Featured Guest
You’ll find this guest among our growing roll of Urban Champions.
Rupen Seoni
Senior Vice President and Practice Leader, Environics Analytics
Kevin Narraway
Marketing Manager
Graziella Grbac
Executive Director, Village on Main St
David Pensato
Executive Director, The Exchange District BIZ
5 Key
Takeaways
A roundup of the most compelling ideas, themes and quotes from this candid conversation
1. Data drives understanding
Data analytics has a role to play in determining who shops where, how far they will travel, and what they are looking to buy. Understanding these commercial patterns are key to adapting main streets to changing conditions. Rupen Seoni, Practice Leader at Environics Analytics, contends that knowing one’s target population and the direction of economic trends can lead to better decision making when it comes to allocating hundreds of millions of investment dollars.
2. Going beyond demographics
Data analytics can go beyond basic demographic considerations such as socioeconomic status, age and ethnicity. Psychographics delve into the way people think by looking at personality, values, opinions, interests and attitudes. Combining demographics with psychographics builds a more complete picture of the factors that drive consumer behaviours. Environics Analytics’ PRIZM project has classified each of Canada’s 800,000 postal codes one of sixty-seven evocative lifestyle types. These profiles provide main street businesses a better understanding of the characteristics of their immediate markets so retailers can understand better their market.
3. Different main streets, different experiences
Main streets come in different forms and serve different functions. Seoni categorized CUI’s nine focal main street subjects into three categories: Central Business Districts, Non-Downtown Main Streets, and Small Town Main Streets. Comparing 2020 visits to pre-COVID 2019 levels reveals that streets of each category experienced different levels of decline and recovery. Tourism focused main streets have seen their transient patrons disappear while main streets that support local residents have fared much better. Each main street has its own configuration of assets and disadvantages that require a custom-tailored approach to recovery.
4. “Close in matters more than ever.”
Environics Analytics’ findings reveal that the amount of time people spend away from their home postal codes and the distances they travel are at levels much lower than before the pandemic. Main streets are increasingly becoming dependent on their immediate local markets. According to Seoni, any pandemic recovery strategy should be rooted in “local decisions that need local action and local information to help support that mission.” By better understanding the local market, main streets can tailor their services and wares to the needs of that market.
5. Improving Connectivity and Access
Increasing traffic is a key measure of success for main street recoveries. For main streets to survive the pandemic intact there is a need to get people to come out and support local businesses. David Pensato, Executive Director of the Exchange District BIZ in Winnipeg, speaks of the creation of a bike loop connecting seven adjacent neighbourhoods to the district. Kevin Narraway, Marketing Manager at Port Hope, implemented a shop local campaign. Improving convenient physical access to main streets combined with marketing campaigns can be effective ways to increase local traffic.
Full Panel
Transcript
Note to readers: This video session was transcribed using auto-transcribing software. Manual editing was undertaken in an effort to improve readability and clarity. Questions or concerns with the transcription can be directed to events@canurb.org with “transcription” in the subject line.
Full Audience
Chatroom Transcript
Note to reader: Chat comments have been edited for ease of readability. The text has not been edited for spelling or grammar. For questions or concerns, please contact events@canurb.org with “Chat Comments” in the subject lin
From Canadian Urban Institute: You can find transcripts and recordings of today’s and all our webinars at https://canurb.org/citytalk
12:02:37 From Canadian Urban Institute : Welcome! Folks, please change your chat settings to “all panelists and attendees” so everyone can see your comments.
12:03:11 From Canadian Urban Institute : day’s and all our sessions at https://www.canurb.org/citytalk
12:03:28 From Canadian Urban Institute : Keep the conversation going #citytalk @canurb
12:03:44 From Toby Greenbaum : Hi everyone. Toby from Ottawa
12:03:46 From Canadian Urban Institute : You can find transcripts and recordings of today’s and all our sessions at https://www.canurb.org/citytalk
12:04:19 From Canadian Urban Institute : CUI extends a big thank you to our partner for today’s session Environics Analytics.
12:04:51 From Abby S : from Tkaranto
12:05:49 From Leandro Santos : Hello from Mississauga
12:20:53 From ruth mora to All panelists : what is first class families?
12:25:58 From Canadian Urban Institute : Rupen Seoni
linkedin.com/in/rupenseoni
@RupenSeoni
Kevin Narraway
linkedin.com/in/knarraway
Graziella Grbac
linkedin.com/in/graziella-grbac-mba-17705226/
David Pensato
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pensato/
Twitter: @pensato
12:38:31 From Laura Tate to All panelists : Ariana, Rupen and panelists- thank you so much for this. I have a conflict so must leave early, but am excited about this research and reflection, and will continue to follow it.
12:40:50 From sue uteck : It’s a beautiful area to visit ! (former Oshawa resident now a Hali girl!)
12:40:57 From Abby S : Is the nature of tourism shifting as it becomes local away from consumerism more to activity that does not involve shopping, or is it a given that it involves shopping?
12:43:04 From Abby S : How do we revive mainstreets if indeed retail itself is shifting? If it is…not sure what the data says. Anecdotally it seems to be.
12:43:28 From Irena Nikolova to All panelists : I just saw four For Lease signs on restaurants and bars on King Street West in Toronto. I wonder what will happen once the restrictions end. We certainly have too many bars, pastry shops and restaurants in downtown Toronto. Are you seeing similar trends in other cities?
12:44:04 From Abby S : Rupen touched on this with the Prize analysis and shifting habits.
12:44:12 From Abby S : *Prizm
12:44:17 From Tim Bayne to All panelists : From data I’ve seen shopping is still very much a priority for tourists
12:44:57 From Canadian Urban Institute to Irena Nikolova and all panelists : Hi, Irena! Can you change your chat settings and re-post? Your comment only went to panelists. Thanks!
12:45:07 From Abby S : Love the outdoor foodcourt concept…
12:45:25 From Tim Bayne to All panelists : Respondents suggested shopping is one of the activities they are comfortable doing while visiting a destination.
12:45:29 From Canadian Urban Institute : We love your comments and questions in the chat! Share them with everyone by changing your chat settings to “all panelists and attendees”. Thanks!
12:47:08 From Abby S : @Rupen…thank you. Right…are people just trying to get out…
12:47:13 From Irena Nikolova : I saw four For Lease signs on restaurants and bars on King St.W in Toronto. I wonder what will happen once the restrictions end. We have too many restaurants and pastry shops downtown. Are you observing similar trends in other cities?
12:48:16 From Albert Wong : The outdoor food court concept is brilliant
12:48:49 From Abby S : @Albert ^^ agree!
12:48:50 From Irena Nikolova : We have seen a lot more people in the parks in Toronto, the GTA and even outside Toronto and these are people who would be shopping..
12:50:01 From sue uteck : In Halifax, we lost 200 cruise ship visits which is a major blow. We are beginning to plan for a more local focus as this sector will not recover for a few years.
12:50:39 From Canadian Urban Institute : You can find transcripts and recordings of today’s and all our sessions at https://www.canurb.org/citytalk
12:51:00 From Gaelen Pierce : Gaelen Pierce from Town of Innisfil – To any of the panelists – In the context of a community who is actively constructing its main street (or for other communities who are actively recovering from the exodus and decline of their main streets) – what would your comments be on Councils who are hesitating or faltering in the face of COVID in their commitment to rebuild and keep improving these places? Is there a risk of losing sight of the forest (long-term prosperity) for the trees (short-term risk avoidance)?
12:52:32 From Canadian Urban Institute : Keep the conversation going #citytalk @canurb
12:54:05 From Canadian Urban Institute : What did you think of today’s conversation? Help us improve our programming with a short post-webinar survey – https://bit.ly/2HLakM6
12:55:07 From Ralph Cipolla : hi safe downtown is becoming more of a problem during covid do you have any recommendation other than calling the police to help with this problem ralph cipolla from Orillia ontario
12:55:21 From Abby S : If communities and main streets count on older demographics vs younger…it may take time before those most at risk of Covid venture out…(until a vaccine)…just out of an abundance of caution. How to make those communities feel safe is key.
12:55:34 From Canadian Urban Institute : To support CityTalk and the Canadian Urban Institute’s other city building initiatives, please donate at www.canurb.org/donate.
12:56:59 From Gaelen Pierce : 100%
12:58:56 From Albert Wong : Please also consider transportation options (beyond driving) when attracting people into the downtown core.
13:00:07 From Lukas Golka to All panelists : Thanks, it is very supportive.
13:00:38 From Canadian Urban Institute : CUI extends a big thank you to our partner for today’s session Environics Analytics.
