The Real Deal

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The science of finding where the shoppers are

From the March issue: Why is Pottery Barn moving to Brooklyn Heights but not to Astoria? Why does Park Slope have numerous Starbucks while there are none in nearby Fort Greene? And why are store clerks in Williamsburg suddenly asking to know your zip code? The one word answer is psychographics, an art/science that uses the growing mountain of consumer data now available to help retailers, and marketers in particular, make decisions about real estate. Analysts use psychographic information to define consumer categories, which are often given colorful names such as "Shotguns and Pickups" and "Blue Blood Estates." The results are used to decide where to locate stores, restaurants, banks and even medical facilities.