In doing research for clients, I’ve standardized my search criteria somewhat. Here are the objective things I compare.
- Size (in square feet)
- Rate (usually in dollars per square foot per year)
- Rent (in dollars per month)
- ADTC (average daily traffic count)
- 5-mile radius population
To find the first three (and sometimes the other two), google the address and the term “pdf.” This almost always reveals the flyer the property management uses to advertise the site and provides the information you need.
To find the average daily traffic count, check your state’s department of transportation site. Some of them are more complete than others, but if the address you’re searching doesn’t return a result, it’s probably too low to consider.
Here’s a sample header from a recent client’s plan, along with my summary:
My summary is highlighted in red, yellow, or green. A red summary is not recommended. A yellow summary could have potential, depending on the subjective parameters. Green summaries would be my first choice.
Why Traffic Matters
I believe this metric is not as important as it used to be. When I started gaming retail, if a customer didn’t know where a store was, that person had to call the store on the phone and get directions. If they couldn’t find it, then they had to find a payphone and call again. Many people gave up at that point and became customers of somebody else or just didn’t buy that thing.
Now customers shop differently. They check their phone to find out how far away you are and sometimes check to see what else is near you so they can double up on their trip. The exact location isn’t as important because the voice on their phone is going to walk them straight to your door.
In that regard, you can use a suite that faces the side road and has a daily traffic count of 750. It’s fine.
On the other hand, a high traffic count has a measurable benefit—the number of eyes that see your exterior signage. Many people learn about the existence of your store by driving by and seeing your sign. For example, my Jacksonville store had an average daily traffic count of 39,500. That’s over 14,000,000 customer impressions annually. If my suite faced the side road, that figure would be 95% lower. I benefited from a 20-fold increase in the effectiveness of my façade sign by choosing a suite facing the busier side.
Yes, most customers find you online, but you can’t disregard the value of external signage and facing traffic.
To find the 5-mile radius population of a location you’re considering, go to https://www.freemaptools.com/find-population.htm, adjust the radius to 5 miles, and then enter the address. Always choose the most recent estimate or the nearest projection.
Why Population Matters
Proximity affects a customer’s frequency. Elsewhere I’ve broken down sales-building into three methods: you can increase customer count, increase customer spending per visit, or increase the number of times a customer visits. Closer customers visit more often. I know every single existing retailer immediately responds with that one guy they know who drives 45 minutes three times a week, but the exception does not invalidate the rule. Closer customers visit more often.
The more close customers you have, the more repeat visits you have. By signing a lease in an area with a high population count, you’ve have already begun the process of optimizing one of your three sales-building methods. You have made strategic decision of critical importance.
Build-out Estimates
Some factors aren’t so definitive. You need to estimate based on experience or quotes. Expect cost overruns in every case.If you can negotiate rent reductions for a build-out then, the cost isn’t a consideration–just the tiime.
Build-out Costs
Build-out costs could be an impediment or a neutral factor. If you can negotiate rent concessions for the build-out, then it costs you nothing. If not, you and you are paying out of pocket, then it matters.
Build-out Time
Customization time is another issue. If it takes 3 months to build out the store you want, then that’s three months you’re paying back any lending you took out without any income coming in.
The Subjective Considerations
Shape
The shape of the suite matters. One of the largest factors is frontage. A wider suite is more visible to the customer and is priced higher. The more frontage you have, the more you pay. That’s why most suites a long, skinny rectangles.
Rectangles are good. Squares are good but not as good. If an “L” shape lets you have substantial game space without paying a premium for window frontage, then take advantage of it.
Weird polygons are bad. They result in a lot of wasted space, which means wasted rent.
Neighbors
Low-quality neighbors might attract criminals or vagrants that can deter customers. In your “Pros” and “Cons” column, mark off a tick in the “Cons” if potential neighbors include
- Pawn shops
- Check cashing or payday loans
- Adult entertainment industries
Other businesses vary. They might be quite tolerable neighbors if they are part of a large and well-monitored chain, or they might be quite sketchy. These neighbors include thrift stores, pawn shops, tattoo parlors, dollar stores, or liquor stores.
Good neighbors include
- Coffee shops
- Restaurants
- Bookstores
- Gyms
- Grocery stores
- Banks or credit unions
- Nail salons
- Shipping centers (like a UPS store)
Many of these businesses have the advantage of closing earlier than you do, freeing up their parking spaces for your customers.
Side of the Road
You want to be on the homeward-bound side of traffic. People don’t stop at game stores on the way to work. They stop at coffee shops or dry cleaners on the way to work. It’s better to be on the right side of the road for homeward-bound traffic. If a perfect location is on the wrong side of the road, but it’s at a corner where customers can easily enter and return to the road, that’s a good second choice.
Parking
Parking should be suitable for your seating. If you have seating for a 96 players, consider that if you have that many players competing in a tournament, you might also have 10-20 shoppers in the retail area, and 2-4 crew on duty. Few of those people came together. Do you have space for 120 customers?
If you’re in a walkable city, discount your parking needs accordingly. Some stores succeed with no parking at all.
Shopping Center Layout
The shopping center’s layout should allow for visibility of the tenants to drivers on the road, easy driver access, and smooth shopper access on foot once they park. These factors affect these issues
Distance from the Road
A store within 200-300 feet of a major road is generally considered highly visible. At this distance, customers can easily spot the signage without obstruction, and the store remains in their field of vision as they approach.
For larger shopping centers with anchor stores, visibility is enhanced if smaller retailers (like game stores) are placed near entrances, facing the road or parking lot, allowing drivers to quickly identify them.
Clear Signage
Prominent signage at the front of the store and on the shopping center’s monument sign near the road is crucial. The sign should be large, well-lit, and positioned at an intersection or other highly visible area. Having a pylon sign at the roadside can also capture the attention of passersby.
Anchor Tenant Placement
If your store shares space with big-box retailers or popular anchor stores (e.g., grocery chains or fitness centers), placing your store along the main path leading to these anchors can improve traffic flow past your storefront, even if it’s not directly on the roadside.
Good Shopping Center Layout
Linear layouts, where the stores are arranged in a straight line facing the parking lot and road, offer maximum visibility from a distance and encourage customers to walk past multiple stores on their way to their destination.
“L”-shaped centers work well because they maximize road visibility from multiple angles while still guiding foot traffic efficiently across the storefronts.
Ample Parking in Front
The parking lot should ideally be between the store and the road, ensuring that customers parking for one store can easily spot others and walk to them. Parking should not be obstructed by excessive landscaping, as this can reduce visibility.
Drive-by Traffic Flow
A well-designed center features entry and exit points that are easy to navigate. It should be accessible from both directions of traffic, with multiple points of entry to reduce congestion and ensure a smooth flow of cars throughout the center. Centers located on corner lots at busy intersections tend to perform better because they can be accessed from multiple sides.
Poor Road Visibility
Deep Setback from the Road
If your store is set too far back (over 400-500 feet) from the road or hidden behind other buildings, customers driving by may miss it entirely. Long setbacks also decrease the store’s exposure to impulse shoppers.
Poor Signage Placement
Even if the store is well-positioned in the center, having small or poorly placed signage can drastically reduce its visibility. Without a clear roadside sign, many drivers may not notice the store, especially in larger centers.
Obstructed Storefronts
Trees, large medians, or landscaping that obscure storefronts from the road can detract from visibility. Additionally, large anchor tenants blocking smaller stores from the road can be detrimental if the layout doesn’t allow for clear signage or lines of sight.
Poor Shopping Center Layout
Centers with a “U” or “C” shape or those with stores facing inward toward an interior courtyard or parking area can be problematic if most customers drive by on the perimeter without seeing what’s inside. This leads to fewer spontaneous visits.
If parking is located behind the building or too far from the entrance, it can decrease foot traffic. Likewise, parking areas that are hard to navigate or too small during peak times may turn customers away.
Shopping centers located on one-way streets or roads without easy turn lanes or intersections make it difficult for drivers to enter or exit, reducing overall foot traffic. If customers must make inconvenient U-turns or drive past and backtrack, they may decide not to stop at all.
Door to the West
Storefronts that face west can get hot. Doors facing the sunrise aren’t much of a problem because few stores (if any) are open at 6:00 AM. Every game store is opening in the evening. Even with a powerful HVAC, crew at the counter can feel it. Be aware of this issue, but don’t let it keep you from a good space.
Non-Issues
Zoning
Zoning isn’t usually an issue. If you’re considering the space, it was probably zoned for retail before, and it’ll be zoned for retail when you leave.
Internet or Phone Connectivity
In a very rural market, these things might be issues. Any place that doesn’t have internet access doesn’t have gamers. Cows don’t buy games. Anywhere there is a retail shopping center probably has ample access.
Making the Final Decision
I would love to tell you that there’s a formula for all these factors. If I could say something like “score one point for each thing, and total those up to find the best location,” it would make this process simple. But there’s no such math. Each point has a weight.
In Magic, certain cards are said to be “strictly better” than other cards. That is, two cards might have identical text and casting cost but one creature has a greater toughness than the other. The two cards can be directly compared, and one of them is objectively superior to the other.
It’s impossible for one retail location to be strictly better than another, because the locations are different in every case. You can’t make an objective decision; it must have some measure of subjectivity.
My Plans
Site selection is part of the service I provide as part of a business plan. If you want to get started on your own plan, fill out the contact form at https://www.lloydwrites.com/