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Downtown Adrian sees mixed visitor counts as Main Street director urges data-driven strategy
Summary
Main Street director Jay Marks told the DDA that updated Placer AI figures put 2024 visitors at 272,000 (up from an earlier 236,000 figure), described methodological differences with Cobalt 360 and geofence data, and said the authority will adjust capital and storage plans after a state-code restriction.
Jay Marks, the downtown Main Street director, told the Downtown Adrian Development Authority on Oct. 8 that updated visitor analytics show variability across suppliers but an overall stable picture for downtown visitation.
“We had 236,000 visitors that came to downtown,” Marks said of an earlier report, then described an updated Placer AI pull that showed 272,000 visitors for 2024 after algorithm changes. He said the board’s packet includes maps showing the origin of those visits — with stronger draw from Detroit and Ann Arbor and weaker pull toward Jackson and Perrysburg, Ohio — and that the downtown records roughly 1,500,000 total visits when repeat trips are counted.
Marks attributed the difference between the Cobalt 360 and Placer AI numbers to differing algorithms and data-capture settings. “Placer has tweaked their algorithm. Surprise, surprise,” he said, and noted that the dataset used for the Sept. 24–Aug. 25 comparison showed a 0.5% decline that is “well within the margin of error” he estimates at about ±3 percent.
Marks described the methodology as geofence-based, using cell-phone pings with a 10-minute minimum dwell to reduce pass-by traffic: “It’s cell phone pinging…geofence around the downtown have to spend at least 10 minutes in the area,” he said, acknowledging limits on what the data reveal about individual shoppers’ identities.
The director highlighted operating insights from the maps: Friday is the busiest day, Saturday second, and the single busiest hour centers near 6 p.m. He urged boards and committees to use those patterns when scheduling promotions and business support initiatives.
On operations, Marks told the board that a purchase approved at a prior meeting to acquire a storage building may conflict with state code for buildings of that size and that staff will explore rental or alternate storage arrangements rather than proceed with the purchase: “It was brought to my attention that the building of that size is not allowed by state code,” he said. The transcript does not specify the exact code section.
Marks also reported that the design committee has approved a mural proof, that a building permit will be submitted to the city’s building department and that the vendor (identified as Shane) will provide an installation schedule and an unveiling will be planned.
The DDA will host National Main Street representatives on Oct. 15 (board meeting at 2:30 p.m.) and is scheduled to accept an award from the Michigan Association of Planners on Oct. 22 in Kalamazoo. Board members were asked to RSVP for travel and attendance.
