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City/BID cites higher attendance, longer visits for Small Business Saturday
Summary
Placer AI estimates show downtown visits rose from about 1,000 in 2024 to 1,700 in 2025 and average dwell time increased from 61 to 108 minutes, an indication BID and city leaders say can support future grant requests and business outreach.
BID and city staff reviewed anonymized Placer AI data for the recent Small Business Saturday event and reported a marked increase in estimated visits and time spent downtown.
The dataset presented shows an estimated 1,000 visits in the downtown area for the 2024 event window versus about 1,700 in 2025; average dwell time increased from about 61 minutes to about 108 minutes. Staff also noted the share of visitors from Selma rose from roughly 30% in 2024 to 44.9% in 2025, and that the event drew more visitors from Fresno and surrounding towns than the prior year. Staff emphasized that Placer AI is an estimate based on anonymized, sampled cell-signal data and is not an exact headcount, but said the metrics are useful for tracking behavior and supporting future grant applications.
BID members suggested using the data to refine event timings and vendor arrangements (for example extending event hours and increasing hot-chocolate and raffle capacity), and staff said the tool can help target marketing and future grant applications by showing nonlocal visitation patterns.
