Team: Rachael Agnello, Semora Council, Yuxi Zhou
When do people patronize Sheetz? Is it an early morning stop for coffee and fuel on the way to work? A late-night run for Sheetz Made-To-Order Schnack Wrapz? Or a convenient midday break during a long road trip?
Understanding the geographic movements of existing and potential Sheetz customers is key to placing new Sheetz locations.
Using about 50 million anonymized cell phone “pings” gathered between 2019 and today from throughout Allegheny County, the Sheetz capstone team will analyze the Sheetz market. The team will look at the placement of current Sheetz locations as well as potential new locations, situated such that they could attract new customers, perhaps luring them away from Sheetz competitors. The Sheetz capstone team would then be positioned to help the Sheetz real estate team decide which commercial land lots to purchase as part of their growth strategy.
The Sheetz capstone team will be tapping data visualization software such as Tableau to help map people movement patterns within Allegheny County.
The map and model the team develops could also be used to calculate market share and identify currently unknown Sheetz competitors. Further, the foundational map and model could be used beyond Allegheny County to help craft a more comprehensive site selection strategy throughout the entire Sheetz business footprint.