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Cellphone data study: Reynosa shoppers drove roughly $48 million in McAllen retail sales across 33 peak days, economist says
Summary
Dr. Belinda Roman presented a cellphone‑data analysis estimating that shoppers from Reynosa made about 177 million visits to McAllen businesses during 33 peak shopping days; direct retail spending was estimated at roughly $48 million and total economic impact about $80 million for that period.
McAllen hosted a presentation on cross‑border commerce where an economist described a cellphone‑data method to estimate spending by shoppers who cross from Reynosa, Mexico, into McAllen.
Dr. Belinda Roman, introduced as an associate professor of economics at Saint Mary's University, said researchers used anonymized cellular data that originated in Reynosa, isolated residential devices (required to be in a Reynosa neighborhood for 48 hours before crossing) and matched device locations to Mexican household statistics to estimate spending patterns. "The Mexican shopper has money to spend," Roman said.
Roman summarized the data and conservative assumptions used to translate device movements into…
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