total number of business locations since 2023 paint an interesting and dynamic picture of recovery. Which regions ended up at the top of the lists? For our analysis, we categorized European nations as follows:

• Northern Europe: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, United Kingdom, Ireland
• Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Switzerland
• Southern Europe: Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City
• Eastern Europe: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine
• Southeastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia

Across Europe, three regions lead in the growth of new restaurant and bar openings: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeastern Europe. This surge likely reflects tourists’ desire for diverse culinary experiences while traveling abroad. These same three regions also top the list for new bar openings, highlighting their vibrant nightlife and social scenes, which attract both locals and tourists.

In the travel sector, including hotels and tourism agencies, the most significant growth has occurred in Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Southeastern Europe, demonstrating a strong rebound in the hospitality industry. The influx of tourists to these regions has also driven the highest growth in transportation, underscoring the need for efficient and expanded transit options for visitors. 

As for shopping, new retail businesses have flourished in Western Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Southern Europe, driven by increased tourist spending. The entertainment and recreation sector has experienced the highest growth in Western Europe, Southern Europe, and the Nordics, reflecting a higher demand for a variety of leisure activities in those areas.

Hot-Off-the-Press Country Trends

What does the data tell us about the tourism recovery landscape at the country level and its impact on local economies? Let’s examine the growth of tourism-focused businesses across various European nations.

If you’re curious about the latest trends in the European dining and bar scenes, Serbia, Italy, and the Netherlands are leading in new restaurant openings, followed closely by Ukraine, Germany, and France. Serbia, Italy, and the Netherlands are at the top for new bar openings, with Belgium, Ukraine, and France seeing significant growth in places to enjoy a drink with friends and locals. 

As expected, the enormously popular tourist destinations like Italy, France, and Greece are at the forefront of travel-related business growth. Italy and Serbia lead in the transportation sector’s growth, followed by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Greece.

Retail business growth has been most notable in Serbia, the Netherlands, and Italy, followed by France and Germany, where tourists’ shopping habits are undeniably contributing to the sector’s expansion. Finland, the Netherlands, and France lead in entertainment and recreation business growth, with Italy and Serbia also seeing increases. These countries, already popular with tourists, are enhancing their appeal by offering a wide range of recreational activities to tourists.

Where to Find the Most Bars and Restaurants

For travelers seeking the most diverse and vibrant bar scenes in the E.U., Italy, Spain, and France are top destinations for raising a glass, followed closely by the United Kingdom and Germany. If dining out is a top priority while on vacation, Germany, France, and Italy offer the most restaurant options, while Spain and the United Kingdom are next in offering visitors a rich array of culinary options.

Spotlight on Paris

Paris is in full hosting mode for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which is already having a significant impact on tourism-related sectors.

Out of all the travel POIs, which pinpoint businesses such as lodging and travel agencies, 9 percent have opened since 2023, marking the highest number of recent openings in any category. The transportation sector has also seen substantial growth, with 7 percent of new openings in relation to other categories, reflecting preparations for the influx of visitors for the Games. Dining establishments have seen 5 percent of openings relative to other areas, and the number of bars has accounted for 4 percent of new openings, giving visitors more options for meals, aperitifs, or late-night celebrations of Olympic victories. Finally, Paris’s retail footprint accounted for 6 percent of openings, as the city strives to meet tourists’ insatiable appetite for shopping in the City of Light.

A Glimpse into the Future

As the data clearly shows, the resurgence of European travel is fueling significant growth across multiple tourism-related business sectors. The increase in business locations, particularly in dining, bars, travel, transportation, retail, and entertainment and recreation, highlights these industries’ ability to bounce back and thrive after extremely challenging times.

Paris, with its preparations for the Summer Olympics now coming to fruition, provides an excellent example of how major events like the Games can accelerate growth in tourism-adjacent businesses. These trends not only reflect the current state of the tourism industry in Europe, but also indicate a future where travel and tourism continue to play a vital role in Europe’s economic landscape. As the tourism sector evolves, paying attention to these trends will become increasingly important, providing crucial insights into where people are headed and how businesses can adapt to meet their needs.

According to real estate experts, location is everything. And this phrase is just as true for retail as it is for the real estate industry. 

Data-driven decision-making is essential for making sure you’re positioning your business for success. Whether you’re looking to expand your presence abroad or begin opening new stores domestically, global point of interest (POI) data and analytics are essential tools for making the right geographical decisions for your company.

Let’s explore some of the most common use cases and applications for retail datasets. 

What Is Retail POI Data?

Point of interest data is information about a specific physical location. A POI can be any location someone finds interesting, such as a retail store, hospital, restaurant or grocery store.

4 Use Cases for Retail Location Data

Businesses can use data in many creative ways, but here are the top four use cases for retail companies.

1. Selecting a Store Location

When expanding your business or moving your store to a new area, you want to make sure you’re setting up shop in a profitable location. Retail store location data can help you choose the ideal spot.

Site analysis can help you evaluate whether a site is right for your business based on factors like:

• Competition: One of the most important parts of a site selection analysis is making sure you’re not moving into an area that already has a high concentration of competitors in your sector.
• Nearby businesses: POI data can help you understand what businesses outside your sector your target demographic likes to visit and how far they are from your location.
• Residential areas: Having residential neighborhoods near your chosen location could help you attract customers who don’t want to go too far from their homes to shop.

Ultimately, the goal of site analysis is to find a location that has a sizable population of your target customer base with few competitors.

2. Analyzing Competitors

Competitor analysis is vital for getting a leg up over the competition in a specific location. Some important questions POI data can answer include:

• What about your competitors’ physical stores is attracting your customers? 
• Are they in a good location with supporting businesses nearby? 
• Is their store near a residential or commercial hub? 
• Do they advertise well to the customers in the area? 
• How many of your other competitors are close by?

The more you know, the easier it will be to determine where you need to stake your new location.

3. Enhancing the Customer Experience

POI data is a great tool for gaining insight into customer preferences and behaviors. 

Retail store location data can help you provide a more fulfilling customer experience at existing and new locations by:

• Navigation: Customers should be able to find and travel to your store quickly and easily. POI data can help you choose a convenient, highly visible location within a short distance of your target market, or other businesses they frequent.
• Geotargeted marketing: Accurate, up-to-date location intelligence enables you to take advantage of cutting-edge advertising techniques that appeal specifically to customers in an area. 
• Location trends: Where do your customers prefer to spend their time? What hot businesses are in your area? POI data can help you leverage these insights to keep your target market engaged.
• Region-specific offerings: Understanding your customers is essential for effective localization. This information can help you tailor product and service offerings for each country you operate in, appealing to local tastes and meeting customer demand.

4. Optimizing the Supply Chain

Thanks to e-commerce pioneers like Amazon, customers now expect to receive deliveries in just a few days.

POI data can also help you leverage your geographical location to shorten lead times and improve order fulfillment for customers living nearby. If you’re trying to decide where to put a distribution center, warehouse or other logistical facility, a thorough site analysis using retail POI data can help. 

For example, an e-commerce company could use retail POI data to find an ideal lot for a warehouse that’s close enough to the business’s target market to meet customers’ increasingly high expectations. 

Additionally, POI data that updates in real time can enable your company to provide customers with live order tracking. Customers can rest assured knowing valuable purchases are safe and on the way, which is one of the best ways to improve the delivery experience.

Finding Good Retail Datasets: Tips and Tricks

When buying POI data, you must ensure that the dataset is accurate and well-maintained. Here are some tips you can use to find the best data for your intended application:

• Check for data quality: Request a free sample from your data provider to make sure the dataset is complete, current and accurate. If you have any questions, reach out to the provider’s customer service department for more information.
• Make sure it offers wide coverage: Whether you’re looking to expand internationally or gather intelligence on your nearby competitors, you’ll need to ensure the datasets you use cover the areas you need. 
• Ask about licensing terms: Your data needs will vary depending on your intended use case, so it’s important to make sure you’re only paying for the data you use. A provider that offers flexible licensing plans can help you ensure your investment aligns with your goals.
• Choose a trustworthy provider: While open-source data sets are more cost-effective, they’re often riddled with errors and outdated data points. Instead, look for a paid data provider that updates their data in real time to ensure you always have access to the most recent information.

If you’re looking for a dynamic, cost-effective and accurate source of high-quality POI data for retail stores, dataplor is the data provider for you.

Get Quality POI Data for Retail Stores From dataplor

The right data makes an enormous difference in the success of your business. Working with a reliable POI data provider is the only way to get the data you need without worrying about inaccuracies.

At dataplor, we combine powerful AI capabilities with an international team of human validators to ensure your retail location data is always accurate and up to date. Our data covers more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, so you can gain insight into points of interest virtually anywhere on Earth.

Contact us today to speak with one of our experts or request a free data sample to see how dataplor can help you reach your business goals.

Third-party logistics (3PL) businesses can reap many benefits from leveraging points-of-interest (POI) data. Industrial POI sites include manufacturing plants, warehouses, factories, distribution centers, power plants and refineries, among other facilities. 

Access to comprehensive POI data can transform and revolutionize your daily operations, helping your business verify its partners and optimize its planning to streamline logistics. These insights also enable 3PL companies to cut costs and deliver outstanding customer service, supporting greater satisfaction and ultimately protecting your bottom line. 

Explore some key use cases for POI data in the 3PL industry. 

7 Use Cases for 3PL POI Data

Industrial POI datasets include a wide range of valuable insights, including but not limited to site coordinates, names, addresses, size, capacity and operational status. 3PL businesses and researchers can leverage this data to enhance operations.

Explore some key applications of POI data for logistics companies.

1. Optimizing Route Planning

Points-of-interest data is an incredible tool for 3PL companies looking to optimize route planning. Some of the key insights used to determine the most advantageous and time-saving route include:

• Customer locations.
• Traffic patterns.
• Traffic congestion.
• Delivery constraints.

This information enables your business to create highly efficient delivery routes. By carefully planning which directions your drivers take and finding the path of least resistance, your third-party logistics company can save significant costs thanks to factors like reduced fuel consumption and overall efficiency. 

Plus, you can support shorter delivery times and boost customer satisfaction. Having POI data tools that provide updates in real time is also highly advantageous, especially for adjusting driving routes in response to changing road conditions to remain on schedule and combat frustrating delays. 

2. Geofencing and Location-Based Services

Third-party logistics businesses can also utilize geofencing and location-based services to supercharge route planning and enhance operational visibility to support better overall asset and resource management.

Geofencing refers to a technology that allows users to establish virtual boundaries around physical locations. Your 3PL company can set up geofences around POIs, like your distribution center or warehouses, to track the following in real time:

• Shipments
• Arrivals
• Departures 

You can leverage these tools to receive automated notifications based on driver proximity to different locations, increasing visibility into your operations. 3PL businesses can capitalize on location-based services powered by points-of-interest data to personalize and enhance customer experiences through:

• Tailored recommendations.
• Optimized service deliveries. 
• Enhanced delivery insights.
• Targeted engagement.

3. Market Analysis

POI data is an incredible tool for third-party logistics companies looking to perform an extensive market analysis to learn more about current market trends, customer behavior and competitor strategies. Your business can use POI insights in its market analysis to:

• Identify market demand: Analyzing POIs can help you determine which regions feature the highest market demand for your logistics services.
• Assess competitor locations: Your business can utilize POI data to better understand competitive dynamics and establish strategies to differentiate your services from others in the market. 
• Optimize network design: POI data can help your 3PL company determine the best transportation networks to supercharge efficiency, cut unnecessary costs and enhance service coverage. 
• Demand forecasting: Historical points-of-interest data can offer a glimpse into the future, helping your business anticipate market demand for logistics. 
• Expansion opportunities: POI data also give 3PL companies insight into opportunities for expansion based on factors like gaps in existing logistics infrastructure and historically underserved regions. 

4. Risk Management

Third-party logistics businesses can also leverage POI data to boost risk management in their operations. Points-of-interest insights help companies identify, assess, manage and mitigate various risks. 

By analyzing the regions around key POIs, your company can assess supply chain vulnerabilities and high-risk areas that could negatively impact operations, such as severe weather, high theft rates or geopolitical events.

Route optimization empowered by POI insights can help combat risks by ensuring your drivers take the safest routes based on real-time data. 3PL companies also use POI data to monitor vehicle movement, ensure regulatory compliance and determine tailored insurance coverage based on area-specific risks. 

5. Customer Segmentation

Points-of-interest data also allow 3PL businesses to segment their customer base to increase their understanding of their target market’s behaviors, preferences and needs. This enables you to better serve your customers and drive growth.

Segmenting helps businesses tailor their logistics services to meet customers’ unique needs. You can determine which level of service they require, such as:

• Standard shipping.
• Special handling.
• Expedited delivery.

POI data offers valuable insight into delivery points, transportation hubs and distribution centers. This information, paired with predictive modeling tools, can help your company accurately anticipate customer behavior and future logistics needs. Taking a proactive approach to customer segmentation can help you meet changing customer demands and remain competitive in your market.

6. Supply Chain Management

3PL POI analytics can completely transform your business’s supply chain management strategy. After a few turbulent years for the global supply chain, third-party logistics businesses learned the value and importance of taking a data-backed approach to mitigating risks and optimizing operations. 

By closely analyzing POI data, 3PL companies can determine an optimized network design and align inventory with customer demand patterns. Access to real-time POI insights on shipment statuses, vehicle locations and potential delays can help your business make more informed decisions and proactively respond to disruptions, minimizing their impact on your customers.

7. Last-Mile Delivery Optimization

The final stage of the delivery process is integral to supporting optimized efficiency and operations. POI data and real-time tracking solutions help 3PL businesses determine the best possible routes to ensure timely delivery. These insights allow your business to share accurate estimated times of arrival for deliveries to your customers, considering factors such as customer locations, distance from POI and traffic conditions.

Consumers have high expectations, especially for last-mile delivery services. They expect communication and convenience regarding their deliveries. POI insights enable your company to minimize travel time and guarantee more on-time deliveries to boost satisfaction. 

Contact dataplor to Leverage Location Intelligence for 3PL

If your business is looking to take advantage of POI data to supercharge your third-party logistics services, turn to the products from dataplor. 

With dataplor’s global geospatial data, you get access to valuable real-time insights about everything from local manufacturers to optimal distribution routes. Third-party logistics companies can strategically supercharge operational efficiency and enhance their bottom line. Our POI data offers comprehensive location intelligence so you can make informed decisions, improve resource allocation and cut unnecessary spending.

Are you ready to get started? Contact dataplor to speak with one of our data experts today.

Point-of-interest (POI) data refers to a type of geospatial data that offers valuable insight into customer behavior. A POI can be any location, such as a business, attraction or facility, that may be of interest to a particular consumer, brand or decision-maker. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies can leverage POI data to supercharge their operations and foster greater scalability. 

POI data amplifies your CPG strategy by helping your business drive informed decision-making based on location-specific consumer insights. Explore how to use POI data for the CPG industry below.

7 Applications of CPG POI Data

POI data offers a look into the minds of consumers and what destinations they find appealing, and there are many ways for businesses to capitalize on these insights. Check out these advantageous CPG POI data use cases below:

1. Effective Market Analysis

Consumer packaged goods companies can utilize POI data to conduct a more comprehensive market analysis that encompasses key locations, such as retail stores, supermarkets, distribution centers or malls. Your business can use these insights to identify trends and gaps within your designated market. 

With greater awareness of the current market and customer preferences, your business can better understand where the greatest market opportunities are worldwide and where it is most beneficial to invest your time and money.

You can save valuable time and resources by diligently scouring POI data and using your findings to inform future decision-making before expanding your offers or trying to get your products in a new store. 

2. Targeted Marketing Efforts

Businesses can benefit from exploring both POI data and other CPG data sources, such as sales and social media insights, to inform their marketing efforts. 

POI data offers unparalleled insight into popular destinations and venues where your target consumers are spending their time and money. Getting to know your target market better through these metrics and segmenting that audience helps you cater to their unique wants and needs as a business. 

CPG brands can leverage POI data to deliver more personalized content, advertisements and product recommendations to the right consumers based on their preferences and behaviors in specific areas. 

Learning more about where your target consumers frequent can supercharge the impact of your brand’s marketing initiatives and campaigns.

3. Optimized Distribution Strategies

CPG brands can experience many unique challenges when looking to reach new audiences in different locations to expand their distribution. Having access to a comprehensive CPG POI data set enables businesses to identify the following:

• High-traffic locations
• Popular venues
• Optimal delivery routes
• Peak delivery times 

These insights are highly valuable for determining strategic and informed distribution plans that empower optimal efficiency, reduce distribution costs and ensure your business is meeting target consumers in places where they are already spending their money. 

By improving these logistical processes, brands can also foster optimized supply chain management, supporting greater scalability and long-term growth. POI data can help you avoid spending money on distribution to locations where your target customers are not currently exploring, saving time and resources you can invest in getting your products in the right locations instead.

4. Comprehensive Competitor Analysis

Point-of-interest data can also be highly beneficial for conducting a comprehensive competition analysis in the consumer packaged goods industry. Your brand can explore valuable insights about their competitor’s distribution strategy, such as:

• Store locations
• Market presence
• Consumer reach
• Plans for expansion

Gathering insights about competitor brands is easier than ever with the help of advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence, that can collect and analyze data more accurately and efficiently than a human. 

With a greater understanding of your competitors, your business can effectively identify opportunities for improvement and the tactics that give you a competitive edge in your specific industry.

POI data also enables CPG brands to determine where there are gaps in the market and the destinations where their products can shine.

5. Accurate Sales Forecasting

Another key application of consumer packaged goods POI data is effectively predicting future sales. By closely analyzing the location-specific insights from POI data, businesses are better able to predict demand, adjust inventory levels and optimize production.

With more accurate forecasting capabilities, your brand can anticipate consumer needs, make strategic decisions to foster greater satisfaction and protect your bottom line. 

When your company knows what to expect from consumers, it can deliver the right products at opportune times in the most profitable locations.  

In addition to informing resource allocation and saving your brand significant costs, accurate forecasting can help your business identify new opportunities for growth and mitigate potential risks.

6. Enhanced Merchandising and Assortment Planning

Point-of-interest data also helps consumer packaged goods brands optimize their merchandising and assortment planning strategies. Your business can analyze POI data to gain a more in-depth understanding of your target consumer’s preferences and shopping patterns at various locations. Using these insights, your company can then tailor the available product assortments and placements to optimize sales. 

Brands can also leverage POI data to determine which promotional strategies are most advantageous for meeting consumer wants and needs in different locations. 

POI insights offer direction for product selection, placement, price and promotion. Tailoring your merchandising tactics to the point of interest can help your business optimize its in-person presentation to supercharge sales.

7. Strategic Product Launches

Finally, you can also leverage CPG POI data to identify key locations for new product launches. If your business is interested in testing ideas and seeing how different merchandise performs, paying attention to POI insights can help you determine where to sell your latest goods to gain product exposure and boost initial sales. 

Analyzing this data can help consumer packaged goods brands strategically approach new launches in the destinations where they are most likely to perform well and reach the intended consumer. 

Kickstarting the sale of brand-new items in the wrong locations can cost your business in the long run. POI data gives you a holistic view of the market so you can set your product launches up for success and work off that momentum to drive revenue.

Contact dataplor to Start Leveraging Location Intelligence Across the World

If you’re looking to maximize the use of POI data for your consumer packaged goods brand, turn to dataplor. We can help you take advantage of robust artificial intelligence-driven resources and location-based insights from hundreds of locations in real-time.

dataplor helps businesses identify new opportunities to supercharge growth and achieve new levels of success with unmatched global POI datasets. We offer the most comprehensive data available to help your brand increase sales, outdo the competition and make smarter, data-backed business decisions.

Are you interested in learning more? Contact dataplor to connect with our data experts today. 

Many have wondered in recent years whether retail is experiencing a slow demise at the hands of online shopping. We took a look at some data to explore this question, and found a few interesting links between consumer trends and population migration. What does this tell us about the types of changes that are underway in retail?

We’re seeing an expansion boom among more affordably priced stores like Burlington and Marshalls, and a trend of new store openings across the board in smaller cities as opposed to major metropolitan areas. It’s clear that location is key: while stores have closed, a closer look speaks to a repositioning of many brand footprints. Let’s drill down into what’s happening and what it all means.

Where Have All the Shoppers Gone?

While the shift to online shopping during the pandemic caused some anxiety in the retail sector, in-person shopping has not only rebounded—it appears to be thriving. Across seven brands studied—Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Marshalls, Kohl’s, and Burlington—there were approximately 380+ store openings from 2020 to the present. The store growth rates appeared to peak in 2022 and were followed up by a leveling-off in 2023. 

The question: where, exactly, are shoppers going for these in-person experiences? And what are they looking for? 

The Answers Are In the Data

Consumers want to shop at stores that carry quality, trusted brands while not spending more—or traveling farther—than they have to. As a result, retailers are responding to demand for more budget-conscious shopping options. Burlington opened the most stores out of the seven studied during the 2020-present period, with roughly 281 store openings during that time, followed by Marshalls with about 64.

Next, we can see that store openings have been concentrated in suburban locations as opposed to major cities. The data reveals roughly 330 store openings in smaller cities and suburban areas, compared to about 59 openings in major cities (population above 600,000). With the success of these store openings in suburban locations, we can conclude that consumers want in-person shopping experiences—without breaking the bank—in the places they live. And retailers have been paying attention.

The Brand Follows the Consumer

As they say, the brand follows the consumer, and consumers have been on the move. This trend has informed a broader strategy by retailers to tap into emerging markets with growing consumer bases. While several major cities have seen lower rates of population loss over the past four years, and in some cases have even rebounded slightly since 2020, much of the population growth in the U.S. has been concentrated in lower-density outer suburbs.¹

With more people living (and likely working from home) in areas outside of large metro centers, retailers are seeing a ripe opportunity to open new stores in the places where people now live. While some shoppers may still enjoy visiting a flagship store in a major city where they can have a unique experience, they also value time and convenience, a need that retailers are responding to with success.

Location Data: The Key to Business Strategy

It’s clear that location data is crucial to driving growth opportunities, cutting out guesswork and giving retailers a competitive edge. With access to accurate, nearly real-time POI location data, retailers can gain insights into customer trends and develop strategies based on that data. With a finger on the pulse of consumer trends, retailers can meet shoppers where they are while staying ahead of the game.

With dataplor, you’ll get the right insights. Learn more about our dynamically updated location intelligence here.

Data is one of the most valuable commodities in business today, and open-source data is one of the easiest ways to get the information you’re looking for. But is free really better when it comes to data? When compared to paid data, open-source data may seem like the biggest bang for your buck. However, paid data provides various advantages above open-source options, often making it well worth the fees to access it.

Understanding how the two compare can help you make the right choice for your business.

What Is Open-Source Data?

Open-source data is data that anyone can access, modify and distribute. It can come from various sources, including government agencies, private companies and non-governmental organizations and nonprofits. 

Some well-known examples of open-source databases include: 

• The U.S. Census
• FiveThirtyEight
• Pew Research Datasets
• Yelp Open Dataset
• International Monetary Fund
• OpenStreetMap

Many open-source datasets are free to use, while some sources place theirs behind a paywall. However, all open datasets must be available in a format that users can easily access and modify — most often as downloadable documents distributed over the internet.

The Benefits of Open-Source Data

Weighing the pros and cons of open-source data against those of paid data providers will help you determine which is the better option for your organization. Here are the most significant advantages of using open-source data:

Accessibility

When it comes to open-source data pros and cons, the biggest pro is its accessibility. Open-source databases are readily accessible online, making them an easy source of information for anyone who needs it. 

Since most open-source datasets are free, your organization can save valuable time and money you would have spent collecting it yourself.

Greater Engagement

Many open-source data initiatives come from specific communities, which can help your organization identify opportunities for building better connections with those groups.

For example, if you’re considering expanding into a certain region, point of interest (POI) data collected from local communities can help you better understand the area and its unique characteristics.

Deeper Transparency

Because open-source data is so readily available, it creates a clear line of sight for everything related to the issue or topic it addresses. For community members, this visibility means greater accountability for policymakers and other leaders. From a business standpoint, it gives you a top-down view of your market, which can help you build more effective marketing and growth campaigns.

The Cons of Open-Source Data

With those pros in mind, it’s important not to overlook the issues that come with open-source data. Some of the biggest risks of open-source data include:

Data Quality Issues

Using inaccurate data to inform strategic decisions can cost your business hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost profitability. Few international open-source providers have centralized control over their databases, which makes it more difficult to conduct regular quality checks of all datasets.

As a result, large databases tend to suffer from regional inconsistencies in data quality, such as:

• Improper schema implementation
• Missing data points
• Invalid or incorrect values
• Issues with precision
• Duplicate data
• Bias

Of course, there are plenty of open-source databases that publish reliable information — however, due to the lack of frequent reviews, it’s often a better idea to treat them as a jumping-off point for your research rather than your only source.

Data Manipulation

Because anyone can edit open-source datasets, users can skew the data for an ulterior motive, such as:

• Gaining a competitive advantage: Businesses might alter the data to sabotage their competitors or to improve their own image. 
• Influencing user behavior: People use open datasets like OpenStreetMap to find businesses nearby. Altering the data can steer users toward specific products and services and away from others.
• Pushing a business or political agenda: Companies and political organizations may manipulate data to support their viewpoints or push their products and services.
• Causing disruption: Malicious actors may manipulate open data to create confusion and disrupt operations. For example, inaccurate data can impact navigation for people using open mapping data to find businesses in their area.

Outdated Information

One of the biggest issues with open-source data is that open datasets are rarely current. The U.S. Census is a great example, as the database only updates once every 10 years.

Although some open-source projects might update more frequently, this task often falls to volunteers who may be inexperienced with large datasets and metadata. These individuals can accidentally introduce errors into the data that could seriously alter the results.

Pros of Third-Party Data Vendors

Although open-source data has many advantages, its limitations mean it’s not often the best choice for business decision-making. Here are some of the reasons a paid data provider like dataplor might be a better source for POI data:

Accuracy and Quality

A reliable data vendor leverages all its resources to ensure you’re using the most accurate, complete and up-to-date data possible. 

At dataplor, for example, our in-house team of international data scientists and analysts uses a combination of proprietary machine learning technology and local expertise to review and resolve data quality issues in near real time.

Cost Savings

While it may sound counterintuitive, investing in good data can help you save money in the long run. Using data from a reputable source can help you avoid the kinds of missteps that could cost your organization hundreds or even thousands of dollars. 

More importantly, though, quality data can guide you toward business decisions that:

• Optimize operational efficiency
• Inspire greater customer loyalty
• Boost overall profitability
• Unlock new revenue streams
• Spark innovation

As a result, you save more over time, giving you a notable return on your investment.

Cons of Paid Data Providers

The main consideration is that you will need to pay some kind of fee to access and use the data. Some providers operate using a subscription model, where your monthly or annual fee gives you access to all available datasets. Others charge according to usage. 

However, it’s important to remember that you are paying for a quality product. Paid data providers have the resources to update and maintain their datasets frequently, so you always have accurate data at your disposal.

Trust dataplor for High-Quality Global POI Data

Free doesn’t always mean better. Although open-source data can be a useful tool when beginning research on a specific POI, investing in quality data from a reputable source is the way to go to make more informed decisions and minimize risk.

Subscribing to dataplor gives you access to location data you can trust. Schedule a consultation today to request a free data sample tailored to your company’s unique goals and requirements.

By Geoff Michener, CEO and founder, dataplor

Today marks a significant milestone in dataplor’s journey—we have successfully closed our $10.6M Series A funding round led by Spark Capital, a pivotal step as we continue our mission to deliver the most accurate Point of Interest (POI) data available, empowering enterprises to make better decisions and drive growth across global markets.

From the outset, dataplor was built on the belief that accurate, reliable, and privacy-first location data was missing from the global market. We aim to help companies uncover hidden opportunities and build stronger relationships within the worldwide business community.  Estimates show bad data costs the market nearly $7 trillion annually. Many providers claim to offer comprehensive global coverage but lack the expertise and verification measures to deliver highly accurate datasets. This problem is particularly pronounced in developing countries, where up to 70% to 90% of international location data contains inaccuracies.

Building the infrastructure to curate an accurate, global dataset

Even from the earliest days of our first Minimally Viable Product (MVP), we’ve seen the value that international POI data can unlock for businesses, and our approach of including humans in the loop has been validated each step of the way. Building a robust product and team was critical in our early growth. We also found our sweet spot of using both technology—AI algorithms for gathering data, de-duping it, finding errors, etc.—and expert human validators as the key to building accurate data at scale. Creating the infrastructure for scaling this global product could not have been done without the collective effort of the dataplor team’s diverse talents and dedication. As we continued to see interest from customers and drew support from early investors, we grew our business. Now, we’ve curated a dataset that encompasses over 300 million POI records across more than 200 countries and territories and counting. 

Our unique approach ensures that our datasets are highly accurate, complete, and continually updated in real time. We have developed an industry-leading quality control system that combines hundreds of sources, reviewed by our in-house data scientists and analysts. dataplor is used by strategic decision-makers in retail, mapping, consumer packaged goods, and quick-service restaurants, among other growing industries. We count dozens of Fortune 500 brands among our customer base, and we envision this funding carrying our work to new heights.

Maximizing humans in the loop

Uncovering data and intelligence is a profoundly human exercise. However, empowering the hundreds of dedicated individuals contributing to our data verification efforts requires blending their expertise with the right technology. As dataplor continues to grow, our commitment to delivering superior global data remains unshaken. We achieve this by bringing together a world-class team of data specialists. Our team is dedicated to consistently providing exceptional products and experiences, driven by their expertise and adaptability, to meet the needs of our valued customers. The dataplor team’s collaborative mindset and innovation have been crucial in blending advanced AI with human insight to refine our data accuracy. As we expand, we aim to continue recruiting smart and innovative individuals who can contribute to our growth.

We invested early in using machine learning to efficiently process billions of data points, map patterns, and break down information so it’s most useful for our customer base. Our deep learning technology gives global location intelligence to any brand worldwide, opening a new perspective to assessing brand performance and new opportunities. Our funding empowers us to continue investments in new technologies that will scale the work of our human intelligence gatherers and analysts.

Future growth with a privacy-first approach

We’ve taken pride in launching and scaling a platform with efficiency. But even as we scale, our commitment to a privacy-first approach remains unwavering. In an era where data privacy is increasingly under the spotlight, we believe it is not only possible but essential to collect and utilize data responsibly. 

At dataplor, we don’t utilize any personally identifiable information (PII) in our data collection practices. Our datasets are sourced through direct contact with a place, or through publicly available data, without using PII or engaging in individual tracking through phones, apps, or other devices. This approach aligns with our ethos and also benefits our customers by ensuring they don’t have any legal or regulatory challenges from using data that breaches privacy best practices.

A future of superior location intelligence

I’m thankful for the leadership of Alex Finkelstein at Spark Capital, Quest Venture Partners, Acronym Venture Capital, Circadian Ventures, Two Lanterns Venture Partners, APA Venture Partners, and ffVC for leading this round. This key milestone was only possible because of our team’s commitment and dynamism; I look forward to seeing the new challenges we take on together. 

With this new funding, we’re poised to explore new frontiers, tackle bigger challenges, and deliver even greater value to our customers. We’re thrilled about the new opportunities ahead.

Point-of-interest (POI) data underpins many of the technologies businesses use to innovate, grow and complete everyday operations. You’ll find it across industries, powering everything from consumer-facing tools to complex competitor research — but how exactly does it benefit organizations?

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of POI data, its challenges and what makes it such a valuable resource for most businesses.

What Is POI?

Point-of-interest data contains information on physical places and their value to the public. These places might be helpful, necessary or interesting, including locations like stores, restaurants, gas stations, hospitals and parks. POI data can also include context on the locations. For example, it might collect information on how long customers spend at a place or create a picture of competing locations.

Many businesses use POI information to create databases and maps that inform various processes for learning about the market, consumers and competitors. Some of these applications include:

• Selecting sites for expansion or investment.
• Monitoring consumer behaviors across locations.
• Performing competitor and market analyses.
• Calculating and evaluating transit and logistics routes.
• Informing strategic planning demands.
• Finding the most profitable operating hours.
• Building tools, like interactive maps and location-based advertising notifications.
• Predicting potential risks and planning accordingly.
• Advertising in the right ways to the right people.

POI can be extremely detailed, facilitating powerful insights and tools. It usually identifies various data points via the North American Industry Classification System.

Why Is POI Data Beneficial for Businesses?

POI data’s many capabilities make it a wide-reaching resource for businesses of all types. The pros of POI data range from growth opportunities to competitor insights. Here are a few POI data benefits for businesses:

1. Improved Decision-Making

POI data can provide real-time insights into various factors to support informed and effective decision-making. Your team can confidently make choices, like where to focus marketing or which route to use, based on accurate and up-to-date information.

2. Streamlined Business Processes

Collecting data individually is highly inefficient and would likely require a limited scope or extensive resources. POI data is ideal for assessing vast amounts of information quickly and feeding it into complex calculations.

POI data can also facilitate faster operations through tools like route planners and maps. Visualizing POI information and integrating it with your business processes can drastically improve your speed.

3. Optimized Resource Allocation

Most of your business decisions will require time and/or money, and one of the biggest pros of location intelligence is its ability to minimize those costs. You can better control expenses like inventory practices, project budgets and staffing requirements.

POI data also helps improve the profitability of your efforts, such as when choosing an effective location for an ad campaign. 

4. Better Audience Insights

Location intelligence offers a much deeper understanding of your customers, as you can explore overarching behaviors and preferences. POI data aggregates many types of information, allowing you to tailor your business decisions to consumer needs.

Say you want to open a new location for a restaurant. You could use POI data to see how many competitors exist in a given area and whether consumers like them. If customer satisfaction scores are low, perhaps you can fill a need in the area — or identify a problem with the location. Marketing campaigns are another great way to learn from POI data.

5. Competitive Advantages and Opportunities

When you can offer a better customer experience, like through more relevant services or tools, you can build loyalty and improve your market share. POI information gives you an edge over the competition while helping you stay agile in evolving market conditions. With a creative approach to using POI data, you can often find opportunities that other businesses are missing.

6. Effective Competitor Research

Similarly, POI is a great way to conduct competitor research. Just as you might research your own performance, you can use POI to assess your competition, scoping out opportunities and possible challenges. Explore their physical locations, where they’re branching out, who’s growing quickly and other aspects of their operation.

With a comprehensive approach, location data can help you differentiate your business.

7. Risk Prevention

Get ahead of threats with a better understanding of your environment. Whether making investments or operational decisions, location intelligence can help you spot trends or potential roadblocks. Avoid financial problems, reputational damage and other avoidable issues.

Top Challenges of POI Data

While the benefits of POI data are plentiful, it also comes with some challenges.

1. Quality

Low-quality data can affect the utility of your information. If it’s inaccurate or incomplete, you can’t make decisions with confidence. For instance, a data set with plenty of entries might not be as helpful as it seems if most of its attributes are blank. Bad POI information could put business-critical judgments at risk.

POI data should offer appropriate coverage in relevant areas and use intelligent validation measures to confirm the information. Local expertise through a human review process can add an extra layer of quality control.

2. Recency

Location intelligence must also be up-to-date. Many fast-changing factors can affect your analyses, such as seasonal trends and industry developments. Some POI data providers offer updates as infrequently as once a year. Real-time updates are much more reliable.

3. Standardization

Many location information systems do not use the same formats or models, and the data sets might not be compatible with each other. Additionally, some organizations have different ideas of which places or attributes are valuable. The information may not be helpful if your data provider doesn’t collect locations or details that are important to your needs.

4. Collection Methods

POI information can come from many places. With data privacy top of mind for today’s consumers and businesses, your intelligence must come from ethical and legal methods. With 72% of Americans supporting more regulation for data protection, a responsible approach is crucial for avoiding legal challenges in the future.

Finding a Location Intelligence Data Provider

If you want to maximize the benefits of POI data, you’ll need to choose a data provider to address any potential challenges. Some aspects to look for in a provider include:

• Robust quality control, including human oversight and multiple validation steps.
• Extensive brand data and global location coverage.
• Real-time updates for reliable, more accurate insights.
• Comprehensive and helpful metadata, like confidence scores and consumer preferences.

Maximize the Benefits of POI Data With dataplor

At dataplor, we bring comprehensive, quality location information to one place. Businesses across industries use our POI data for everything from predicting success to uncovering new opportunities. dataplor spans over 200 countries and territories and leverages powerful AI-driven resources to achieve unparalleled accuracy and insights.

Whether you want to expand into new areas, build an existing audience or achieve another goal we’ve mentioned, dataplor can help. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can make the benefits of POI data a reality for your organization.