Understanding the true buying power of a region

Background

Painting a fuller demographic picture

A local business owner needed to convince Ben & Jerry’s that local residents in Boone would frequent his shop. But he faced a challenge: On paper, Boone is sparsely populated, with many household incomes falling well below the state’s median.

Starting in November 2017, he began working with Carolina Demography to paint a more robust picture of the area.

Approach

Capturing the full buying power of residents

We began by looking at data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources, which indicated that the high-level snapshot of the county didn’t paint a complete picture. Many county residents are students at Appalachian State University and the county receives steady, year-round stream of tourists. As a result, top-line demographic and socioeconomic data did not sufficiently capture the buying power of residents or the economic impact of tourists.

Our customized report, which detailed the true economic landscape of the area, convinced Ben & Jerry’s to award the franchise in Boone.