All companies that wish to reach specific consumer groups with their branch locations, business sites and advertising are faced with the all-important "where" question. GfK GeoMarketing's demographic data provides answers to this question, revealing the locations of specific target groups throughout Germany.

When Dirk Siebert talks about "his" shops, he often alludes to things that sound like minor details. The 46 year-old regional head of a convenience store chain talks to employees at their respective store locations about shelving strategies as well as the placement and arrangement of special spaces. With its large department stores and discount supermarkets, Siebert's company has successfully established itself in a niche market, which is no easy feat. "Even though our offerings are competitively priced, we can't - and don't want to - match the prices of the heavily discounted venues," explains Siebert. "We therefore have to convince customers that they are receiving a quicker, more comfortable and higher-quality shopping experience than that offered by the discounters." The customer should feel that he's accessing the right products in the right place at the right time. The GfK Demographics dataset played a significant role in the success of the convenience chain. The dataset allowed the company to custom-tailor its sales locations based on the socio-demographic profile of the population in surrounding areas.

Convenience stores have relatively high overhead costs comparied to similarly sized locations. This is a result of longer hours, more complicated product logistics and higher rents due to being located near transportation hubs. At the same time, a convenience store's catchment area is very small and the potential clientele consequently varies significantly. These characteristics give convenience stores the opportunity to strongly orient themselves according to local needs. Knowing the demographic characteristics of the population is thus essential for locating and tailoring to a specific target group. Determining the types of households in the area in question is key - for example, are there predominantly singles or multiple-person and family households? The age profile of the area around a grocery store retailer is also a major factor. Additional factors include the shopping behavior associated with the living situation of the nearby population. While many aspects of location evaluation are best assessed on-site, a significant amount of information can only be obtained from regionalized market data. An-other advantage of this kind of data is that it is comprehensive and prepared according to a unified standard, which means that it supports comparisons: "The GfK data are indispensable for assessing the surroundings of a specific store in such a way that this evaluation is meaningful when compared to other locations," explains the company's head of expansion. "While we maintain a consistent look and product line offering across all our branch locations, we tailor our special offers and impulse products according to the characteristics of the local population. It's precisely these products that most help us cover our overhead costs."

The GfK Demographics dataset is calculated from a wide variety of sources, including a comprehensive address databank as well as a household model developed by GfK. The household numbers from the address databank are adjusted according to those from the most detailed available microcensus level. The microcensus is a household polling carried out by the authorities for statistical purposes. The polling involves contacting 1% of Germany's representative households on a yearly basis for the purpose of generating a socio-demographic profile of the nation. Addition-al private data sources (address data) are consulted to provide household profiles that include information on the type of resident (single, families with children, immigrant families, etc.). The evaluation of 40 million actual age entries makes it possible to reliably determine age, even within a small geographic area.

Income bracket is determined, in part, by official statistics (microcensus) as well as socio-economic data on income levels and consumer spending (GfK Purchasing Power plays a role here). These characteristics are determined through the use of multi-variable statistical methods (including, among others, factor and regression analyses) and are available down to the level of street segments. Thanks to this approach, the GfK Demo-graphics dataset is ultra-precise while upholding the data protection law: The data do not contain any information on specific individual persons or households. Even so, the absolute and percentage values contained in the dataset provide a precise accommodation and income profile of a given street, neighborhood, city district and entire municipality.

This wealth of information doesn't just benefit grocery store retailers. The GfK Demographics dataset provides an indispensable planning foundation for all companies that wish to optimally tailor their products and services to local consumers. For all companies in the B2C sector, this versatile dataset provides support for a full spectrum of tasks, including the planning of delivery logistics, placing and distributing advertising media and managing location-specific products. In addition to retail companies, banks, insurance companies and associations use GfK Demographics - for example, for planning assignments or catchment areas. All users of the dataset profit from its comprehensiveness and precision as well as from the annual updating of the entire dataset.

Questions? Contact Alexandra Deutsch at +49 (0)7251 9295170 or a.deutsch(at)gfk-geomarketing.com