The Challenge
Choosing where to open a new store is one of the most consequential decisions a retail chain makes, yet catchment analysis is often done with rough radius estimates instead of real travel data.
- Candidate site addresses need to be standardized before they can be analyzed
- Simple radius-based catchment estimates overstate or understate real customer reach
- Comparing multiple candidate sites for overlap and cannibalization risk is difficult without consistent drive-time data
- Slow analysis delays expansion decisions and increases the risk of choosing an underperforming site
The Autohive Solution
Autohive agents equipped with OpenRouteService give retail teams a faster, more accurate way to evaluate candidate store locations.
Key Feature 1: Candidate Address Geocoding
Agents convert candidate site addresses into precise coordinates, handling regional address variations so every site is analyzed consistently.
Key Feature 2: Drive-Time Catchment Mapping
Agents generate isochrone polygons around each candidate site, revealing the real drive-time catchment area rather than a simple radius.
Key Feature 3: Confidence-Based Quality Control
Any geocoded address below an eighty percent confidence threshold is flagged for review, ensuring site selection decisions rest on reliable location data.
Benefits
- Accurate catchment estimates - Understand true customer reach based on real drive times
- Cannibalization insight - Compare candidate sites to existing locations to spot overlapping catchments
- Faster site selection - Evaluate multiple candidates quickly instead of manually mapping each one
- GIS-ready outputs - Export clean GeoJSON data directly into your site selection and BI tools
How It Works
- Geocode candidate sites - The agent converts addresses into precise coordinates
- Generate catchment isochrones - The agent maps drive-time polygons around each candidate location
- Compare and decide - Catchment data informs population density analysis, cannibalization checks, and final site selection
Getting Started
- Sign up at app.autohive.com
- Connect the OpenRouteService integration from the marketplace
- Configure your automation to geocode candidate sites and generate catchment isochrones
- Deploy your agents to accelerate your next expansion analysis
