Think about the places you visit daily: your favorite coffee shop, a crowded shopping mall, or a nearby park. Businesses and analytics call them Points of Interest (POIs). Anything could be a POI — a restaurant, hospital, train station, or a popular landmark like the Statue of Liberty — even temporary spots, such as pop-up shops or local fairs.
POI data describes these locations. What kind of place is it? How busy is it? What other businesses or attractions are nearby? Thus, businesses, city planners, and consumers can make smarter decisions. Typically, POI data includes:
- business type
- traffic patterns
- the environment
- visitor insights
In retail, POI data helps businesses decide where to expand, how to attract customers, and what services to offer. According to an Esri report, 80% of all business data contains a location component. Another study by Deloitte says geospatial data improve the accuracy of the retailers’ location choices. As a result, POI data highlights the difference between a thriving location and one struggling to attract any foot traffic.
POI Data vs. Interest Data
POI data and interest data are closely related, but they’re not the same thing. Together, they give businesses a complete picture of where people go and why they go there. But at their core, they serve different purposes:
- POI data focuses on physical locations with details like addresses, business categories, and foot traffic trends.
- Interest data is about people’s preferences and behaviors. This data shows what consumers like, what they are looking for, where they spend their time, and what influences their decisions.
On their own, POI data and interest data highlight only one part of the story. A location may have heavy foot traffic, but that doesn’t mean the right customers visit it. Interest data fills in the gaps by showing what people are interested in and how it relates to a specific place. For example:
- A bookstore (POI) attracts people who search for bestsellers or follow literary influencers (interest data).
- A gym (POI) might attract people who have recently searched for “how to start working out” or follow fitness trends (interest data).
It’s not enough to open a store in a high-traffic location. It must meet the interests of consumers. That’s why businesses should analyze both data types to choose locations and plan marketing strategies.
How Retailers and Businesses Benefit from POI Data?
Companies don’t just open in random places — they study traffic, competition, and local demand. POI data makes this process smarter and more accurate. Businesses benefit from POI data in many ways.
- Market research and expansion. Imagine you want to open a coffee shop. You might rent a spot near a subway, thinking it’s a great location. But if POI data shows that people rush through that area without stopping, you will change your mind. Instead, the data might show that a nearby street with office buildings has more traffic in the morning hours, which would make it a better choice.
- Hyper-targeted marketing. Have you ever received a discount notification when you walked past a store? This is POI data in action. Companies use it for geo-targeted marketing, sending promo offers based on real-time location data.
- Better transportation and supply chain planning. Logistics companies depend on accurate POI data to move goods efficiently. Delivery services use them to optimize routes, avoid congestion, and reduce fuel costs.
- Understanding customer behavior. POI data tracks movement patterns and predicts trends. A retail chain studies POI data and notices that traffic in that location drops after 6 PM. Instead of closing earlier, they attract more visitors by offering happy hours.
- Competitor analysis. Retailers analyze where competitors are opening new stores and adjust their strategy to stay ahead.
How Are POI Categorized?
We identify five main types of POIs:
- Business-to-business (B2B) includes companies that supply goods or services to other businesses.
- Hospitality and tourism cover places that serve travelers and tourists.
- Business premises include offices, government buildings, hospitals, schools, etc.
- Leisure encompasses places where people go to relax or have fun.
- Transportation involves services that allow people to move from one place to another.
Each category can be divided into more detailed elements. For example, “retail” can mean anything from supermarkets to clothing or electronic stores. Restaurants can range from fast food spots and fine dining establishments to coffee shops. Transportation hubs could include different types, such as international airports, regional train stations, and local taxi stands.
Ways to Get POI Data
There are many ways to collect POI data. Some methods provide basic information, while others offer deeper insights. Each has its pros and cons, so we recommend combining multiple sources.
Online Platforms
One of the easiest ways of obtaining POI information is from websites like Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and other mapping services. These mapping services contain geospatial data, namely, points, addresses, and coordinates. Although this may be helpful, you still have to process and refine raw info clusters before using them.
Social Media and Data Vendors
As Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook grow, it’s becoming increasingly common for users to tag their location in their posts. Companies can extract valuable insights from this data. Analyzing check-ins, reviews, and interaction trends, they can understand which POIs are popular.
However, the POI data generated by social networks may be inaccurate and is often insufficient. The practical use of such mapping services varies depending on users’ device settings, app permissions, and how consistently they tag locations. In addition, privacy concerns limit the amount of data collected.
Government Institutions
Government agencies maintain extensive POI databases, especially for landmarks, public buildings, and infrastructure. These records are often freely available and provide reliable geospatial data. Although they are fairly accurate, the data is usually not updated frequently enough to reflect new businesses, closures, or relocations.
Manual Verification
This method is helpful for businesses that need up-to-date POI data for location selection, logistics, or competitor analysis. On-the-ground verification means hiring teams to visit locations, confirm their existence, and collect real-time data. However, manual verification is typically costly and time-consuming.
Public Directories and Open Data Sources
Some platforms provide free access to POI data:
- POI Factory and POIplaza are online directories that offer free POI data, though they may lack fresh updates and comprehensive coverage.
- SafeGraph and Esri provide POI data through partnerships and marketplaces, often requiring paid access for detailed insights.
Geocoding and Data Extraction
Geocoding refers to the conversion of addresses into geographic coordinates. Companies can extract POI data from websites, although this process is often limited due to privacy policies and technical barriers such as IP blocking. While geocoding effectively validates location data, it cannot provide in-depth business insights, such as customer behavior information or traffic pattern analysis.
How is POI Data Represented?
If you understand how POI data is mapped, you can choose the best approach to make successful business decisions. As a rule, companies mix systems to improve location-based services, track movement trends, and enhance customer experiences. Let’s figure out what methods they use.
Coordinates
The most popular satellite-based mapping services method is the latitude and longitude (Lat/Long) coordinates. These numbers represent a precise location on Earth and are the basis of GPS devices, navigation programs, and satellite maps. For example, a coffee shop has the coordinates 40.748817, -73.985428. This information allows companies to track locations, plan deliveries, store maps, and analyze customer traffic.
Moreover, coordinates also enable geofencing. A geofence is a virtual barrier around a place that can be used to send targeted ads, track foot traffic, or trigger location-based alerts when someone enters a certain area.
Physical Addresses and Postal Codes
The other method of finding a POI is a physical address (street name, city, zip code, etc.). This method is more common and user-friendly but is not always as accurate as coordinates.
Zip codes in the USA help to group places together. However, the accuracy varies from country to country. In Singapore, one zip code can pinpoint a building, while Hong Kong doesn’t use postal codes at all. This makes them useful for general location analysis but unreliable for detailed mapping.
Geohash
The Geohash algorithm converts latitude and longitude from long decimal numbers into a short alphanumeric string. For example, the geohash “ttnfv2u” marks a spot close to the India Gate in New Delhi, Delhi, India. The longer the geohash, the more accurate the location. It has vast applications in mapping, logistics, and large data processing, as points can easily be grouped using this technique without complex calculations.
H3
Uber developed H3 (Hexagonal Hierarchical Spatial Index), a system that divides the world into hexagonal grids instead of squares. This helps improve pricing, ride dispatch, and spatial analysis by creating more balanced areas for calculations.
Unlike traditional grids, H3’s hexagonal structure covers areas more evenly. Many industries use H3 for urban planning, environmental tracking, and retail site selection.
How to Analyze Point of Interest Data?
Well-managed geographic data helps spot worthwhile opportunities, enrich customer engagement, and select the most favorable sites for future investment. Here’s the process companies should follow for the best results.
- Clean the data. This step will eliminate outdated, erroneous, and repetitive information. Bad data won’t help you achieve accurate results.
- Organize the data into categories. Group locations based on type, such as restaurants, parks, and shopping centers, or by purpose. This step is crucial in the data classification process, ensuring businesses can analyze patterns efficiently.
- Search for patterns. For example, retail shops should study the data to determine the peak business hours in a specific location or the best, most frequent access routes to a particular outlet.
- Turn patterns into actionable insights. If data shows that a restaurant attracts more customers late at night, the owner could consider extending the operating hours or adding a special late-night menu. If a retail chain discovers high demand in a particular area, opening a new store there would be a good idea.
How to Choose the Right POI Data Vendor?
Finding the right POI data vendor is essential for businesses that rely on location intelligence. Many providers offer datasets, but you need to know what to check for to get accurate, reliable, and actionable data. Here are some key factors to consider when choosing a POI data provider.
- Data accuracy and freshness
- Coverage and industry-specific data
- Depth of information
- Multiple data formats
- Easy integration
- Robust API access
- Compliance with data privacy regulations
- Flexible pricing and licensing models
LocationsCloud delivers high-quality, accurate, and up-to-date location intelligence tailored to enterprise needs. Our datasets cover millions of locations across multiple industries. We allow businesses to access the most relevant and actionable location intelligence.
Final Thoughts
Smart businesses don’t rely on mere guesswork. They use accurate data to make the best possible decisions—where to build, where to expand, and where customers go. Understanding POI data is one of the best ways to make the right move.
Retail, logistics, security — every industry needs the right data to stay ahead. Companies that adapt quickly will succeed. And those that don’t? Well… they will struggle, and we’re sure you don’t want to fall in that second group!
