Peotone to Spend $12,000 on Location Analytics Software to Boost Economic Development

Peotone Village Board Meeting | August 25, 2025

Article Summary: The Peotone Village Board approved a one-year, $12,000 contract for Placer.ai software, a tool that analyzes mobile phone location data to track consumer traffic patterns. Village officials plan to use the data to strengthen their efforts in recruiting new businesses, supporting existing local merchants, and making data-driven marketing decisions.

Economic Development Initiative Key Points:

• The board unanimously approved a $12,000 one-year subscription to Placer Labs, Inc. for its location analytics platform.

• The software uses aggregated, anonymized cell phone data to analyze consumer movement, identify economic trends, and measure visitor traffic.

• Village officials intend to use the data for retail recruitment, event analysis, grant writing, and developing targeted marketing strategies.

• Following questions from the board, the Village Administrator committed to providing regular reports on how the software is being used and the results of outreach efforts.

The Village of Peotone will invest in sophisticated data analytics to bolster its economic development efforts after the Village Board on Monday, August 25, 2025, unanimously approved a $12,000 purchase order for a one-year subscription with Placer Labs, Inc.

The software, Placer.ai, uses aggregated and anonymized location data from mobile devices to provide detailed insights into consumer behavior. Village Administrator Nick Palmer explained that the tool will allow the village to measure foot traffic, understand where visitors are coming from, and identify “retail leakage”—instances where residents travel to other towns for goods and services.

“This is a tool that will be part of others that we use for planning economic development efforts,” Palmer told the board. “It allows us to do a number of things… it’ll reveal retail leakage. For example, people who leave Peotone to go to other communities to buy certain products, we’ll be able to identify that better and quantify it. Then we can talk to a prospective business.”

The software provides data that can be used for event analysis for large draws like the Will County Fair or Christmas in the Village, as well as for analyzing traffic patterns related to tourism, particularly with the village’s proximity to Interstate 57. Palmer noted this data is valuable for grant writing and for supporting existing local businesses with strategic information. He stressed that the data collection is anonymous and respects privacy.

“Before people freak out, it’s not Big Brother watching over,” Palmer said. “It’s only used by people who’ve opted into sharing their location on apps they use… and they only provide aggregated statistical information about physical locations.”

Trustee Jackie Richards questioned how the village would actively use the data to bring businesses to town, comparing it to previous discussions about hiring an economic development consultant.

“We’ll have that information, but what are we actually going to use it for?” Richards asked.

Palmer responded that he and Mayor Chris Vieaux would use the data to make targeted pitches to prospective businesses and developers. “It’s not like we’re getting all day long people knocking on our door,” Palmer said. “We’re going to have to go find them.”

Trustee Pat Bowden, who sits on the economic development committee where the software was first demonstrated, supported the move. “They’ll know we’re more serious, too, because we have the software to do this, to give them the information, and they’ll realize that we’re not just some corn town that doesn’t know what they’re doing. We’re actively trying to bring in business.”

The funds for the one-year subscription were already allocated in the current fiscal year budget. Palmer said the administration opted for a one-year trial to assess the tool’s effectiveness. “If we like it, we can continue on. If we don’t think it’s useful, we won’t continue on,” he stated. In response to board requests, Palmer agreed to provide monthly reports on the software’s use and the village’s resulting outreach activities.