How can Main Street programs use visitor data to make smarter and more strategic decisions? At the 2025 Main Street Now Conference, I spoke with Joshua Prusik, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to explore this question during our session, ​“Practical Applications of Visitor Data.” We explored the impact of visitor data, the types of questions that you can answer with these tools, and two examples of Michigan Main Street communities who have leveraged visitor data reports to achieve measurable results.

Visitor Data 101

Visitor data helps Main Streets understand how people interact with their districts: where visitors come from, how long they stay, and how often they return. Using visitor data or location analytics from platforms like Plac​er​.ai, Main Street programs can uncover valuable behavioral and demographic insights about the local community and the visitors to their districts. 

While powerful, utilizing visitor data also comes with challenges. Platforms like Plac​er​.ai contain an immense amount of data, and it can take time to learn how to navigate and interpret it. For local directors who already feel time- or budget-constrained, making the most of your investment in a tool like this can feel overwhelming. To help bridge that gap, Main Street America’s Research team offers accessible, affordable visitor data reports specifically tailored for Main Street districts. These reports analyze visitor patterns, highlight key trends, and frame the data to directly support Main Street priorities. 

Business Recruitment at Lapeer Main Street

Downtown Lapeer faced a challenge: a downtown property sat vacant for three years, with multiple restaurant inquiries that never materialized. Using a mix of local survey data, market insights, and visitor data, Lapeer Main Street made the case for why the space could succeed.

The data showed that the district’s visitor traffic and existing business gaps supported a bakery or a food-based business. At the same time, a local farmer’s market vendor selling baked goods had been running successful pop-ups in a neighboring business, consistently selling out and proving local demand. This evidence helped convince the property owner that the concept of a bakery was a strong fit and had a high likelihood of success in the space. 

Considering all of this, the local farmer’s market vendor had the confidence to open her first brick-and-mortar location. Visitor data helped validate the market potential and ultimately supported the launch of a successful new downtown business. Grace & Butter Bakery plans to open its doors in Historic Downtown Lapeer in early 2026.

Reinventing Event Sponsorships in Saline Main Street

Saline Main Street used visitor data to transform its sponsorship and fundraising model. The program had previously relied on a comprehensive ​“annual ask” with multiple sponsorship tiers, all directed towards general programming. While effective, this model bundled all events into a single request and didn’t give donors the option to support individual initiatives. 

When one sponsor expressed interest in supporting a specific event rather than participating in the annual ask, the program introduced a la carte event sponsorships to complement its existing model. Saline incorporated visitor data directly on the sponsorship materials to demonstrate the reach of each event, highlighting event attendance, demographics, and key visitor characteristics. For its signature Oktoberfest event, Saline Main Street created new sponsorship tiers, including a ​“Main Stage” sponsorship level priced 50% higher than their highest annual ask. 

The data-backed sponsorship packages proved compelling: Saline Main Street secured its largest-ever single-sponsor contribution. The 2025 sponsorship totals tracked 10% higher year over year, including $6,000 toward event-specific sponsorships alone, and created friendly competition among event operators to get more sponsorships.

Lessons for Main Streets Everywhere

Visitor data can serve as a storytelling tool that helps local Main Street programs connect community context with measurable outcomes. When combined with local context, visitor data can help local programs demonstrate the impact of their work and show that the Main Street program is making a measurable difference. Visitor data validates the work of Main Street, both as an economic driver and as a value for residents.

If you are interested in learning more about these location data reports or purchasing one, please contact research@​mainstreet.​org. 

Do you want to learn more about data-driven market analysis as a tool to drive transformation strategies? Check out this market analysis series by Chief Innovation Officer Matt Wagner:

Downtown Decorations, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter’s Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about what they do to support Main Street organizations, click here.