Get to Know Your Business Even Better with Grapevine Economic Development

Here at Grapevine Economic Development, we work together with entrepreneurs and businesses to build the City of Grapevine into one of the best, most unique cities in Texas. We aim to provide exceptional tools and services to help existing businesses thrive in our community so that they can grow, expand, and become more profitable.

This past November, we partnered with the Historic Downtown Grapevine Association (HDGA) to present data and insights about foot traffic patterns on Historic Main Street. To help downtown businesses make decisions about staffing, product ordering, operating hours, and even in-store events, these reports were made free of charge and customized to those vendors’ needs.

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It’s a common assumption that foot traffic trends jump during the holiday season. Most retailers and restaurants prepare for this with seasonal hiring, extended hours, and additional inventory. But by drilling data down to the hour, businesses can decide when to schedule breaks, which projects to do and when, and who they want to put on the schedule based on skills and support needed.

"You can't run a business just waiting for people to walk inside," said Stephanie Wells, store manager of The Spice and Tea Exchange of Grapevine. "The information and insights we've gotten from Grapevine Economic Development have helped us update our business hours to help the business thrive through the holiday season and beyond."

Well, that’s interesting…

Steven Jones, Market Research Manager for Grapevine Economic Development, has a knack for connecting data trends. By pulling together foot traffic patterns for Historic Main Street over a five-year period and using Grapevine’s SizeUp Tool, he uncovered some valuable in-the-moment trends.

No surprise: the holiday season is the busiest time of the year. The holiday season has a significant impact on Main Street business traffic. Visits tend to occur later in the evening, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and there is minimal traffic before 11 a.m. This data helps retailers know that they should adjust schedules and tasks to accommodate a larger crowd in the evening, open later, or even plan to complete more hands-on projects in the morning.  

Visits increase around mealtimes. For restaurants, this is obvious. But for retailers, many customers will browse nearby shops while waiting for a table or taking their lunch break. Prepping for the lunch and dinner hours with some extra employees or a delayed break schedule can ensure customers find what they’re looking for and have a great experience.

Tourism brings in significant business, but the local market provides stabilizing support. In Grapevine, locals support locals. Our business community offers a unique, one-of-a-kind shopping and dining experience that makes shoppers feel like family.

Weekends are prime hours, with Saturdays generating 25% of Main Street visits. Many businesses ensure they have adequate coverage on weekends. Mondays and Tuesdays tend to have the least foot traffic, so those are great days to get on-the-floor projects done, analyze the business, and plan for the upcoming weekend.

Main Street is a waypoint between home, work, travel hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, hotels, and restaurants. Customers are choosing to visit Main Street as a destination because of its proximity to those high-traffic areas. With multiple highways and a commuter rail system converging on Main Street, the Historic District is a prime location to catch travelers out and about.

How do I access this information for my business?

You can access key information for your business in a couple of ways. The SizeUp platform is available on our website. It’s free to use and is always available, so you can pull insights whenever you want. Here, you’ll find key analytics for your business by comparing your business with industry competitors. This can help you find potential customer segments, suppliers, and competitors, research the key demographics of your target customer, and measure your business performance against your competitors.

For more in-depth analysis, be sure to check our blog and drop in on local meetings hosted by the Department. We’re pleased to present high-level trends in a public format, and specific vendors can always request that a more customized analysis be presented at formal meetings such as HDGA or the monthly Economic Development Partnership Meeting hosted by your 5-Star Accredited Grapevine Chamber of Commerce.

We’re here to help you build and grow your business 

Grapevine represents the best of what Texas has to offer: a thriving historic downtown, an active and vibrant community, fantastic shopping, dining, and entertainment, and a coveted school district in the center of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

If you want to learn more about our services, please contact Grapevine Economic Development. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and sign up for our newsletter!

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