GrowthFactor Score
The GrowthFactor Score provides an instant, objective assessment of any site—cutting through subjective debate with data-driven analysis calibrated to your brand. Instead of spending hours assembling data to form an opinion, you get a clear 1–100 score within seconds of searching an address.
Understanding the GrowthFactor Score
The GrowthFactor Score is an AI-powered composite rating that evaluates a site across the dimensions that historically drive retail performance. It's designed to give you a quick, defensible benchmark for comparing opportunities and prioritizing your pipeline.
Score Range
90–100
Excellent
Strong performer across most dimensions; high-confidence opportunity
80–89
Great
Very good fundamentals with minor areas to investigate
70–79
Good
Solid fundamentals with some areas to investigate further
60–69
OK
Mixed signals; requires careful evaluation of specific weaknesses
Below 60
Bad
Significant concerns across multiple dimensions; proceed with caution
The score is not a simple pass/fail. A site scoring 65 might be perfect for your brand if its strengths align with your key success drivers, while a site scoring 80 might have a critical flaw in one dimension that disqualifies it for your concept.
Scoring Dimensions (Lenses)
The GrowthFactor Score breaks down into five lenses, each evaluating a critical aspect of site performance. You can view the individual lens scores to understand what's driving the overall rating. The five lenses below are defaults, but every brand has unique priorities. GrowthFactor allows you to customize which lenses factor into your score and how they're weighted.
Visibility
Assesses how easily customers can see and identify the location.
Factors considered:
Road frontage and signage potential
Setback from primary traffic flow
Obstructions and sight lines
Corner vs. mid-block positioning
Why it matters: For concepts that rely on drive-by traffic and impulse visits, visibility can be the difference between a thriving location and a hidden one.
Demographics Fit
Evaluates how well the surrounding population matches your target customer profile.
Factors considered:
Income alignment with your price point
Age distribution matching your core demographic
Population density within the trade area
Household composition and lifestyle indicators
Why it matters: Even a high-traffic site will underperform if the local population doesn't match your customer base.
Foot Traffic
Measures the volume and quality of visitor activity in the immediate area.
Factors considered:
Pedestrian traffic density
Visitor frequency and patterns
Daytime vs. evening activity levels
Traffic trends over time
Why it matters: Foot traffic is the most direct indicator of potential customer flow—real people, actually visiting the area.
Competition Analysis
Assesses the competitive landscape and market saturation.
Factors considered:
Density of direct competitors
Performance rankings of nearby competitors
Presence of complementary businesses
Market saturation indicators
Why it matters: A site surrounded by struggling competitors may signal location challenges; a site near thriving complements suggests strong co-tenancy benefits.
Market Potential
Evaluates the broader market dynamics and growth trajectory.
Factors considered:
Population growth trends
Economic indicators
Development pipeline and area momentum
Retailer demand signals
Why it matters: A site's future performance depends not just on current conditions but on where the market is heading.
Interpreting Lens Scores
Each lens receives its own score and rating:
Excellent
90–100
Great
80–89
Good
70–79
OK
60–69
Bad
Below 60
Reading the Breakdown
When reviewing a site, look for:
Consistent strength: A site scoring Good or Excellent across all lenses is a high-confidence opportunity with balanced fundamentals.
One weak lens: A single low score among otherwise strong ratings warrants investigation. Can the weakness be mitigated? Is it a dealbreaker for your concept?
Conflicting signals: High foot traffic but poor demographics fit might indicate the wrong type of traffic for your brand. Strong market potential but weak current foot traffic might signal an emerging area worth watching.
Example Analysis
Site A scores: Visibility (90), Demographics (75), Foot Traffic (35), Competition (50), Market Potential (78)
This site has excellent visibility and solid demographics, but foot traffic is currently weak. The strong market potential score suggests the area may be growing. This could be an emerging location worth deeper investigation—or the low foot traffic might indicate a fundamental access problem that visibility alone can't overcome.
Editing the Score
The GrowthFactor Score is a starting point, not the final word. After visiting a site or gathering additional context, you can adjust the score to reflect your own assessment.
When to Edit
After a site visit: Your on-the-ground observation reveals factors the data doesn't capture (construction, access issues, anchor tenant changes)
Local knowledge: You have insight into planned developments, zoning changes, or market dynamics not yet reflected in the data
Concept-specific factors: Your brand has unique requirements that weight certain dimensions differently than the default model
How Edits Work
Edited scores are saved to the site record and carry through to your Deal Dashboard. When comparing sites, you can see both the original AI-generated score and any manual adjustments, maintaining transparency in your evaluation process.
Your edits don't affect the underlying lens scores—they override the composite rating while preserving the original analysis for reference.
AI Insights
AI Insights automatically gathers contextual information about a location, surfacing relevant news, developments, and local intelligence that might affect your site decision.
What Insights Include
When you search a site, the platform scans for:
Local news: Recent articles mentioning the area, nearby businesses, or relevant developments
Development activity: Planned construction, new retail openings, or infrastructure projects
Market context: Economic indicators, demographic shifts, or retailer expansion/contraction in the area
Points of interest: Nearby anchors, institutions, or traffic generators that might not appear in standard business data
Viewing Insights
The Sources section in the results panel shows how many insight sources were found. Expand it to see:
Source headlines and summaries
Links to original articles or documents
Relevance to your site evaluation
Using Insights Effectively
AI Insights serve as a research accelerator, not a replacement for due diligence. Use them to:
Surface unknowns: Discover developments or news you weren't aware of
Validate assumptions: Confirm (or challenge) your read on an area
Prepare for questions: Anticipate what your committee might ask about a site
Identify risks: Catch red flags like nearby store closures, crime reports, or negative press
Current Limitations
AI Insights is a beta feature. Keep in mind:
Coverage varies by market; some areas have richer news sources than others
Insights are point-in-time snapshots and may not reflect the very latest developments
Not all surfaced information will be relevant; use judgment to filter signal from noise
Score in Your Workflow
The GrowthFactor Score integrates throughout the platform:
Quick Search: See the score immediately upon searching any address, enabling rapid screening of multiple sites.
Deal Dashboard: Scores display on deal cards, allowing you to sort and prioritize your pipeline by site quality.
Comparisons: When evaluating multiple opportunities, scores provide a consistent benchmark—even for sites in different markets with different characteristics.
Reporting: Scores and lens breakdowns can be included in reports generated via Waldo, giving stakeholders a clear summary of site quality.
Best Practices
Pay attention to lens breakdowns. Two sites with the same composite score can have very different profiles. A 70 driven by excellent demographics but weak traffic is a different opportunity than a 70 with the opposite profile.
Document your edits. When you adjust a score, note why. This creates an audit trail for your decision-making process and helps calibrate future evaluations. [review]
Last updated
Was this helpful?