Help
Guides to every part of MarketGround, from drawing a first area to reading the Economy indexes. Each page covers one feature, with its settings, the figures it produces and how to read them, illustrated with screenshots and a worked example. Search for a topic, or start with the pages below.
Start here
- What MarketGround measures and where the data comes fromWhat the product can tell you about any place in the United States, which government and public sources every figure comes from, and how a line drawn on a map turns into numbers.
- Your first analysisDraw an area around a place you know, read the figures that appear beside the map, save the area to a project and open the full analysis, step by step with pictures.
- The map, the search box and the layersEvery control on the map, namely the search box, the six kinds of shape in the toolbar, the data layers that color the map by population, businesses, traffic and transit, and the year control behind the population layers.
Find a page by what you want to do
- I want to see who lives and works around a siteYour first analysis · The map, the search box and the layers · The side panel, projects and saved areas
- I want to know where the figures come fromWhat MarketGround measures and where the data comes from
- I want to size a market by driving or walking time rather than distanceTravel time areas · Rings and bands
- I want the figures for a ZIP code, a city, a county or a metroNamed boundaries
- I want to bring in the sites I already haveUploading your sites · The side panel, projects and saved areas
- I want to change a saved area without losing itEditing a saved area
- I want to mark a competitor or a candidate corner with a notePins and notes
- I want to understand a figure, its range or its index on the analysis pageThe analysis page, its tabs, benchmarks and margins of error · The All Data tab and the CSV export · Glossary
- I want to know who is there during the day, not just who lives thereThe Work & Movement tab · The map, the search box and the layers
- I want to see what businesses are already there and what has changedThe Businesses tab
- I want to see how an area has grown and where its county is headingTrend and history
- I want every figure as a spreadsheetThe All Data tab and the CSV export
- I want to know what an Economy index means and how to read itThe Economy tab and how an index is read · Purchasing power · Discretionary income
- I want to size what residents spend on groceries, dining out or another categorySpending potential · Household spending
- I want to know whether an area is growing faster than the nationGrowth momentum and home prices · Trend and history
- I want to know whether an area is in a CRA, Opportunity Zone or New Markets tractTract designations
- I want to screen several sites against a client's thresholdsThe site criteria screener · The stress test
- I want to know whether my site ranking would survive different assumptionsThe stress test
- I want to record which site was chosen and whyDecision history
- I want to count the competitors and estimate market shareCompetition and market share · The Businesses tab
- I want to know which brands usually sit beside a site, or which brands fit a vacancyCo-tenancy profiles
- I want to find where to open nextCoverage gaps · Places like this
- I want to forecast sales at a site from my own stores' figuresThe sales forecast · Uploading your sites
- I want to share the results with a client or a colleagueThe PDF report · Share links · Map image and data exports
- I want to ask a question in plain words instead of drawingThe assistant
- I want to know what my plan includes and what I have usedPlans, limits and usage · Billing
- I want to add people to my organizationTeam members and invitations
- I want to look up a term I do not recognizeGlossary
Every page, by part
Getting around
What MarketGround measures, your first analysis, the map and the side panel.
Areas
Every way to define the place you are asking about, from a circle to your own sites.
- Radius and polygon areasFree
- Travel time areasPro and Team
- Rings and bandsPro and Team
- Named boundariesPro and Team
- Editing a saved areaFree
- Pins and notesPro and Team
- Uploading your sitesPro and Team
The analysis page
The tabs, the benchmarks, the margins of error and what each figure means.
The Economy tab
One page for each index, with what it measures and how to read it.
- The Economy tab and how an index is readPro and Team
- Purchasing powerPro and Team
- AffordabilityPro and Team
- AffluencePro and Team
- Household spendingPro and Team
- Spending potentialPro and Team
- Discretionary incomePro and Team
- Social vulnerabilityPro and Team
- Job mix diversityPro and Team
- Growth momentum and home pricesPro and Team
- Mortgage credit accessPro and Team
- Tract designationsPro and Team
- BankingPro and Team
Choosing between sites
The criteria screener, the stress test and the decision history.
- The site criteria screenerPro and Team
- The stress testPro and Team
- Decision historyPro and Team
Competition and finding new sites
Competitors and market share, co-tenancy, places like this and coverage gaps.
- Competition and market sharePro and Team
- Co-tenancy profilesPro and Team
- Places like thisPro and Team
- Coverage gapsPro and Team
Forecasts, sharing and the assistant
The sales forecast, the PDF report, share links, exports and the assistant.
- The sales forecastPro and Team
- The PDF reportPro and Team
- Share linksPro and Team
- Map image and data exportsFree
- The assistantFree
Your account
Plans and limits, the usage page, team members and billing.
Glossary
The glossary defines every term these pages use, from block group to isochrone, in two or three sentences each. Every page links to it the first time a term appears.