Every market has its own rhythm. The challenge is designing branch formats that are truly calibrated to how people live and move within that market.
Too often, branch decisions lean heavily on demographics alone, without fully accounting for daily routines. One practical way to dig deeper is by looking at errand elasticity.
Why Behavior Beats Assumptions
Errand Elasticity measures how often a visit to one location is paired with another stop within a short window of time (typically 90 minutes). In practical terms, it shows whether people are bundling multiple errands together or making a single, intentional trip.
When a large share of visits includes multiple stops, the area is considered high-elasticity. These environments are often commuter corridors, neighborhood retail centers, or mixed-use districts where people are moving quickly and stacking tasks into limited windows of time. Branches that perform well in these markets are easy to see, easy to access, and fast to use. Convenience isn’t a differentiator; it’s the baseline expectation.
Low-elasticity markets work differently. Here, most visits are one-and-done. These are destination trips, where members are willing to make a dedicated visit and stay longer once they arrive. Larger footprints, consultative spaces, and formats designed for deeper conversations align more naturally with how people engage in these areas.
