Lexington residents’ cell phone data used to lobby for new stores. What to know

Thousands of Lexington County residents cross the county line daily to shop and eat, and the town of Lexington is tracking those trips using cell phone data. The goal: figure out what businesses are missing locally and use real numbers to recruit them.

FULL STORY: How your phone can show what stores are needed in Lexington County

Here are key takeaways:

• Lexington County residents made 375,000 trips to Costco and 469,000 trips to the Walmart in Ballentine in 2025, according to data reviewed by The State. Trenholm Plaza in Columbia drew nearly 275,000 Lexington County visitors.

• The data comes from free apps on residents’ phones. It tracks which census tract a phone travels to by combining global imaging and U.S. Census data, according to town economic developer Jack Stuart.

• Full-service restaurants represent the biggest gap: $232 million in annual spending that leaves the county. Limited-service eating places account for another $229 million.

• Grocery stores show a $22.2 million spending gap. Stuart said a need for more groceries is “typical for high growth areas.”

• Other unmet demand includes $45.5 million for auto dealers, $26.3 million for electronics and appliances, $22.1 million for bars, and $18 million for office supplies.

• The data has already driven results. Stuart said the town used trip data showing how many residents drove the 37-mile round trip to the Forest Drive Trader Joe’s to lobby the chain before a new location opened on Harbison Boulevard last year. “My first great example was when we brought in Outback where O’Charley’s was,” Stuart said. “That was 120% driven by data.”

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.