{"id":2455052,"date":"2024-08-21T11:15:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2455052"},"modified":"2025-09-02T16:02:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T23:02:23","slug":"huff-model-uc2024","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/health\/huff-model-uc2024","title":{"rendered":"Use the Huff model to affirm site selection in Business Analyst Pro"},"author":78361,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37171,28211],"tags":[774872,771172],"industry":[],"product":[36711,36561],"class_list":["post-2455052","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-health","tag-esri-user-conference-2024","tag-huff-model","product-bus-analyst","product-arcgis-pro"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":10262,"user_firstname":"Darren","user_lastname":"Cook","nickname":"Darren Cook","user_nicename":"dcook","display_name":"Darren Cook","user_email":"dcook@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2019-12-03 15:51:19","user_description":"Darren is a Product Engineer on the Business Analyst team. He enjoys the collaborative process of creating features that enable Business Analyst customers to model their vision of success.","user_avatar":""},{"ID":78361,"user_firstname":"Gemma","user_lastname":"Goodale-Sussen","nickname":"Gemma Goodale-Sussen","user_nicename":"ggoodalesussen","display_name":"Gemma Goodale-Sussen","user_email":"ggoodalesussen@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2020-08-06 15:49:58","user_description":"Gemma is a writer at Esri, focusing on content for the ArcGIS Business Analyst team.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Did you catch the Huff model demo at UC 2024? Read on for step-by-step instructions on the workflow.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

ArcGIS Business Analyst includes many tools to assist in decision-making, especially when it comes to choosing a location for a business or service facility. You might use Business Analyst Web App to perform a smart map search or suitability analysis that will identify the top locations for your enterprise, and even rank them to pick the best one.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2456072,"id":2456072,"title":"Image1_2","filename":"Image1_2.png","filesize":205179,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/health\/huff-model-uc2024\/image1_2","alt":"Suitability analysis showing final ranked sites","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image1_2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2455052,"date":"2024-08-09 21:31:24","modified":"2024-08-09 21:31:38","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1485,"height":810,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":253,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":419,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","large-width":1485,"large-height":810,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","1536x1536-width":1485,"1536x1536-height":810,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","2048x2048-width":1485,"2048x2048-height":810,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2-826x451.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":451,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image1_2.png","wide_image-width":1485,"wide_image-height":810}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

But how do you go from \u201chere\u2019s my best guess based on local demographics\u201d to modeling sales potential of the new location and gauging its impact on existing locations? How can you land on a solid confirmation of your choice, supported by business data?<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

See suitability analysis in action by reading Identify the best location for an urgent care center<\/a>.<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

One approach is to bring your analysis into Business Analyst Pro and use the Huff model<\/a> to project demand and potential sales of your new location. This model allows you to attach specific, data-driven probability to a candidate location and present real-world statistics to stakeholders. The model creates probability rates that indicate the likelihood that consumers will choose this new location over the other existing locations. These rates are created for all areas of the market, defined by the extent of the Sales Potential features parameter in the tool.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2465702,"id":2465702,"title":"Image2_2","filename":"Image2_2.png","filesize":193769,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/health\/huff-model-uc2024\/image2_2-2","alt":"Huff model results","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image2_2-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2455052,"date":"2024-08-21 15:06:26","modified":"2024-08-21 15:06:37","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":602,"height":285,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":220,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","medium_large-width":602,"medium_large-height":285,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","large-width":602,"large-height":285,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","1536x1536-width":602,"1536x1536-height":285,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","2048x2048-width":602,"2048x2048-height":285,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","card_image-width":602,"card_image-height":285,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image2_2.png","wide_image-width":602,"wide_image-height":285}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

 <\/p>\n

Huff model demo at UC 2024<\/h2>\n

If you attended or livestreamed Business Analyst sessions at this year\u2019s User Conference, you likely encountered the Huff model in the \u201cArcGIS Business Analyst: An Overview\u201d demonstration. The session walked through the process of siting an urgent care center in Fresno County, California. Below, you can follow along with the demo using step-by-step instructions.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

Huff model demo at UC 2024 followed these steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Obtain or set up quantitative data of interest, such as sales.<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Define your areas of interest, such as Block Groups in Fresno County, and enrich them using the quantitative data.<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Add candidate location and existing locations.<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Set up and run the Huff model using distance and attractiveness.<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Interpret the results.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Set up sales data<\/h3>\n

    The goal of a Huff model analysis is to learn the probability that people in your region will visit your location, based on how far the new facility is from them as well as how attractive the facility is (more on attractiveness later). At the end, you\u2019ll have percentages that indicate the likelihood of customers visiting. However, you\u2019ll also be able to extrapolate other useful information from this probability. That information can be anything quantitative: potential revenue, number of visits, etc. In Huff model parlance, this is the \u201cSales Potential Field.\u201d As long as you have that numeric data, you can use the Huff model results to estimate it.<\/p>\n

    In the demo, we used a custom variable we\u2019d prepared beforehand\u2014total urgent care revenue for all the block groups in Fresno. That way, when we calculated the percentage of customers that would visit a new urgent care location, we could also extrapolate to understand how much revenue the customers would bring to the new facility.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2465712,"id":2465712,"title":"Image3_2","filename":"Image3_2.png","filesize":25844,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/health\/huff-model-uc2024\/image3_2-2","alt":"Data browser showing custom data","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image3_2-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2455052,"date":"2024-08-21 15:06:49","modified":"2024-08-21 15:07:05","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":335,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":259,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":335,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","large-width":600,"large-height":335,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":335,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":335,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","card_image-width":600,"card_image-height":335,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image3_2.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":335}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

    Don\u2019t be fooled by the name! \u201cTrade areas\u201d in Business Analyst Pro refer to any geographic polygon, including rings, drive times, and geographic boundaries.<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Enrich areas of interest<\/h3>\n

    With our sales potential variable in hand, we\u2019re now ready to sketch in the contours of our area of interest, Fresno County. What is the urgent care revenue in each block group of the county? Let\u2019s add it to the map by mapping the block groups and enriching them with the variable. For this, we\u2019ll use the Generate Standards Geography Trade Areas<\/a> geoprocessing tool.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Open the tool from the Trade Areas toolset (or simply search the name), then choose Block Groups<\/strong> as the geography level. Under Geography IDs List<\/strong>, click the folder to browse all block groups in the U.S. (Make your way along the following folder path: US by BlockGroups > California > Fresno County, then select all. You\u2019ll have 637 block groups.)<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2464872,"id":2464872,"title":"Image4_2","filename":"Image4_2.png","filesize":96222,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/bus-analyst\/health\/huff-model-uc2024\/image4_2","alt":"Selecting all block groups in Fresno County, California","author":"78361","description":"","caption":"","name":"image4_2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2455052,"date":"2024-08-20 22:42:48","modified":"2024-08-20 22:43:09","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":393,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","medium-width":398,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":393,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","large-width":600,"large-height":393,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":393,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":393,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","card_image-width":600,"card_image-height":393,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Image4_2.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":393}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Name the layer something logical, like FresnoBGs. Now we\u2019ll open the Enrich Layer<\/a> tool and use it to append the urgent care revenue variable to these block groups. Once you\u2019ve opened the tool, set the input features to your FresnoBGs layer and click the Add<\/strong> button next to Variables<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    In the data browser, navigate to the variable you want to use for sales potential or whatever numeric attribute you\u2019re interested in, such as customer visits.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

    Tip:<\/strong> You don’t have to have custom data in hand to make use of the Huff model. Business Analyst data spans a plethora of useful collections. Other (non-custom) variables you could use in this scenario:<\/p>\n