Geoscape and Environics Analytics Launch Joint Market Intelligence Platform

 Using GIS Canada, businesses will be able to analyze and develop strategies based on information regarding cultural shifts, population concentrations, spending trends, acculturation, and marketplace behavior.

According to Jan Kestle, president and founder of Environics Analytics, one in five Canadian residents is foreign-born, and the country is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the world. Between 2001 and 2011, the visible minority population grew by 52.2 percent to 6.1 million people—18.1 percent of the total population of 35 million. It is expected that by 2031, the vast majority of Canadians belonging to a visible minority group will live in one of 33 census metropolitan areas, and visible minority groups could comprise 63 percent of the population of Toronto, 59 percent of Vancouver, and 31 percent of Montréal, Kestle explains.

"American and Canadian businesses will need to start to understand these changes to remain relevant and reach this diverse consumer base," she says, "because business doesn't stop at the border."

With the new product, users will be able to locate and map different groups and calculate their potential for specific products, services, and activities. The system aggregates and models proprietary and public datasets to create a visualization of market potential.

The products features, developed by Geoscape, include Marketscape, a visualization component that allows marketers to navigate the entire nation from the national level down through micro geographies; MDx Reports, a multi-dimensional database technology that enables custom report development at various levels of geography across thousands of market and demographic indicators; and Retail Target, which allows businesses to map and understand market potential within the trade area of any given location or network of locations.

"Given Canada's status as one of the most diverse and wealthy countries in the world, the business community across North America must understand how to target consumers in a culturally relevant manner," Cesar Melgoza, CEO of Geoscape, said in a statement. "Understanding ethnicity, location, language-preference, acculturation, and potential cultural barriers are critical issues in an increasingly multicultural consumer market such as Canada."