Foot Traffic Study Shows Strong Correlation to Restroom Quality
BOSTON — Restroom quality and foot traffic have a strong correlation, according to the quarterly joint study examining foot traffic by GasBuddy and Cuebiq.
The latest footfall trend report looks at summertime trends across the United States, and how seasonality impacted offline consumer behaviors.
Leveraging Cuebiq's proprietary intelligence platform and data collection methodology, the companies analyzed anonymous geo-behavioral patterns of GasBuddy's app users, which allowed them to gain insights into its users' offline behavior such as frequency of station visits, fueling patterns, how long they spend at a location, and brand loyalty, and offered recommendations to make these insights actionable for retailers.
Key findings include:
Good restrooms are good for business. With drivers taking to the roads for summer trips, there was a strong correlation between restroom quality and foot traffic. The study analyzed nearly 61,000 stations near interstates and found that those with above-average ratings on GasBuddy saw a 33-percent increase in foot traffic over those with below-average ratings. The top-rated brands for restroom quality during the third quarter were Buc-ee's, Kwik Trip and Kelley's Market.
Summer was a time to shop and travel. The first three weeks of July were the most highly trafficked, and the final week of September was the least. From Q2 to Q3, the top categories for uplift in foot traffic were: leisure (59 percent), gas stations (56 percent) and economy hotels (51 percent).
Less repeat visits, more dwell time. As GasBuddy users traveled away from home, the percentage of users who visited stores once a week or more decreased 4.5 percent during the quarter. With stops to get snacks, use restrooms, and refuel, dwell time increased slightly with 70 percent of users spending more than 5 minutes at a store.
Meijer captures the top spot. Previously ranked second during Q2 2017 for the highest ratio of footfall per station, Meijer takes the top spot for Q3 — with more than four times the industry average. The previous winner, Ricker's, moves into a close second place.
The full report can be found here.
New York-based Cuebiq is a next-generation location intelligence company, leveraging the largest database of accurate and precise location data in the U.S.
GasBuddy, headquartered in Boston, is a smartphone app connecting drivers with the Perfect Pit Stop. With nearly 70 million downloads, it is a source for accurate, real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the U.S, Canada and Australia.