How to choose a foot traffic data provider

The location intelligence market has grown significantly. So have the options.

If you're evaluating a new foot traffic data provider, two questions may be high on your list:

1. Am I paying for more than I actually need?

And, particularly if you're a consultancy:

2. Does my location intelligence provider support my client relationships and business model?

We hear both questions frequently.

Pine59 takes a deliberately focused approach. We provide aggregated location intelligence about places and populations, with flexible access for companies that want to use that intelligence in their own analytics, products and client work.

Here's how we'd think about the choice.

Are you paying for more than you need?

Location intelligence platforms have become increasingly sophisticated, combining foot traffic analytics with growing ecosystems of datasets, applications, integrations and services.

For many organizations, that breadth is valuable.

But not everyone needs it.

If what you actually need is reliable foot traffic, trade areas, demographics, visitor profiles and other aggregated location intelligence, the question is whether you need to pay for a broader platform to get it.

Pine59 is deliberately focused.

Our aim isn't to reproduce every feature offered by every location intelligence platform. It's to provide high-quality aggregated location intelligence at an affordable price, with the flexibility to use it where you need it.

So if your current subscription or renewal is getting difficult to justify, compare what you actually use, not simply feature lists.

Switching providers could give you the location intelligence you need at a price that makes more sense.

A different model for consultancies

There's another reason we're hearing from companies evaluating alternatives, particularly consultancies.

A consultancy doesn't buy location intelligence primarily to understand its own business.

The data is an ingredient in the value it creates for its clients.

That makes the relationship with the data provider important.

Pine59 is partner-first by design.

We want consultancies to use our aggregated location intelligence to build their own analysis, methodologies and services. Our role is to provide the data and intelligence that makes your work better, while you build and own the client relationship.

Your client. Your analysis. Your relationship.

When evaluating a location intelligence provider, don't compare only datasets and dashboards. Ask how the provider fits into your business model.

Can you use the insights in client work? Can you combine them with your own analysis and IP? Can you build repeatable services around them? And do the commercial terms still work as your client base grows?

For a consultancy, those questions can matter as much as the data itself.

But does the data stack up?

Price and partnership only matter if the underlying data is good enough.

Pine59 builds on more than a decade of location intelligence experience.

Our offering includes foot traffic, trade areas, demographics, visitor profiles, visit length and visitor journeys.

In the U.S., Pine59 uses SafeGraph Places as its underlying POI dataset, providing extensive coverage from major chains down to individual locations, including stores within larger places such as malls. You can also draw custom boundaries to analyze the places that matter to you.

And rather than asking you to trust a carefully selected sales demo, we'd prefer you test it yourself.

Dashboard, data or both?

How you access location intelligence matters too.

Pine59 provides three ways to work with our data:

• Insights gives business users a visual platform for maps, trends and analysis.
• Console lets analysts and developers explore the underlying datasets.
• APIs let you integrate Pine59 directly into your own analytics, products, data pipelines and AI.

This is particularly important for consultancies and data teams.

We don't want the value of Pine59 to stop inside a Pine59 dashboard. We want our intelligence to become part of the work you're already doing.

Is Pine59 the right alternative for you?

The choice comes down to what you actually need.

If you need a broad platform with a large ecosystem of applications, datasets and services, Pine59 may not be the right fit.

If you're primarily looking for high-quality location intelligence at a more affordable price, Pine59 is worth evaluating.

And if you're a consultancy looking for a location intelligence partner that supports your work and your client relationships, we'd particularly like to talk.

Don't take our word for it, test our products and find it for yourself.

Bring us the locations and use cases you already know. We'll give you access to explore Pine59 against them before you decide.