The UK dataset has been continuously improved and updated, and this year we are excited to announce that we have built a corresponding dataset for the Republic of Ireland. This will be the first of many as we plan to release data for across Europe over 2018.
For retailers wanting to size up the Irish market and understand the potential for store expansion, this is a key dataset.
The Irish dataset provides accurate boundaries for each retail place. With over 800 retail places in total, and coverage of the top 200 towns (by population), all the core areas are covered.
This new dataset has been created in such a way that will allow you to move seamlessly between the UK and Ireland; categories and definitions are consistent. We have added a new category, ‘Neighbourhood Shopping Centre’, common across ROI and the rest of Europe. This is a retail area anchored by a small supermarket with up to 20 total retailers, and usually has its own parking. Over 100 of these centres can be found in Ireland.
There are 22 retail place categories overall, from city centres down to weak parades. There are many small town centres in Ireland, contrasting to the UK which is much more dominated by larger city and town centres. In fact in Ireland, there are only 5 places with a population over 50,000; Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
Similarly to the UK dataset, a separate shopping centre layer has been created, as shopping centres are often a key focus for many retailers looking to open new stores. For example, see the centre of Cork (below). The black outline indicates the retail place, and you can see the shopping centres located within this.
If you are thinking your next move may be in Ireland, please get in contact, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
Title Image: Photo by Gregory DALLEAU on Unsplash
