What happens when a visitor extends their stay beyond the length of an average vacation?
If a device from outside 50 miles is observed in your destination for longer periods of time then that device goes through a process of being recategorized from visitor to resident.
Want to know more?
The home location (Common Evening Location) for each device is provided to us each month and matched against previous records. If a change is detected, that device is identified as a "weak" visitor. If this change continues to show a new home location inside your destination, that device over time will be classified as a resident.
Why?
Great question. To give you the best visibility, we need to account for a device's change in home location at the right pace. Sometimes people stay for a few months and then go home, and sometimes they move permanently to your destination. If they have moved, that device is most likely more inclined to participate in the resident economy i.e. grocery stores versus primary POIs.
Think of college students that you don't want to skew your visitor data, or snowbirds who stay for months at a time. Part-time residents are unique and we are constantly evolving the process we have to understand data on their presence in your destination.
*This is not a visitor category that’s visible within your ZDOS but can be illuminated through a dynamic visualization. Contact your Advisor or Support to request one be performed for your destination.
If you have this filter within dynamic visualizations, here are the classifications and how we determine them:
- Strong Visitor
- Weak Visitor
- Strong Resident
- Weak Resident
The “Strong” designation indicates that this device has a matching home location to the previous month. The “Weak” designation indicates the device did not have a home location listed in the same month of the observation, but we have a matching home location from a recent previous month.
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