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A GUIDE TO RETAIL IMPACT STUDIES survey provides a credible estimate of local employment and wages in any given sector. If the community has experienced significant changes in the composition of the retail sector through the opening or closing of stores, the analyst should endeavor to adjust employment and wage data to reflect these changes. Other datasets, including publicly available data from states or cities, can be used if they are readily available and suited to the task. However, these datasets may not have retail sales broken out by line of goods or correspond to the geographic area needed for this analysis. The analyst must weigh the trade-offs and select the data source most appropriate for the situation. Developing a More Detailed Understanding of the Region's Retail Activity The analyst should then endeavor to gain a more specific understanding of local retail community and visiting as many retail stores as possible. Such visits will allow the analyst to understand local shopping habits, note the availability and cost of a range of goods and services, and speak to shopkeepers and local officials about the customer base and community. Particular attention should be paid to reviewing the retail economy in the impact area and identifying existing merchants facing new competition from the proposed large format retailer. If the proposed development includes grocery inventory, existing grocery stores should be included in the evaluation. This can be supplemented or replaced with a retailer survey, which may be less expensive and is likely to provide better statistical information. The analyst may also find it useful to conduct a market basket study, comparing the availability and cost of goods in the impact area and nearby communities. Such a price comparison may shed light on regional spending patterns. In addition, the findings are often surprising to residents of the study community, highlighting price competitiveness that local lore assumed was lacking. 14