Retail Void Analysis

Retail void analysis identifies gaps where customer demand exists but supply doesn’t. Ploti combines point-of-interest (POI) data with spatial analysis to find underserved locations—anchor tenants generating traffic without nearby competitors to capture it.

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The Opportunity

Retail site selection often follows anchor tenants:

• Grocery stores generate consistent daily traffic
• Customers make secondary stops (QSR, pharmacy, services)
• Being near anchors without competition is the sweet spot

The challenge: Manually mapping anchor locations, competitor locations, and available parcels across a metro area is time-intensive. Ploti automates this gap analysis.

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Walkthrough: Finding McDonald’s Sites Near Underserved Publix Stores

Let’s find potential McDonald’s locations by identifying Publix grocery stores that don’t have a McDonald’s nearby. These represent gaps where grocery traffic could support a new QSR.

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Step 1: Select Your Search Area

Draw a boundary around your target market. In this example, we drew an area spanning Orlando, Winter Garden, Ocoee, and Windermere—capturing major grocery-anchored retail corridors.

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Step 2: Ask the Question

We asked:

Where are the Publix stores that DON’T have a McDonald’s nearby? Find commercial sites near those underserved Publix locations.

This frames the problem as gap analysis—find the anchors first, then the opportunities near them. Ploti:

• Discovers POI data for both brands
• Performs spatial exclusion analysis
• Identifies vacant commercial parcels
• Researches zoning for restaurant uses

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Step 3: Watch the Discovery

Ploti found POI data and performed the gap analysis: Locations Discovered: Underserved Publix Locations Found: Key Finding: 6 Publix stores have no McDonald’s within 0.5 miles—these are underserved locations where grocery traffic isn’t being captured by an existing McDonald’s.

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Step 4: Review the Plan

Ploti’s plan:

1. Create checkpoint for underserved Publix locations (6 stores)
2. Create checkpoint for all McDonald’s (reference layer)
3. Find vacant commercial parcels in Orlando near underserved Publix
4. Find vacant commercial parcels in Ocoee near underserved Publix
5. Create combined checkpoint of all potential sites

Ordinance Citations:

• Orlando LDC Table FG-2A — Allowable uses in AC-N, AC-1, AC-2, AC-3 districts
• Sec. 58.341 — Activity Center Districts purpose and intent
• Orange County Sec. 38-851 — General Commercial Districts (C-1, C-2, C-3)
• Orange County Sec. 38-1552 — Fast food/restaurant permitted locations
• Ocoee § 5-3 — C-1, C-2, C-3, PUD-COMM district definitions

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Step 5: Run the Analysis

Click Run Plan to execute. Ploti creates multiple checkpoints:

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Step 6: Review the Results

The map shows three layers working together:

• Publix locations — The underserved anchor tenants
• McDonald’s locations — Existing coverage (to visualize the gaps)
• Vacant commercial parcels — Development opportunities

20 potential sites identified across Orlando and Ocoee with commercial zoning permitting restaurant uses.

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Step 7: Examine Specific Opportunities

Zooming into a specific area shows the spatial relationship:

• The Publix anchor generating traffic
• Nearby McDonald’s locations (or lack thereof)
• Available commercial parcels for development

Top Opportunities by Size:

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Step 8: Understand the Zoning

Each municipality has different commercial zoning codes, but all identified parcels permit restaurant uses: Windermere note: No vacant commercial sites were found near the Windermere Publix—this area may not be viable for new development without rezoning.

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Why This Matters

This analysis demonstrates multi-layer gap analysis:

1. POI data discovery — Found Publix and McDonald’s locations automatically from OSM data
2. Spatial exclusion — Identified which anchors lack nearby competitors
3. Vacancy filtering — Only showed parcels available for development (prop_ind=‘80’)
4. Zoning verification — Confirmed restaurant uses are permitted
5. Visual layering — All three datasets (Publix, McDonald’s, parcels) visible together

Without Ploti, this analysis would require:

• Obtaining POI data for both brands
• Performing spatial buffer analysis
• Cross-referencing with parcel data
• Filtering for vacant parcels
• Researching zoning for each municipality

That’s specialized GIS work. Ploti translated “Publix without McDonald’s nearby” into the right spatial analysis.

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Taking It Further

With underserved locations identified, you can refine further:

Which of these sites have the highest traffic counts?

Layer in AADT data for site quality.

Show me the drive-through requirements for C-3 zoning in Orlando

Research development standards for QSR.

Are any of these sites pad site opportunities in existing centers?

Identify outparcel potential vs ground-up development.

What’s the population density within 3 miles of each site?

Understand the customer base for each location.

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Key Insights

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Why Anchor Proximity Matters

Grocery stores like Publix generate:

• Daily traffic — People shop for groceries 2-3x per week
• Predictable patterns — Morning and evening peaks
• Secondary trips — Customers add stops (coffee, lunch, pharmacy)
• Dwell time — Shoppers are already out of their cars

Being near a grocery anchor without competition means capturing this traffic without splitting it.

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The 0.5-Mile Threshold

We used 0.5 miles as the “nearby” threshold because:

• Walking distance for urban areas
• Quick driving distance for suburban
• Beyond 0.5 miles, customers may choose convenience over brand loyalty
• Industry standard for QSR trade area analysis

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Why Some Locations Have No Sites

Two underserved Publix locations (Windermere and one Orlando location) had no vacant commercial sites nearby. This means:

• Existing commercial is fully built out
• Rezoning would be required for new development
• These may be opportunity areas for existing building conversion
• Or simply not viable for new QSR development

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Tips

• Toggle all layers — Seeing Publix, McDonald’s, and parcels together reveals the spatial story
• Check vacancy carefully — “Commercial zoning” doesn’t mean “available”—filter for vacant parcels
• Verify drive-through — Not all commercial zones allow drive-through; research specific requirements
• Consider pad sites — Some “vacant” parcels may be outparcels in existing centers
• Look at traffic — High anchor traffic + no competition = best opportunity
• Research lease rates — Sites near strong anchors command premium rents

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Other Example Prompts

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Different Anchor/Tenant Combination

Find Walgreens locations without a Starbucks nearby and show me commercial sites for a new coffee shop

Same methodology, different brands.

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Competitor Density Analysis

Show me areas with high Chick-fil-A density but few Popeyes locations

Identify where competitors are winning.

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Multi-Anchor Analysis

Find commercial sites near both a grocery store AND a gym but away from existing fast food

Layer multiple anchor types for site selection.

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Underserved Trade Areas

Which retail centers have grocery anchors but no sit-down restaurants within the center?

Find gaps within existing developments.

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Drive-Through Specific

Find commercial parcels zoned for drive-through use near grocery stores without a coffee shop

Focus on use-specific zoning requirements.