Ever heard of the term psychographics? It's the psychology behind demographics and it is a fairly fascinating concept. The basic idea is that "birds of a feather flock together" or in the case of people, like minded people tend to live and shop and work together. And, when people live and work and shop together, their real estate needs shape the physical environment and community around them. Experts have been studying the life patterns, lifestyles, and habits of mass groups of individuals for decades. More recently, demographic data has been matched up with credit card expenditure data and the resulting patterns can actually be mapped with GIS data into what is called a Community Tapestry map. If you understand your clients and customers well, a Community Tapestry Map can give you one more tool to use when its time to locate your business in a great commercial real estate location. Some go so far as to say, it's not location, location, location anymore, its location, demographics, and timing.
