Many points of sale across different retailers have similar characteristics and can be analyzed as a cluster for strategic purposes. Even more so, oftentimes retail chains develop different store formats that offer unique concepts to consumers. These cases of store clusters may require a dedicated merchandising plan from the supplier side. Analyzing store clusters or subsets of a chain can help you inform a wide range of operations - from inventory and assortment planning to marketing tactics and promotional plans.

You’ll be able to answer these questions after reading this article:

1. How can you compare different store clusters within the same chain? 
2. How are new store formats or concepts performing vs. the parent chain? 
3. What characterizes stores that are located next to a major retailer/ in downtown areas/ in rural areas?

Get started with the following steps:

Step 1: Create a new tag to group your stores of interest

A tag is a Placer tool that allows you to name and group any combination of stores, then use that collection for future analyses across the Placer platform. For illustration, we will look at the performance of Kohl’s stores vs. Kohl’s location that had introduced a Sephora store-within-a-store cocept, to understand how this strategic initiative has impacted foot traffic.

a. Navigate to the My-Zone section and click on My Tags in the left sidebar. Then, click on Create a New Tag.

b. Give a name to the new tag (Mom-and-Pop, New Store Layout, 2022 Grand Opening Stores, etc.), then click Done.

c. Click Add Venue and input all relevant POIs^{Point of Interest} .

d. Once all POIs have been added, click Done. The tag will now display and track all stores in a single view.

Pro Tip: Once a tag is created, the tag will appear under My Tags. Also, for all other members of your organization, the tag will automatically become visible under Company Tags. Users in your organization can view and use tags that you have created but cannot edit or remove them.

Step 2: Analyze the performance of the tagged stores as a custom chain

Once grouped into a custom tag, the stores can be viewed as any standard chain within Placer, helping you analyze YoY trends, visitation trends, visits share, and more.

a. The tag list includes visitation metrics and comparison to a previous period, as well as visit % share.

b. To analyze the tag, click on View as a Chain at the top right. The tagged stores will load as a custom chain.

c. In the Chains section, you may further analyze the performance of the cluster or compare it to the ‘parent’ chain or comparing chains. To compare, simply click the “+” to choose a chain, then click on Update Report.

‍