{"id":772278,"date":"2026-03-31T19:59:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&p=772278"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:04:17","slug":"rich-location-infused-business-data-informs-sound-strategies","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/rich-location-infused-business-data-informs-sound-strategies","title":{"rendered":"Rich, Location-Infused Business Data Informs Sound Strategies"},"author":6921,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10552,10842,369792],"tags":[275882,611,921,118382,1161],"arcnews_issues":[493400],"class_list":["post-772278","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arcgis-business-analyst","category-data","category-location-intelligence","tag-business","tag-business-intelligence","tag-disaster-response","tag-government","tag-retail","arcnews_issues-spring-2026","arcnews_sections-collaborations"],"acf":{"short_description":"Data from Esri partner Data Axle has more than 14 million verified business records with valuable information, such as sales volume counts.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Understanding the business landscape in a city or town is critical for decision-making in both the private and public sectors. Maybe an area has an abundance of senior living communities but a shortage of essential health-care services. Perhaps there\u2019s an empty storefront in a highly trafficked area, and there\u2019s an opportunity for a local business to open another location. Knowledge like this shapes business strategies. When business owners and government departments have access to business data, it can help them identify market gaps, validate expansion opportunities, and evaluate where to invest in infrastructure or services.\r\n\r\nEsri partner Data Axle supplies rich business information for the United States and Canada to ArcGIS Places, Esri\u2019s business-focused points of interest (POI) dataset that powers the ArcGIS Business Analyst group of products, including ArcGIS Business Analyst Pro, ArcGIS Business Analyst Enterprise, ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App, and ArcGIS Business Analyst Mobile App. The dataset features more than 14 million verified business records for the United States and Canada and includes valuable business-focused information such as employee and sales volume counts, business descriptions from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and specialty information.\r\n\r\nRead on to find out how various sectors can use Data Axle\u2019s business information in the POI search in Business Analyst."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772283,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Granular Business Data Promotes Rich Insight<\/h2>\r\nData Axle\u2019s business data goes beyond mapping business addresses. Each record includes business-type classifications\u2014independent, branch, headquarters, or kiosk\u2014plus estimated employee counts.\r\n\r\nBusiness-type classifications can help economic development teams provide targeted support for independent businesses. For example, if a county is launching a grant program for independent businesses with 10 or fewer employees, county staff can use Business Analyst to filter by employee count and business type, then visualize concentrations of these types of businesses using heat maps to guide outreach and engagement.\r\n\r\nPoints also show layered activity on a single property\u2014like when there\u2019s a coffee shop inside a grocery market or a pharmacy inside a general merchandise store. This granularity supports richer local business insights, including opportunities for strategic partnerships and increased brand visibility.\r\n

Retail and Real Estate:<\/u>\r\nConduct Highly Specific Searches<\/h2>\r\nThe new Nearby Analysis workflow in Business Analyst Web App allows users to quickly look at key measures, like store counts and concentrations of businesses, and compare these between different areas."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772284,"image_position":"center","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Retailers can leverage this workflow to assess development opportunities by analyzing proximity to anchor businesses\u2014such as big-box retailers or entertainment venues\u2014that drive foot traffic to nearby stores. Quick-service restaurant chains, for example, can evaluate competitive density within defined drive-time areas, uncover underserved markets, and combine demographic data with business intelligence to target expansion in areas with high potential.\r\n\r\nData Axle also provides proprietary eight-digit NAICS codes and specialty tags that enable highly specific searches. Instead of performing a search for \u201crestaurants,\u201d users can employ filters like \u201cfull-service breakfast\u201d or \u201cAsian fusion\u201d to pinpoint exact competitors. Retailers and real estate developers can perform site selection based on surrounding businesses, identify complementary businesses for mixed-use projects, and find secondary business types such as fitness centers that have a juice bar.\r\n\r\nBy combining detailed business classification, location intelligence, and visualization tools, this dataset empowers decision-makers to identify high-potential areas, streamline market analysis, and optimize growth strategies.\r\n

Health and Human Services:<\/u>\r\nAnalyze Health-Care Availability Against Need<\/h2>\r\nIn today\u2019s evolving health-care landscape, understanding health-care facility locations within a community is critical for effective planning and research. Data Axle business listings cover facilities that range from major hospitals to assisted-living centers. They\u2019re also tagged with rich specialty information, such as \u201cpediatrician\u201d or \u201coptometrist,\u201d to help with detailed analysis."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772285,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In Business Analyst, users can analyze these health-care facilities against critical demographic variables such as age, household size, income, and insurance status. For example, planners can map where senior populations live and compare that to existing facilities to pinpoint gaps in access. Similarly, hospital networks might discover that rural residents face long drives to the nearest urgent care. By layering POI data with household income and insurance coverage information, planners can prioritize where to open satellite clinics to expand their reach to economically vulnerable populations.\r\n\r\nThis data-driven approach enables hospitals, urgent care facilities, and senior-care providers to address service discrepancies, strategically expand, and deliver care where it is needed most.\r\n

Disaster Preparedness and Response:<\/u>\r\nPlan for Populations That Need Help During Extreme Weather Events<\/h2>\r\nNatural hazards such as floods, storms, and fires can cause costly damage and disrupt essential services like grocery stores and gas stations, leaving communities without access to food, medicine, and fuel. Understanding where these vulnerabilities exist is critical for decision-makers. Business location data, coupled with environment and natural resources layers from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, can help conduct this important analysis.\r\n\r\nDrought intensity, flood hazard areas, and storm reports layers\u2014all available in ArcGIS Living Atlas\u2014reveal zones that are at high risk of damage from natural hazards. When used in concert with Data Axle\u2019s business location data, users can see which hospitals, assisted-living facilities, fuel stations, and grocery stores lie within these zones."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772286,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"This gives local decision-makers a good idea of which populations may need extra support during weather events. Government agencies can identify where to make infrastructure improvements, emergency managers can pinpoint resource gaps, nonprofits and community groups can target outreach and preparedness efforts, and businesses can evaluate the risks for current and future operations.\r\n

Government and Public Works:<\/u>\r\nModel and Analyze Community Needs<\/h2>\r\nGovernment agencies\u2014from transportation departments to economic development offices\u2014rely on POI data to address diverse needs. They use it to model travel demand, identify food deserts, look up critical infrastructure, and streamline tax and revenue operations.\r\n\r\nWith POI data, agencies can conduct predictive analyses, such as benchmark comparisons or suitability reviews, to identify optimal locations for public facilities including libraries, parks, and community centers. They can also analyze the population\u2019s ability to access essential services like public transit, health care, and grocery stores.\r\n\r\nPOI data empowers government agencies to make informed, location-based decisions that improve service delivery, optimize resource allocation, and enhance residents\u2019 quality of life."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":772287,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Geographic Patterns Influence the Real World<\/h2>\r\nIn an increasingly data-driven world, location intelligence has become fundamental to robust decision-making across every sector. By integrating Data Axle\u2019s in-depth business data with ArcGIS Business Analyst, users can move beyond surface-level analysis and uncover the geographic patterns that drive real-world outcomes.\r\n\r\nWhether identifying underserved communities, mitigating disaster risks, optimizing retail site selection, or planning essential public services, combining authoritative business location data with rich demographic and geographic context can transform how organizations understand and respond to the needs of the populations they serve. By leveraging these powerful analytical tools, leaders can make more informed, strategic decisions that not only drive business success but also enhance community resilience, improve access to critical services, and contribute to an area\u2019s economic vitality."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nLocation-Infused Data Informs Sound Strategies | Spring 2026 | ArcNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Data from Esri partner Data Axle has more than 14 million verified business records with valuable information, such as sales volume counts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/rich-location-infused-business-data-informs-sound-strategies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rich, Location-Infused 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