We have entered the era of “location analytics,” the ability to use mobile devices to measure the impact of digital marketing on store visits and to gain unprecedented insights into consumer activities in the “real world.” One of the leading companies in that realm is Placed, which has just created what it calls the Placed 100.
Placed 100 is described by the company as “a definitive monthly ranking of the most popular businesses in the US based on visitation.”
Placed uses an opt-in consumer panel of smartphone owners to track real-world store visits and behavior. Its location panel consists of half a million opt-in users. The company says the panel is broadly representative of the larger smartphone user population (over age 13).
According to the ranking, Walmart is the most visited business in America, followed by McDonald’s. In fact, fast food or QSR locations comprise six of the top 10 most visited places in the US. Rounding out the top 10 are Walgreens, Target and CVS. Number 50 is Barnes and Noble, while the YMCA ranks at 95.
One could make several jokes about what this reflects about Americans and the culture at this moment in time. Regardless, the data are extremely valuable and part of a market-transforming trend to connect the digital and offline worlds using smartphones.
Clicking through on each brand/business yields further details about its users and their affinities. For example Walgreens shoppers, according to Placed, are also likely to have the Groupon and Kroger apps installed and bank with US bank. These affinities are also based on observed behaviors and shopping patterns from its opt-in panel.
You can access the full Placed 100 list here.
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