Core Market Area Data

Statistical Area: Hermiston, Umatilla, Stanfield, & Echo Zip Codes

Definition: A Local Trade Area (LTA) is where convenience-based retailers (e.g. auto parts stores, grocery stores, quick-service restaurants, and gas stations) will typically draw 70% to 75% of their business. The Core Market Area (CMA) is the more compact area where 70% of all LTA sales will come from.

Justification: These statistical areas were originally defined as true representations of shopper travel patterns by Pitney Bowes Business Insights in 2011 (PDF). These areas were re-verified in 2016 (PDF) by The Retail Coach through a Cell Phone Analysis which uses cell phone data to pin point where shoppers at specific retailers have come from. Based on these 3rd-party verifications of shoppers' travel habits, this data was compiled using zip-code level data to ensure un-corrupted information which aligns with these true trade areas.

Population: 38,511

Past Growth: 19% between 2000 & 2016

Projected Growth:33% between 2016 & 2035

The Trade Areas identified here are considered “true” trade areas, which means that they are customized based on previous professional analyses as well as a 2016 professional analysis of Hermiston-area customer travel patterns. The professional analyses which form the geographic basis for these trade areas were conducted by Pitney Bowes Business Insight in April, 2006 and again in March, 2011 on behalf of the City of Hermiston and are available for review on the City of Hermiston website. The City of Hermiston then retained The Retail Coach (TRC) in August, 2016 to conduct a Cell Phone Analysis, which utilizes cell phone information to pinpoint where customers of certain retailers originated from. This updated professional analysis (PDF) very much re-affirmed the boundaries of Hermiston’s trade areas.

In order to update the data for PBBI’s analyses, the City of Hermiston utilized the Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development’s Economic Development Division to run reports based on Zip-Code level data which aligned with the re-established market areas. Because these areas are not based on simple mileage rings, or drive-times, the data is less susceptible to corruption.

PBBI originally defined two general retail trade areas as “Local Trade Area” (LTA) and “Core Market Area” (CMA). Hermiston’s LTA is the geographic area from which its convenience-based retailers (e.g., auto parts stores, grocery stores, quick-service restaurants, and gas stations) will typically draw approximately 70% to 75% of their business. This area includes a population base that can support merchandise that is typically purchased on a weekly basis. Due to the dearth of retail available in surrounding communities, PBBI noted that Hermiston’s LTA is geographically very large; however a majority of its population (approximately 80%) resides within a significantly smaller geographic area, which it called the CMA. The CMA is the area where approximately 70% of all LTA sales will be generated.