Geo-Powered Retail Intelligence with Zoho Analytics

Geo-Powered Retail Intelligence with Zoho Analytics

In today’s highly competitive retail landscape, data-driven decisions are no longer optional — they’re essential. While businesses collect vast volumes of data across regions, stores, and customer segments, the real value lies in how effectively this data is visualized and interpreted.

Geo Maps in Zoho Analytics bring location intelligence to the forefront of decision-making. With powerful spatial analytics capabilities, retail businesses can now visualize store performance, identify untapped opportunities, and track customer behavior trends with a simple glance at a map.


This solution demonstrates how Zoho Analytics' Geo Maps can be leveraged to solve real retail business problems, using a step-by-step approach grounded in a practical, ready-to-use dataset.

Business scenario

Imagine you're a retail chain operating hundreds of stores across the United States. Each store generates data—sales, visitor footfall, customer satisfaction, marketing spend—but these numbers alone don’t explain why some stores succeed while others under-perform.
Key challenges include:
  • Identifying stores that are struggling before sales drop significantly.
  • Understanding whether poor performance is due to location, low visibility, or intense competition.
  • Evaluating which regions offer true expansion potential—and which are over-saturated.
With no visual correlation between location and business KPIs, many decisions remain reactive instead of proactive. This is where Geo Maps make all the difference—by transforming isolated data into contextual geographic insights.

Dataset Overview

To power this solution, we’ve created a comprehensive and realistic retail dataset that mirrors how actual store data behaves across geographies.
The dataset includes:
  • Store-level performance data: revenue, average purchase value, and satisfaction.
  • Customer insights: foot traffic, age, gender distribution.
  • Market context: competitor presence and market share, population density, and economic growth rate.
  • Geospatial data: zip code, city, state, latitude, and longitude of each store location.

Problem Description

Retail chains often operate on thin margins, and even minor under-performance at store level can have significant impacts across the organization. While dashboards provide revenue and performance trends, they often miss one critical dimension—geography.
Without geographic context, businesses face several recurring challenges:
  • Underperforming stores go unnoticed until major losses occur.
  • Ghost zones—areas with low store presence but high potential—remain unexplored.
  • Marketing budgets get wasted in regions where returns are consistently low.
  • Competitor pressure is misjudged due to lack of visibility on regional saturation.
  • Store closures become reactive decisions, made after performance has already declined.
In short, data without location awareness leaves decision-makers blind to spatial trends and risks. Businesses need a smarter, more intuitive way to analyze store performance with geographical clarity—before it’s too late.

Why Geo Maps Become a Game-Changer

Geo Maps in Zoho Analytics address this gap by unlocking a visual layer of intelligence that traditional charts can’t offer.


Here’s what makes them a game-changer:
  • Location-first insights: Instantly identify how store performance varies across the map - by city, state, or neighborhood.
  • Visual correlation of multiple KPIs: Compare revenue, satisfaction, and foot traffic geographically to detect hidden patterns.
  • Clutter-free, customizable visuals: Choose the right map type - bubble, filled, pie, or scatter - to match the data you want to analyze.
Unlike static dashboards, Geo Maps enable you to see the problem, context, and opportunity—all in one frame. Whether it's spotting trends, reallocating marketing spend, or planning expansion, this spatial layer puts decision-makers back in control.

Solution Implementation – Report Creation

This section walks through the step-by-step creation of four key Geo Map reports that reveal business insights from store-level data.

1. Store Performance Analysis (Map – Bubble)

To identify how stores are performing across different regions in terms of revenue and customer satisfaction, using a clean, visual-first map representation.
This helps uncover:
  • High-performing stores in key zones
  • Underperforming regions needing intervention
  • Patterns related to location-based store success

Why Map - Bubble?

The Map - Bubble chart is ideal for visualizing store-level metrics using geolocation.
  • Size indicates magnitude (e.g., Monthly Revenue)
  • Color indicates health or quality (e.g., Customer Satisfaction)
  • Each store appears as a distinct bubble based on its lat/long.

Procedure

  1. From the dataset, click the Create icon and select Chart View.

  2. On the designer page, drag and drop the following columns into their respective shelves:
    1. Latitude → X-Axis
    2. Longitude → Y-Axis
    3. Customer Satisfaction (out of 10) → Color
    4. Monthly Revenue (USD) → Size
    5. Store ID, Store Type, City → Tooltip

  3. Click Generate Graph.
  4. Click on the ellipsis icon and select the chart type as Map - Bubble.

  5. Click the Settings icon, and under the General tab, click Legend.
  6. In the Colors section, customize the color scale from red to green to represent satisfaction ranges.

  7. Under the Map tab, click Map control and enable Display Specific Country Map.
  8. From the drop-down, select Albers USA Projection. This displays the USA map by placing Alaska and Hawaii below the mainland USA on a single map.

  9. Rename the report as Store Performance and click Save.
Tip:
Add a User filter such as Store type or State to analyze performance by segment.
This configuration creates a bubble for every store, sized by its revenue and colored by customer satisfaction — instantly showing how happy customers are in high- or low-revenue zones.


Key Insights

Large bubble + Red color - High revenue but poor satisfaction — risk of churn!


Small bubble + Green color - Low revenue but high satisfaction — possibly underserved


Large bubble + Green color - Healthy performers — consider replicating success


Small bubble + Red color - Low performers — review for possible closure or revamp.


Business Interpretation

This chart acts as a live performance map for executives and analysts. Instead of scanning through tables or KPIs, stakeholders can instantly spot outliers, prioritize investments, and plan corrective actions by just glancing at the map.


2. Revenue-to-Traffic Ratio with Ghost Zone Detection (Map - Filled + Scatter)

To evaluate how efficiently each state is converting foot traffic into store revenue — and more importantly, to identify high-footfall regions without store presence, often referred to as ghost zones.
This chart helps:
  • Compare state-level foot traffic against actual revenue
  • Spot underutilized or over-performing regions
  • Discover untapped markets with high visitor potential but less to no physical stores

Why Map - Filled + Scatter?

  • The Map - Filled chart provides a regional perspective of traffic density and revenue generation.
  • The Scatter layer overlays actual store locations based on latitude and longitude.
This powerful combo allows you to measure performance where you’re active and spot opportunities where you're not.

Procedure

  1. From the dataset, click the Create icon and select Chart View.
  2. On the designer page, drag and drop the following columns into their respective shelves:
    1. State → X-Axis
    2. Foot Traffic (visitors/month) → Color
    3. Monthly Revenue (USD) → Text
    4. Marketing Spend (USD), Population Density (people/sq km), ROI (%) → Tooltip
  3. Click Generate Graph.

  4. Click on more option and select the chart type as Map-Filled.

  5. Click the Settings icon, then click Legend.
  6. In the Colors section, assign from light to dark green colors for the below range of foot traffic:
    1. Below 5,000
    2. 5,000–10,000
    3. 10,000–15,000
    4. Above 15,000

  7. Under the Map tab, change the map to Albers USA Projection.
    This filled layer highlights traffic and revenue across states.

  8. Toggle Enable Layers to add a second layer.

  9. In the new layer, drag and drop Latitude and Longitude into the X-Axis and Y-Axis respectively, Population density into the Color shelf, and click Generate Graph.

  10. Click Layer Controls, select Chart Chooser besides Latitude and choose the map as Map - Scatter from the list.

  11. To customize the second layer, go to Settings → Map → Latitude → Legend, and assign from light to dark red colors for the below range of population density:
    1. Below 2,000
    2. 2,000-4,000
    3. 4,000-6,000
    4. 6,000-8,000
    5. 8,000-10000
    6. Above 10,000

  12. Rename the report as Revenue-to-Traffic Ratio with Ghost Zone Detection and click Save.
This scatter layer marks the exact store locations, allowing visual correlation with high-traffic regions, revenue, and population density.

Key Insights

Dark green filled (high traffic) + Low revenue - Poor conversion - evaluate strategy or in-store experience


Mid to Dark green filled (high to mid traffic) + balanced revenue - Efficient zones — consider scaling efforts


Light green filled (low traffic) + high marketing spend (from tooltip) - Budget drain — reduce spend or re-evaluate targeting


Dark red marker (high population density) + less to no store markers - Ghost Zones — high opportunity areas for expansion


Example: In Las Vegas from Nevada, with a population density of 10,428 people/sq km and only two stores handling 10K–15K visitors/month, monthly revenue of the state remains modest at ~$278K. This indicates a high-opportunity zone for expansion, with strong footfall but untapped revenue potential.

Interpretation & Use

This map is designed for marketing and expansion teams who need to:
  • Justify where to open new stores
  • Optimize existing resource allocation
It visually answers the question:
Are we generating revenue where people are actually showing up?
Also, with the scatter layer:
Where are we not present — but should be?

​

3. Competitor Pressure Zones (Map – Scatter)

To evaluate how store performance is impacted by nearby competition, using a scatter map that plots every store across the U.S. and reflects competitor market share through color intensity.
This view helps:
  • Detect locations under competitive stress
  • Identify high-risk zones where your market share is at risk
  • Correlate competitor presence with satisfaction and store performance

Why Map - Scatter?

Map - Scatter offers a clean and lightweight visual that plots each store based on its exact coordinates. By encoding competitor market share as color and overlaying other attributes via tooltip, this chart becomes a competitive pressure radar.

Procedure

  1. From the dataset, click the Create icon and select Chart View.
  2. In the chart designer, drag and drop the following columns into their respective shelves:
    1. Latitude → X-Axis
    2. Longitude → Y-Axis
    3. Competitors market share → Color
    4. Competitors nearby, Monthly Revenue, and Store Type → Tooltip
  3. Click Generate Graph.

  4. Click on the more option and select the chart type as Map-Scatter.
  5. In the Settings panel, adjust the color gradient to reflect pressure levels
    1. 0 → Green
    2. 1-30 → Cyan
    3. 30-60 → Orange
    4. 60-80 → Pale red
    5. Above 80 → Red

  6. Change the Marker type under Maps → Marker tab.

  7. Under the Map tab, change the map to Albers USA Projection.
  8. Rename the report as Competitor Pressure Zones and click Save.
The resulting chart uses color to signal competitive heat around each store, allowing you to scan pressure zones across all regions visually.


Key Insights

Red (80-100%) - High competitor dominance — urgent intervention zone


Orange (30-60%) + low revenue - Growing pressure — performance risk emerging


Green (0%) + strong revenue - Market leader — low competition, strong position


Cyan (1-30%) + moderate revenue - Mild competition — possible opportunity to scale further


Business Interpretation

This chart empowers regional and strategy teams to:
  • Detect overcrowded areas where stores are losing share
  • Identify safe zones where your brand leads the market
  • Spot emerging competitor influence before it cuts into your margins
It acts as a competitive intelligence dashboard, mapping how your store network stands against external threats.

​

4. Customer Gender Distribution (Map - Pie)

To visualize how the gender distribution of customers varies across store locations. This helps identify stores with significant demographic skews, allowing for more personalized marketing, product selection, and in-store experience.

Why Map - Pie?

The Map - Pie chart is ideal for visualizing data composition across geographical locations.By breaking down each store’s customer base into Male (%) and Female (%) segments, this chart reveals who your customers are and where gender-targeted strategies might work best.

Procedure

  1. From the dataset, click the Create icon and select Chart View.
  2. In the chart designer, drag and drop the following columns into their respective shelves:
    1. Latitude → X-Axis
    2. Longitude, Male (%), Female (%) → Y-Axis
    3. City, Store ID, Average Customer Age, Store Type → Tooltip
  3. Click Generate Graph.

  4. In Settings, under the Map tab, change the map to Albers USA Projection.
  5. Click on Markers, adjust the Marker Size as shown.

  6. Click on Data Label, and enable the Show corresponding Y axis value as data label on the chart to display the percentage values on the map.

  7. Add Store Type as User Filters to slice down store-wise gender distribution.
  8. Rename the report as Customer Gender Distribution and click Save.
Each store will now display a pie chart representing the gender split among its customers, directly on the map.

Key Insights

Uneven gender split (e.g., 70% Male) - Potential to tailor offerings, branding, or promotions for the dominant gender


Balanced split (≈50/50) - Opportunity to run inclusive or diversified campaigns


High female ratio + specialty store - Indicates demand for niche products — expand category offerings


Business Interpretation

This chart allows marketing and merchandising teams to:
  • Understand gender-based customer clustering across regions
  • Launch targeted campaigns (e.g., loyalty programs, promotions)
  • Refine product assortments to suit local preferences
For example: A store with 70% female shoppers may benefit from deeper investment in lifestyle categories, while a balanced store could serve as a testing ground for unisex offerings.

​

Summary

In this phase, we laid the foundation for geo-powered retail intelligence using Zoho Analytics. Through a single, well-structured dataset and four powerful geo map visualizations, we transformed raw store data into real, actionable business insights.

Here’s what we achieved:

Report
Business Insights
Store Performance (Bubble)
Identified stores that are over performing or at churn risk based on revenue and satisfaction.
Revenue-to-Traffic Ratio (Filled + Scatter)
Detected ghost zones and optimized marketing ROI by comparing traffic and revenue.
Competitor Pressure Zones (Scatter)
 Mapped out competitor dominance and spotted at-risk or saturated regions.
Customer Gender Distribution (Pie)
Uncovered demographic patterns to tailor product, marketing, and in-store experience.

Click here to access the sample workspace.
These visualizations brought spatial awareness into every performance metric — turning maps into a strategic business tool.

And this... is just the beginning.

Stay tuned for Phase 2 — where Multi-Layer Geo Maps and Network Charts come together to supercharge your business strategy with even deeper spatial insights.

    • Sticky Posts

    • What's New in Zoho Analytics - November 2025

      We're thrilled to announce a significant update focused on expanding your data connectivity, enhancing visualization capabilities, and delivering a more powerful, intuitive, and performant analytics experience. Here’s a look at what’s new. Explore What's

    • What's New in Zoho Analytics - October 2025

      Hello Users! We're are back with a fresh set of updates and enhancements to make data analysis faster and more insightful. Take a quick look at what’s new and see how these updates can power up your reports and dashboards. Explore What's New! Extreme

    • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – September 2025

      Hello Users!! In this month’s update, we’re raising the bar across multiple touchpoints, from how you bring in data, plan and track projects to how you design and brand your dashboards. We’ve added the all-new Gantt chart for project visualization, expanded

    • Announcing Agentic AI - Ask Zia!

      We are delighted to roll out the new agentic AI capabilities in Ask Zia, where every stage of the BI workflow is assisted by AI. With a human-in-the-loop approach, Ask Zia ensures that you’re in command of the decision, while AI handles the complexity.

    • Invitation-Based User Access in Zoho Analytics

      Hello everyone, We’re rolling out an important update on how users are added to your Zoho Analytics Organization and Workspaces. Previously, when admins added users, they were automatically added to the organization. Moving forward, to improve security

    • Recent Topics

    • How to integrate XML with Zoho CRM

      Hi, I have an eCom service provider that gives me a dynamic XML that contains order information, clients, shipments... The XML link is the only thing I have. No Oath or key, No API get... I want to integrate it into Zoho CRM. I am not a developer nor

    • Feature Request - Ability to Customise Contact Info Card on Ticket Details View

      Hi Desk Team, I've added a "Contact Priority" and "Account Prioirty" field and it would be very useful to agents if they could see that information in the Contact Info card on the Ticket Details view. It would be great if we could choose some fields to

    • Tax in Quote

      Each row item in a quote has a tax value. At the total numbers at the bottom, there is also a Tax entry. If you select tax in both of the (line item, and the total), the tax doubles. My assumption is that the Tax total should be totalling the tax from

    • Zoho Flow integration with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp

      Hi there,  any plans of adding integrations with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp into Zoho Flow? Seems that more and more business are delivering automated updates such as "your order is received",  "your order has been shipped" and so on via these two platforms. Not sure if Whatsapp has the API access needed i am pretty sure that Facebook Messenger has... Kind regards Bo Thygesen 

    • Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

      Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated

    • Really want the field "Company" in the activities module!

      Hi team! Something we are really missing is able to see the field Company when working in the activities module. We have a lot of tasks and need to see what company it's related to. It's really annoying to not be able to see it.🙈 Thx!

    • Feature Requests - Contact Coloured Picklist Visibility & Field Visibility During Ticket Creation

      Hi Desk Team, I have 2 feature requests for you. Since Coloured Picklists are now available in Desk, It would be great if the colours were visible on the Related Details (Contact Information) when creating a ticket. In the screenshot below, I have 2 fields

    • Multi-currency and Products

      One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support.  However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK.  However, we maintain different price lists for each. 

    • Campaigns unsubscribe/manage preferences links

      Hi, Where can I edit the unscubscribe and manage preferences link in the footer of the email. I would like it so that when you click 'manage preferences' an form opens up that allows the person to choose what type of emails they do and don't wish to

    • email address somehow still not verified (?!)

      L.S. After creating a new email template in CRM I was about to send a group email to my clients, then Zoho CRM announced that they would change the sender address to some kind of Zoho-e-ddress because my email address "has not been verified". Not only

    • Marketing Tip #17: Add credibility to your online store with Review Widgets

      One of the fastest ways to build trust in an online store is to show real customer feedback right where people are deciding to buy. Third-party widgets let you embed things like Google Reviews, Instagram feeds, or even a WhatsApp chat button. These add

    • adding several team members to an Opportunity

      How can we add several team members to one opportunity for collaboration? I have researched and only found something called Deal Team which I cannot find in my CRM to configure.

    • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

      Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

    • PDF Annotation is here - Mark Up PDFs Your Way!

      Reviewing PDFs just got a whole lot easier. You can now annotate PDFs directly in Zoho Notebook. Highlight important sections, add text, insert images, apply watermarks, and mark up documents in detail without leaving your notes. No app switching. No

    • Bulk update Profile Permissions

      Dears, What should we do if we add new forms or reports and need to update more than 20 permissions? Updating them one by one feels pretty harsh, doesn’t it?

    • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

      Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

    • Customizable UI components in pages | Theme builder

      Anyone know when these roadmap items are scheduled for release? They were originally scheduled for Q4 2025. https://www.zoho.com/creator/product-roadmap.html

    • Unify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products

      Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,

    • Filter in fields from Jira extension

      We have installed the Jira extension so we can maken Jira issues from Zoho desk. In Zoho desk I can also see the Jira issue status for example but I can not filter on this field. I would like to setup an filter showing me the closed Jira issues. How can

    • text length in list report mobile/tablet

      Is there a way to make the full text of a text field appear in the list report on mobile and tablet? With custom layouts, the text is always truncated after a certain number of characters.

    • Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One

      I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)

    • Link Contacts to Billed Accounts

      Hello, I want to do a survey on all my customers of 2025. For that I want to select all contacts linked to accounts who where billed in 2025. How to I create this link to I can then use Zoho Survey with this database of contacts?

    • Export all of our manuals from Zoho Learn in one go

      Hi, I know there's a way to export manuals in Zoho Learn, but I want to export everything in one go so it won't take so long. I can't see a way to do this, can I get some assistance or is this a feature in the pipeline? Thanks, Hannah

    • Bring Zoho Shifts Capabilities into Zoho People Shift Module

      Hello Zoho People Product Team, After a deep review of the Zoho People Shift module and a direct comparison with Zoho Shifts, we would like to raise a feature request and serious concern regarding the current state of shift management in Zoho People.

    • Historical Sales Info - Blend with Finance Invoice Line Items, Access in CRM and Desk

      My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usually

    • Is there API Doc for Zoho Survey?

      Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. Than

    • Pre-Zoho Sales Info - Best Way to Add to Desk / CRM

      My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usually

    • Shift-Centric View for Assigning and Managing Shifts in Zoho People

      Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. This feature request is related to Zoho People - please don't move it to zoho one! We would like to submit a feature request regarding the shift assignment and management view in Zoho

    • CRM function REST API response format

      Is there a way to control the JSON response returned by the CRM function REST API? If I call a function using either OAuth or an API key it returns a 200 OK response with a string in the format shown below. I am using a particular feature of an external

    • Add Employee Availability Functionality to Zoho People Shift Module

      Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance the Zoho People Shift module by adding employee availability management, similar to the functionality available in Zoho Shifts.

    • Using MPN across multiple SKUs and inventory tracking

      I have several different SKU's that share a common MPN and would like to track inventory by MPN. SKU1 has MPN1 assigned SKU2 has MPN1 assigned Here is an example If I start with 5 of MPN 1 in stock I want each SKU1 and SKU2 to show as 5 in stock, If I

    • Unable to Access Application:

      Whenever I try to access my application from the desktop, say I am editing it and want to test something in the desktop environment I get: An error has occurred. An internal error has occurred. Please check the URL , or try refreshing the page I can edit

    • Adding custom "lookup" fields in Zoho Customization

      How can I add a second “lookup” field in Zoho? I’m trying to create another lookup that pulls from my Contacts, but the option doesn’t appear in the module customization sidebar. In many cases, a single work order involves multiple contacts. Ideally,

    • Cannot see Application from Lookup field

      Hi all, I am trying to access data for an application on our account via a lookup field; however, the application doesn't appear in the dropdown at all. Can anyone shed any light on this, please? I have asked Zoho support; however, they're just as confused,

    • Cannot see correct DNS config for mail after moving domain to another provider

      I have moved my domain from one provider to another and after that zoho mail stopped working (expected). Problem is, zoho mail admin panel still shows (10 hours after move) that all records are correct while I haven't changed anything in my domain DNS

    • Zoho CRM Meetings Module Issues

      We have a use-case that is very common in today's world, but won't work in Zoho CRM. We have an SDR (Sales Development Rep) who makes many calls per day to Leads and Contacts, and schedules meetings for our primary Sales Reps. He does this by logging

    • Zoho Books integration sync from Zoho CRM does not work

      Hi Zoho Community & Zoho Support We just tried to get a sync some products into Zoho Books from CRM using the native sync and we're getting an error: "It looks like some mandatory fields you're trying to map are empty. Please provide valid field names

    • P & L Sub-categorized accounts

      How can I show sub-categorized Income and Expense accounts on the P & L report?

    • Report showing Bill Details with Project and Sales Invoice Number

      Hi There, I am hoping that someone can help, I am looking for report that can show the bill and expense details along with project its as assigned to and the invoice number that the sales has been raised in. The goal is I can filter a customer/project

    • Advanced Payment for Inventory Items with serial numbers

      Hello, We sell equipment that we track the unique serial numbers on using Sales Orders. We can charge the customers an advanced payment, then the balance on delivery. We cannot figure out a way to do this in Books/Inventory: - Cannot part invoice a SO

    • Next Page