Why a Consulting-Driven Approach Outperforms SaaS Models for Retail Site Selection

In today’s competitive retail landscape, brands are under immense pressure to make faster, smarter, and more profitable location decisions. To meet that demand, many are turning to high-cost software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms promising advanced location analytics through sleek dashboards and automated scoring. While these tools have their merits, they often fall short where it matters most: strategic depth, customization, and real-world applicability.

Retail location decisions are too complex to be left to software alone. A consultative, human-led approach delivers stronger outcomes and is often more cost-effective and adaptable to a brand’s growth stage.

The SaaS Model: Scalable, but Limited

Over the past decade, SaaS platforms have become increasingly common in the location analytics space. Fueled by private equity investment and driven by a recurring revenue mindset, these platforms prioritize scale, automation, and self-service functionality. Core characteristics of this model typically include:

• Standardized demographic and psychographic overlays
• Predictive site scoring via machine learning
• Multi-year licensing agreements
• Limited analyst support unless purchased separately

For enterprise-level retailers that lack internal analytics infrastructure, these platforms can provide a valuable starting point. But for mid-sized and emerging brands, or even experienced operators needing nuanced insights, this approach often proves too rigid, too expensive, and too detached from on-the-ground realities.

The Consulting Alternative: Strategy First, Technology Second

A consultative model offers a fundamentally different value proposition. It pairs access to similar datasets and analytic capabilities with human expertise and strategic interpretation. Rather than delivering a generic dashboard, consulting teams work alongside retailers to interpret data, refine growth strategies, and connect analytics to real estate execution.

1. Tailored Analytics That Align With Strategy

Every retailer has a unique business model, growth plan, and market profile. A consulting-driven approach adapts location analytics to fit those variables, offering support such as:

• Market prioritization and whitespace analysis
• Predictive modeling based on actual performance drivers
• Trade area and cannibalization studies
• Custom scoring that accounts for real estate dynamics and operational considerations

2. Real Estate Context, Not Just Data Overlays

SaaS tools often stop at data visualization. Consulting teams integrate that same data with actual real estate opportunities that reflect the market, including:

• Site availability and competition
• Co-tenancy and retail synergy analysis
• Market saturation and broker-sourced insights

This leads to more actionable outputs that account for what actually exists in the field, not just what looks good on a map.

3. Insights, Not Just Data 

Software platforms assume clients have in-house analysts who can interpret complex datasets. Consulting models eliminate that gap by delivering expert recommendations alongside every analysis. Instead of navigating dashboards and algorithms on their own, retailers benefit from experienced guidance that turns raw data into strategic decisions.

4. Scalable to Fit Emerging Brands

Many SaaS providers focus on retailers with 50+ locations. A consultative model can flex to support:

• Startups opening their first few units
• Growing brands approaching scale
• Franchisors evaluating new territories
• Private equity firms managing diverse retail portfolios

We provide all the analytical horsepower without the seven-figure budgets or long-term lock-ins.

5. More Value, Less Overhead 

A consulting-led approach typically costs less than half as much as leading SaaS platforms and delivers significantly greater strategic impact. Beyond the cost savings, clients benefit from ongoing model refinement, dedicated analyst support, and integrated real estate insight.

Why It Matters Now

As the SaaS ecosystem expands, many platforms are under pressure to scale user bases, not service levels. Retailers risk overpaying for tools they barely use — or worse, making location decisions based on misinterpreted or incomplete data.

Retail site selection is inherently complex. It demands more than a software login. Successful growth strategies require:

• Interpreting the why behind the numbers
• Aligning location decisions with broader brand and operational goals
• Navigating real estate variables that data models can’t fully capture

The Case for a Human-Centered Model 

SaaS platforms have a place in the location analytics toolkit. But they’re not a standalone solution for most brands—especially those seeking to grow strategically, avoid costly missteps, and make confident, data-driven decisions.

For retailers who want more than a dashboard, a consulting-driven model delivers deeper value, greater flexibility, and better results.

Site Selection Group offers this consultative approach, combining robust analytics, real estate expertise, and personalized strategy to help brands grow smarter. If your team is rethinking how it approaches site selection, we’re ready to help you make the shift from software to strategy.

Let’s move beyond the dashboard and build smarter location strategies together.