Essential Business Analyst terms

Available with Business Analyst license.

Understanding the following terms will help you learn about the capabilities of the Business Analyst extension in ArcGIS Pro.

TermDescription

Block apportionment

A method in which data is estimated and aggregated for geographic areas in Business Analyst.

Business Analyst Data Source

The data location Business Analyst uses to summarize data from one layer to another. Business Analyst data can be installed locally or is available via ArcGIS Enterprise.

Customer

Your business patrons or those who shop at your stores. A store can exist in any industry. In the medical industry for example, you can use Business Analyst to better understand the relationship of how patients (customers) frequent which hospital (store).

Drive time

The estimated geographic area, or trade area, in which you can drive to or from a store location. A 5-minute drive-time trade area means that customers from all locations within the outer boundary can reach your store, by car, within a 5-minute drive. Drive times are commonly used in site analysis.

Market

A region around a store that defines your customer distribution or overall economic activity. Markets in Business Analyst are often designated by geographic locations and the households or population within those areas. They can be local, regional, or national scale.

Store

The physical location where your organization conducts business, regardless of industry—for example, a retail shop, restaurant, home office, or medical facility where you can analyze the distribution of customers, demographics, or market share.

Trade area

Defines an area of influence around your store or franchise location and allows you to better understand your customer base and define your market. This analysis in Business Analyst is often done through reporting and data aggregation against trade areas. Several traditional trade area methods exist, such as a collection of ZIP Codes, walk time areas around a restaurant, grid cells, or custom-drawn boundaries.

Variable

An attribute or field used in demographic analysis, reporting, and mapping. Variables in Business Analyst are often housed in the Business Analyst data source apportioned to other layers, such as trade areas. Variable examples include total population, net worth, median age, or a custom calculation such as quarterly sales.

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