Point of Interest: Why Is This Data Important?

Point of Interest – Today, there are lots of new businesses popping up that make our activities easier, for instance, Gojek and Grab. Those two super apps focus on helping people to travel anywhere they want without having to wait on the side of the road.

We can order food through the apps without having to wait in line since the driver will take care of it and deliver it to your doorstep. 

To be able to pick up and deliver both food and passengers, drivers need an accurate point of location. Those points are called points of interest (POI) which is a crucial factor since it assists the driver in arriving at the intended destination. 

In addition, businesses can use points of interest to find strategic locations in order to open new stores or restaurants.

Get to Know Point of Interest

A point of interest is a certain point that people may find interesting or useful. It refers to restaurants, hospitals, stores, parks, tourist attractions, and many more.

Mainly, POI can be determined by geographic coordinates and some additional attributes such as names, categories, postal codes, and addresses. For example, there is a hotel with a longitude of 1.286546 and a latitude of 103.853721.

A POI is a place often visited by people because it offers products and services or provides memorable and unique experiences. 

Ways to Get POI Data

After understanding the meaning of POI, then how do we get the data?. There are several ways to get these points of interest data.

Website

We can derive POI from websites such as Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and so on by performing data extraction. 

Through OpenStreetMap, businesses are able to extract geospatial data points. Nevertheless, the process is not suitable for a project that requires massive POI data since the activities will take a lot of energy and time, and even after getting the data, we have to clean them up before using them for analysis. 

Additionally, POI data can be obtained from LOKASI Intelligence. It is a geospatial platform that combines location intelligence and location analytics.

Social Media and Vendor

As social media such as Instagram and TikTok grow in popularity, some users often attach their location to their posts. There are several companies that obtain location data through social media or by purchasing it from providers that run applications to do so.

It is important to note, 

however, the location data generated by users are not always accurate since it depends on their device hardware, their permissions to access location in specific applications, and the accuracy of their device settings.

Government Institution

Aside from websites and social media, POI data can be obtained through government institutions namely Geospatial Information Agency.

The agency provides information about location coordinates such as mountains, caves, waterfalls, lakes, capes, hills, rivers, cities, regencies, and more. POI data can be downloaded for free from their website.

The Use of Point of Interest Data in Business

Please, keep in mind that POI data is a pivotal factor to determine the right location. The data is used by all parties either the government or public companies.

Generally, POI data is used to assess a location, understand visitors’ behavior, gaining insights to create marketing and selling strategies.  

Food and beverage

Companies that focus on culinary use POI to understand the particular areas and the type of people who visit those locations. 

For instance, if a restaurant company wants to open a new location, then they need to find a place that is near many POIs such as offices, schools, and attractions.

Government

The government institution utilizes POI for various reasons such as infrastructure planning, identifying and filling the gap in public services like schools, hospitals, libraries, and so on. 

In addition, the government can also use POI to track, assess, and monitor the landscape of retail that fluctuates over time. These activities can help the government identify local economic trends. 

Furthermore, it will assist the government in planning better ways to distribute local tourist attractions and business opportunities.

The government can also use POI to improve the security of a city by grouping areas with a high criminal tendency as crime-prone.

Retail

In general, retail companies use their point of interest to monitor store performance or partner stores that exist in different locations as well as their competitors.

On the other hand, retailers are able to harness the information about foot traffic to analyze a certain area and choose the right locations for expansion.

POI allows companies to compare sales between stores across the area.  

If a store’s location generates good revenue, one can use it to select another similar location that will produce good revenue as well.

Investor and real estate agent

Most people look for a new house based on its location, whether it is located near hospitals, stores, schools, parks, etc. Those POIs assists real estate agent or investor to gain insights into the performance of the real estate market in a particular area.

Real estate can also offer business opportunities based on POI to the prospective buyers such as a certain area suitable for opening new restaurants or a new store.

Get competitive business insights with LOKASI Intelligence

In a variety of industries, POI data can be helpful since using the right POI data will help businesses target relevant customers, avoid mistakes when creating marketing and sales strategies, and avoid being left behind by competitors.

Furthermore, POI assists businesses in gaining detailed information about locations such as accessibility, and whether the locations are in close proximity to offices, universities, supermarkets, and more.

Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to find an accurate POI data provider, up to date, and reliable. One of them is LOKASI Intelligence.

It is a geospatial platform that combines business intelligence, location intelligence, and machine learning. LOKASI has 6 million POI data and still growing.

This POI data ranges from the locations of emergency services like hospitals, and clinics, to tourist attractions such as parks, beaches, and so on.

Find out more on how we help businesses in developing their business by contacting [email protected] or Whatsapp at 087779077750.