In this article, you'll find information to help interpret your MobileScapes Data Extract, MobileScapes Trend, MobileScapes Cross Shop, and MobileScapes Data Extract Summary reports in ENVISION; definitions for report headers and examples of what these mean.
ENVISION users can find this information without leaving the platform by clicking the "How to Read" button located in the top-right corner of your reports.
The MobileScapes Data Extract provides a list of all the mobile movement observations that were present for a specified location and time. You can use your MobileScapes Data Extract as a list of visitors in ENVISION and run any customer reports and analyses.
A geofence is a virtual geographic boundary or polygon representing a particular area of interest used to extract mobile movement data. Geofences can be hand-drawn on a map or imported as spatial area polygons. Environics Analytics has created select Geofences that can be accessed and applied to your analysis via the MobileScapes Data Extract tool in ENVISION (Canadian Workspaces). EA has undertaken a large-scale effort to build a vast layer of polygons for Canadian commercial, institutional, and recreational locations. The polygons can be used as Geofences for destination-based mobile movement extracts within ENVISION or for project deliverables.
Each visitor is recorded once a day, showing the first instance of their entry into a geofence, regardless of how many times that visitor enters the same geofence throughout the day. The daypart also reflects the time period when the visitor is initially detected within the geofence.
Note: For Geofence Explorer definitions, refer to MobileScapes EA Geofence Explorer Field Definitions opens in new window.
The MobileScapes Data Extract tool can output data as either:
- Unweighted: Each record represents a single visitor
- Weighted: Records are weighted to the (Household) Population 15+
For more information, see How do I toggle between Weighted and Unweighted data for MobileScapes Data Extracts? opens in new window
Analysis Type: The method used to build your MobileScapes data extract. When selecting multiple Geofences, you must select an Analysis Type, which can be either:
- Aggregate Analysis: Geofences are combined into a single polygon. For this option, ENVISION will automatically deduplicate the file so that only unique visitors are identified.
- Individual Analysis: Separate polygons are created for each Geofence. Used to create filters by Geofence name to compare visitors from one Geofence to another.
When multiple geofences are aggregated in a single extract, MobileScapes only captures the first observation in the first geofence visited. Multiple geofences can be viewed independently in a single extract - there is an “Individual” option when selecting multiple geofences.
Common Daytime Location (CDL): Used to infer the visitor's work location; it is assigned to the closest Postal Code.
Common Evening Location (CEL): Used to infer the visitor's home location; it is assigned to the closest Postal Code.
As of August 2023, ENVISION separates the Common Daytime Location (CDL) and the Common Evening Location (CEL) fields into two distinct customer files.
GeofenceName: The name and address of the location. When a location is a primary geofence but nested in another location in the database (e.g. an anchor at a mall), the name of the geofence indicates what the other use of the geofence is with "at." For example, "Canadian Tire at CF Eaton Centre" indicates that a primary geofence is available for "Canadian Tire" but that the "CF Eaton Centre" geofence also includes the "Canadian Tire" geofence. When a location is a non-primary geofence, and the primary geofence is contained within the database, the geofence's name indicates the geofence's primary use with an "Including." For example, "Pen Centre including Dollarama" indicates that the geofence drawn for "Dollarama" is in the Pen Centre footprint.
Unique_Visitors: Total estimate of visitors who visited the target geofence within the selected time period, regardless of how often they visit. They can be thought of as total foot traffic for the location over the time period selected.
Daily_Visits: The number of times the visitors entered the location, regardless of how many visitors make up those visits.
Workers: The number of visitors that have their CDL within the geofence. CEL is not considered and can be either in or out of the geofence.
Worker_Visits: The number of visits by Workers to the location, during the time period selected for MobileScapes extract.
Residents: The number of visitors that have their CEL within the geofence. CDL is not considered and can be either in or out of the geofence.
Resident_Visits: The number of visits by Residents to the location during the time period selected for MobileScapes extract.
Total: A total count of Unique Visitors, Workers, and Residents during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
Total_Visits: The total count of Daily Visits, Worker Visits, and Resident Visits during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
CEL_Country: The Country where the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL) lives (CA = Canada).
CEL_Postal Code: The Postal Code of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_GeoLevel: The Geographic level of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL). Typically, this uses either the Unique or the Rural Enhanced Postal Code Conversion File (ePCCF).
CDL_Postal Code: The Postal Code of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
Note: The below date and time breakdowns are for Daily Visits only and do not include Worker Visits or Resident Visits in their counts.
Sunday—Saturday: Days where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Weekday: Aggregated count of visits observed in the location on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the time period selected.
Weekend: Aggregated count of visits observed in the location on Saturday and Sunday during the time period selected.
Early Morning: Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 a.m. and 5:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Morning Commute: Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 a.m. and 8:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Late Morning: Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Midday: Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 p.m. and 2:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening Commute: Visits observed in the location between 3:00:00 p.m. and 5:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening: Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 p.m. and 8:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Late Evening: Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
January-December: Months where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
CEL_PRCDDA: The Dissemination Area (DA) of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_PRIZM: The PRIZM segment classification of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
Additional fields that may be in your extract:
Banner: The chain name (i.e. banner) associated with a location. This field is populated for any location that is part of a chain; for any location that is not, this field is left blank.
Parent Company: The body that manages or controls the banner or location. This field is only populated for a location that includes a Parent Company. For example, this would be "Recipe Unlimited" as a Parent Company for "Swiss Chalet."
Analysis Type: The method that your MobileScapes data extract was built. When selecting multiple Geofences, you must select an Analysis Type, which can be either:
- Aggregate Analysis: Geofences are combined into a single polygon. For this option, ENVISION will automatically deduplicate the file so that only unique visitors are identified.
- Individual Analysis: Separate polygons are created for each Geofence. Used to create filters by Geofence name to compare visitors from one Geofence to another.
When multiple geofences are aggregated in a single extract, MobileScapes only captures the first observation in the first geofence visited. Multiple geofences can be viewed independently in a single extract - there is an “Individual” option when selecting multiple geofences.
Common Daytime Location (CDL): Used to infer the visitor's work location; it is assigned to the closest Postal Code.
Common Evening Location (CEL): Used to infer the visitor's home location; it is assigned to the closest Postal Code.
As of August 2023, ENVISION separates the Common Daytime Location (CDL) and the Common Evening Location (CEL) fields into two distinct customer files.
GeofenceName: The name and address of the location. When a location is a primary geofence but nested in another location in the database (e.g. an anchor at a mall), the name of the geofence indicates what the other use of the geofence is with "at." For example, "Canadian Tire at CF Eaton Centre" indicates that a primary geofence is available for "Canadian Tire" but that the "CF Eaton Centre" geofence also includes the "Canadian Tire" geofence. When a location is a non-primary geofence, and the primary geofence is contained within the database, the geofence's name indicates the geofence's primary use with an "Including." For example, "Pen Centre including Dollarama" indicates that the geofence drawn for "Dollarama" is in the Pen Centre footprint.
Unique_Visitors: The Household Population 15+ estimate of visitors to the location during the time period selected for the MobileScapes data extract. Those observed have neither their CEL nor CDL within the geofence.
Daily_Visits: The aggregated Household Population 15+ estimate of visits to the location during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
Workers: The Household Population 15+ estimate visitors with CDL within the geofence. CEL is not considered and can be either in or out of the geofence.
Worker_Visits: The estimate of visits by Workers to the location during the time period selected for MobileScapes extract.
Residents: The Household Population 15+ estimate of visitors who have their CEL within the geofence. CDL is not considered and can be either in or out of the geofence.
Resident_Visits: The estimate of visits by Residents to the location during the time period selected for MobileScapes extract.
Total: A total estimated count of the Household Population 15+ of Unique Visitors, Workers, and Residents during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
Total_Visits: The Household Population 15+ estimate of Daily Visits, Worker Visits, and Resident Visits during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
CEL_Country: The Country where the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL) lives (CA = Canada).
CEL_Postal Code: The Postal Code of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_GeoLevel: The Geographic level of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL). Typically, this uses either a Unique or Rural Enhanced Postal Code Conversion File (ePCCF).
CDL_Postal Code: The Postal Code of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
Note: The below date and time breakdowns are for Daily Visits only and do not include Worker Visits or Resident Visits in their counts.
Sunday—Saturday: Days where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Weekday: Aggregated count of visits observed in the location on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the time period selected.
Weekend: Aggregated count of visits observed in the location on Saturday and Sunday during the time period selected.
Early Morning: Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 a.m. and 5:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Morning Commute: Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 a.m. and 8:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Late Morning: Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Midday: Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 p.m. and 2:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening Commute: Visits observed in the location between 3:00:00 p.m. and 5:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening: Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 p.m. and 8:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Late Evening: Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
January-December: Months where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
CEL_PRCDDA: The Dissemination Area (DA) of the Household Population 15+ Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_PRIZM: The PRIZM segment classification of the Household Population 15+ Common Evening Location (CEL).
Additional fields that may be in your extract:
Banner: The chain name (i.e. banner) associated with a location. This field is populated for any location that is part of a chain; for any location that is not, this field is left blank.
Parent Company: The body that manages or controls the banner or location. This field is only populated for a location that includes a Parent Company. For example, this would be "Recipe Unlimited" as a Parent Company for "Swiss Chalet".
Common Daytime Location (CDL): Used to infer the visitor's work location; it is assigned to the closest ZIP Code.
Common Evening Location (CEL): Used to infer the visitor's home location; it is assigned to the closest ZIP Code.
As of August 2023, ENVISION separates the Common Daytime Location (CDL) and the Common Evening Location (CEL) fields into two distinct customer files.
GeofenceName: The custom polygon drawn around an area of interest (i.e. a store location).
CEL_Country: The country where the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL) lives (USA = United States of America).
CEL_ZIP+4 Code: The ZIP Code of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_GeoLevel: The Geographic level of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL). Typically, this uses a Latitude and Longitude or a Spatial Polygon.
CDL_ZIP+4 Code: The ZIP Code of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor’s Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CEL_DistanceGeocode: The distance from the Common Evening Location (CEL) Latitude/Longitude to the matched ZIP Code in miles.
CDL_DistanceGeocode: The distance from the Common Daytime Location (CDL) Latitude/Longitude to the matched ZIP Code in miles.
_CY: The City (CY) where the visitors were observed during the selected time period.
CEL_PRIZM Premier: The PRIZM Premier segment classification of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
Visitors: The estimate of total visitors to the location during the time period selected for the MobileScapes data extract.
Monday—Sunday (count): Days where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Early Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 a.m. and 5:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 a.m. and 8:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Late Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Midday (count): Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 p.m. and 2:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Early Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 3:00:00 p.m. and 5:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 p.m. and 8:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Late Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
January-December (count): Months where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Total Unique Visits (count): The aggregated count of visits to the location during the time period selected for the MobileScapes data extract.
Additional fields that may be in your extract:
Banner: The chain name (i.e. banner) associated with a location. This field is populated for any location that is part of a chain; for any location that is not, this field is left blank.
Parent Company: The body that manages or controls the banner or location. This field is only populated for a location that includes a Parent Company. For example, this would be "Intidex" as a Parent Company for "Zara".
Common Daytime Location (CDL): Used to infer the visitor's work location; it is assigned to the closest ZIP Code.
Common Evening Location (CEL): Used to infer the visitor's home location; it is assigned to the closest ZIP Code.
As of August 2023, ENVISION separates the Common Daytime Location (CDL) and the Common Evening Location (CEL) fields into two distinct customer files.
GeofenceName: The custom polygon drawn around an area of interest (i.e. a store location).
CEL_Country: The country where the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL) lives (USA = United States of America).
CEL_ZIP+4 Code: The ZIP Code of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL).
CEL_GeoLevel: The Geographic level of the visitor's Common Evening Location (CEL). Typically, this uses a Latitude and Longitude or a Spatial Polygon.
CDL_ZIP+4 Code: The ZIP Code of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LATITUDE: The Latitude of the visitor’s Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CDL_LONGITUDE: The Longitude of the visitor's Common Daytime Location (CDL).
CEL_DistanceGeocode: The distance from the Common Evening Location (CEL) Latitude/Longitude to the matched ZIP Code in miles.
CDL_DistanceGeocode: The distance from the Common Daytime Location (CDL) Latitude/Longitude to the matched ZIP Code in miles.
_CY: The City (CY) where the visitors were observed during the selected time period.
CEL_PRIZM Premier: The PRIZM Premier segment classification of the Household Population 15+ Common Evening Location (CEL).
Visitors: The Household Population 15+ estimate of visitors to the location during the time period selected for the MobileScapes data extract.
Monday—Sunday (count): Days where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Early Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 a.m. and 5:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 a.m. and 8:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Late Morning (count): Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 a.m. during the time period selected.
Midday (count): Visits observed in the location between 12:00:00 p.m. and 2:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Early Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 3:00:00 p.m. and 5:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 6:00:00 p.m. and 8:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
Late Evening (count): Visits observed in the location between 9:00:00 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. during the time period selected.
January-December (count): Months where a visit was observed in the location during the time period selected.
Total Unique Visits (count): The Household Population 15+ estimate of visits during the time period selected for the MobileScapes extract.
Additional fields that may be in your extract:
Banner: The chain name (i.e. banner) associated with a location. This field is populated for any location that is part of a chain; for any location that is not part of a chain this field is left blank.
Parent Company: The body that manages or controls the banner or location. This field is only populated for a location that includes a Parent Company. For example, this would be "Intidex" as a Parent Company for "Zara".
Use the MobileScapes Trend tools to analyze consumption rates, variables, or segments using MobileScapes Data Extracts to create a trend report for two separate periods. These reports can be used to compare expenditure variables, demographic variables, or segments within a defined area for a time series analysis.
Note: Your current time period selection will always appear to the left of the comparison time period in the output.
Consumption Unit Average: The total dollars spent divided by visits/visitors to the geofence during the specified time period.
% Comp: The estimated proportion of total category dollars spent by those who visited the geofence during the specified time period.
Consumption Unit Average % Change: Percentage variance between the Consumption Unit Averages for your selected date ranges.
% Comp Point Change: The change of the proportion of the total category dollars spent between the two date ranges.
For example, looking at the Fragrance products variable, 2.08% represents the estimated proportion of total category dollars spent by those who visited the geofence between 2023-02-16 and 2024-02-15. For the previous time period (2022-02-16 and 2023-02-15), 2.03% of the estimated proportion of total category dollars was spent on Fragrance products by those who visited the geofence.
The Consumption Unit Average % Change value of 2.21% (calculated as (51.69 - 50.57) / 50.57) represents an increase in the proportion of total category dollars spent on Fragrance products by those who visited the geofence between the two time periods.
% Comp: The proportion of visits to the geofence that represents the variable during a specified time period.
% Comp Point Change: The difference in the proportion of visits to the geofence between the time periods. Red cells indicate a positive change while blue cells a negative change.
For example, in the first row of this report, 19.57% represents the estimated proportion of those who visited the geofence between 2023-02-16 and 2024-02-15 and report that they always purchase foods advertised as being locally grown/produced. In the previous year (2022-02-16 - 2023-02-15), 19.68% of the estimated proportion of those who visited the geofence said that they always purchase foods advertised as being locally grown/produced. The value of -0.09% represents a decrease in the purchasers who visited the geofence between the two periods.
Count: The estimated number of visits in the geofence by a segment during the specified time period.
% Comp: The estimated proportion of visits in the geofence by a segment during the specified time period.
Absolute Change: The change between comparison years for visits in the geofence by a segment.
% Change: Represents the change in visit or visitor proportion to the geofence from the specified segment. A positive (red) % Change indicates an increase, while a negative (blue) % Change indicates a decrease.
For example, 6.48% represents the estimated proportion of visits between 2023-02-16 and 2024-02-15 to the geofence by members of the Downtown Verve segment. In the previous year (2022-02-16 - 2023-02-25), 6.21% of the estimated proportion of visits to the geofence were by Downtown Verve members. The % Change value of 22.16% represents an increase in visits to this geofence by this segment.
Provides insight on exclusive (loyal) and non-exclusive visitors to multiple locations of interest for the same time period. This function leverages mobile extracts and allows users to understand who your loyal customers are, where else your visitors frequent, or who is your biggest threat (competitor). The tool produces two results: a dashboard and an extract file.
MobileScapes is a weighted database that uses a combination of population, regional PRIZM distribution, and total visits to calculate the weights per visitor. The MobileScapes CrossShop Report is meant to be read from left to right, and it is important to keep in mind that each row is exclusive. When there’s a 1:1 match, you’ll see the exclusive visitor value repeated in that cell. We cannot compare non-exclusive visitors between rows because they are weighted by total visits. Therefore, the geofence with more visits will produce higher non-exclusive visitors. Think of the universe as the extract of the primary geofence (a.k.a target geofences). It's important to know that the weights are based on the factors of that extract and that extract only.
Target Geofences: The virtual geographic boundaries representing the locations of interest used in the MobileScapes extract.
Visitors: Total weighted estimate of Household Population 15+ who visited the target geofence within the selected time period.
- Count: The sum of both exclusive and non-exclusive visitors and represents the denominator for all the percent values in the report. Only the exclusive and non-exclusive counts will add up to this total.
Exclusive Visitors: Total weighted estimate of Household Population 15+ who visited only the target geofence and no other within the selected time period.
Non-Exclusive Visitors: Total weighted estimate of Household Population 15+ who visited the target geofence and one or more of the other selected geofences within the selected time period.
For example, looking at the first row of the report, there were a total of 23,106 people that visited the Aritzia (280 Queen St W) geofence in the specified timeframe. Of the 16,107 non-exclusive visitors to this location, 2,020 and 16,107 also visited the Holt Renfrew Centre and CF Toronto Eaton Centre locations, respectively.
This report provides a summary of key metrics from a standard MobileScapes data extract in a downloadable .PDF file. The Summary Report includes visual features such as graphs, tables, and maps to easily understand your data extract, and can be customized to align with your organization's branding (colours and logo).
Visitation Summary: Highlights from your data extract including counts and averages from your geofence during the selected time period.
Note: Avg Visitors per Month and Avg Visits per Month will appear as per Month when the time period is greater than 8 weeks, and will appear as per Week if the time period is less than 8 weeks.
Visit Summary by Month, Day of Week & Daypart: % of Total Visits by month, day of week, or time of day, with the dark purple bar highlighting the highest volume of visits.
Top PRIZM® or PRIZM Premier® Segments by Volume of Total Visits: Shows which PRIZM® segments are contributing the most visits to your geofence. Note for Canadian Workspaces: If your organization licenses PRIZM®, you’ll see the top 5 segments. Otherwise, you’ll only see the top 1 segment.
Demographic Summary of Unique Visitors: Highlights key demographic variables from your visitors during the selected time period. Displayed metrics are based on the highest index when compared to the benchmark.
Geographic Summary, by Volume of Visits by Unique Visitors: Table that highlights the top 15 FSAs (CA) or ZIPs (US) with visits, denoting FSA/ZIP name, count of visits, percentage of total visits, and the total household population of the FSA/ZIP to help you understand penetration rate.
Catchment Area Summary: This helps you understand how far visitors travel to the geofence.
Looking at the Geographic Summary in the below example, 3,138,035 visits to this geofence originated from the M6J FSA; this makes up 16.1% of total visits during this time period. For comparison purposes, The M6J FSA has a household population (15+) of 34,878.