Case Study: Knowledge of Community is Power for Brownsville, Texas

THE CHALLENGE

Brownsville is located on the southern tip of Texas. Across the Rio Grande River is Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Brownsville’s Mexican sister city.

The area has become an international trade hub and with the coming of SpaceX, the region will see tremendous growth of retail, entertainment and service industries.

Each unmanned launch at Cape Canaveral attracts more than 40,000 visitors and several million dollars in economic impact to the area. SpaceX plans to do 12 unmanned launches per year, totaling 180,000 visitors. Brownsville did not know the origin of their retail customers. How can they target customers? How can they plan a strategy for retail development without this knowledge?

THE SOLUTION

The Retail Coach was hired by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation to determine the origin of visitors to the Downtown and Cultural District.

In order to determine this, TRC completed a cell phone study analysis.

The analysis showed Brownsville was getting customers from throughout the region in Texas but also Mexico Citizens.

Brownsville is now able to use this information to target potential visitors and plan strategically. They understand their retail trade area and will provide that information to local businesses as well as potential business prospects.

The Brownsville Economic Development Council has this critical data on their website for developers, retailers, businesses and site selectors to view.

The majority of Brownsville shoppers are from major cities in Northeast Mexico, such as Monterrey. Monterrey is the country’s third largest city and one of the most industrial and affluent cities in Latin America.

Mexican nationals spend an average of $4.5 billion per year in Texas border retail. Brownsville receives 30-35% of that activity.