GapMaps, a cloud-based mapping software specialist helping organisations with network strategies and location intelligence planning, has released GapMaps Live so brands make even better physical location decisions, faster.

Accessible via a single sign-in, GapMaps Live is an easy-to-use platform for brands to validate and make important location decisions with increased confidence and reduced risk. This is possible based on the ability to visualise in maps a range of critical data sets that may include geographic, demographic, economic, customer or competitor intelligence.

“We have more than 500 brands using GapMaps Live across a range of industry sectors where a physical location is required,” says Toni Newell, GapMaps CEO, Australia. “This includes fast food and quick service restaurants, cafés, healthcare and medical, fitness and wellbeing, childcare, allied healthcare, retail, supermarket and grocery, service stations and convenience stores.

“After two years of lockdowns, brands with physical locations are now in a very different operating environment, with population movements and new hybrid working models all having a major impact on physical location decisions.

“We’ve observed worker migration from the CBDs into the suburbs, which is having a profound impact for brands in finding the optimum locations for their operations. With GapMaps Live, they can quickly access the latest resident and worker populations and other demographic data right down to a very granular level to confidently make accurate location decisions,” adds Newell.

Advanced data visualisation features

A new feature in GapMaps Live enables brands to see their whole portfolio across different geographies to easily visualise, analyse, and compare all locations in the platform. This ensures growth, investment or divestment decisions are supported by a comprehensive range of location insights. In addition, organisations can customise GapMaps Live, such as visualising sales and performance data across all their locations.

“GapMaps Live has advanced location metrics tagging to filter and visualise locations on a range of specific factors. This may include asset or store type, operating hours, seating capacity or the property value,” continues Newell. “Additionally, for greater mobility, the GapMaps Connect mobile app enables customers to update location details in real-time whilst on the road, such as adding photographs and notes on specific locations.

“Brands can also see in detail how customers interact with locations and better understand the competitor landscape.”

Visitation Data is another powerful new feature to turn mobile device data into business insights, ensuring brands have the most up-to-date view on customer travel patterns. This gives important insights on understanding where existing customers travel from and to when visiting their own locations, as well as competitor catchment locations to easily identify growth or optimisation opportunities. The platform also illustrates how a new location may impact a brand’s existing network or individual locations, and measure competitor proximity to an existing or proposed site.

Customers benefiting from evidence-based decision-making

Hose and fittings experts, Hydraulink Fluid Connectors, which has an extensive network throughout Australia and New Zealand, says GapMaps Live has enabled greater precision in its decision-making and provided the opportunity to create and adjust areas that are more precise for their customers, and a stronger grasp of the demographic information.

“The creation of maps couldn’t be simpler and the addition of layers with different area data, such as regional or district, means we can create what we need in just a few simple clicks. The fluidity and ease of use within GapMaps Live and its new features has vastly improved our location decision-making,” the company said.

Removing the guesswork

“Our goal at GapMaps is to help our customers remove the guesswork on physical location decisions,” says Anthony Villanti, GapMaps’ Managing Director and Founder. “Since inception, our growth and success are due to the accuracy and the sophistication of our mapping software so brands can quickly analyse all the essential data and facts needed to choose the optimum physical location specific to their business needs.

“GapMaps Live is our most powerful mapping-platform release and enabling clients to manage their entire network of locations, whether in Australia, India, the Middle East, South-east Asia or South Korea, to ensure their business success.

“The ability to access key intelligence data in granular detail to know where their target customers are located, and analyse what competitors are doing to uncover opportunities for expansion or optimising their network, means brands can act with powerful knowledge and tremendous flexibility to find the right locations.”

GapMaps’ clients contributing to the company’s growth and benefitting from the powerful data insights GapMaps Live provides includes brands like Domino’s, KFC, Starbucks, Burger King, Subway, McDonalds, PureGym Ektimal, Anytime Fitness and Goodyear.

“The pandemic has created an environment where global and local brands have used the time to reset, rethink and reassess their network planning strategies and physical location decisions,” adds Villanti.

“As a result, they are now active in expanding their physical networks across existing and new markets and GapMaps Live will play a strategic role to inform those decisions.”