Research Group Shares Tidbits About Consumer Shopping Habits in Arlington Heights

Arlington Heights' Peggy Kinnane’s Irish Restaurant and Pub is one of the most popular places in town, topping a list in the village's 2013 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey.

But a reason some may not go to Peggy Kinnane's, or other downtown restaurants, is that they have difficulty finding parking, according to the survey conducted by Public Research Group.

Business owners and village officials got some insights Thursday on a draft of the group's survey which should help businesses reach new customers and help Arlington Heights further define its business strategy. 

Arlington Economic Alliance, one of the village’s 18 committees, made a series of recommendations including evaluating and updating the village’s marketing strategy - including the Discover Arlington Heights website. Before Arlington Heights does that, the Alliance wanted to find out consumer shopping habits.

The Public Research Group, based in Naperville, conducted the survey over seven months, holding focus groups and reaching out to residents via mailings, phone calls and emails, said David Emanuelson, a partner with the group.

About 1,700 people responded to the survey, of which 70 percent were women and 30 percent were men, said Emanuelson who lead a meeting Thursday that drew business owners and others to village hall.

 Some key findings:

• Arlington Heights has untapped opportunities for business in “Uptown” Arlington.
• Respondents have a perception that parking is difficult in the downtown, which could keep them away.
• A variety of shops and restaurants are important to shoppers.

Downtown has a lot of business that offer services  - like nail salons and cleaners - and is evolving into a specialty-oriented area.

 “Overall, the downtown has a very stable, solid core of service” businesses, said Tod Stanton, with Public Research Group.

“People in Arlington Heights are shopping in Arlington Heights,” Emanuelson said. “They are not going out of town like other people think.”

People come downtown for entertainment, restaurants and service businesses, like shoe repair shops, according to the data. The most popular downtown services are shoe repair, cleaners, hair and nail salons, Metropolis Theater, and Arlingotn Theatre before it closed down last year. A new theater will open this summer.

But respondents found parking is difficult and inconvenient, according to the survey.

What the survey also found, which can help businesses, is respondents are not utilizing social media or the Internet

Seventy percent of those surveyed said they were not familiar with Discover Arlington Heights, a village website geared toward promoting businesses, the research group found.

“What that tells us, as much as we like to have a web-based community, the public has really not come of age here in this particular community,” Emanuelson said.

There is much more data that will be available to the public once a final report is issued. Public Research Group will hold meetings to gather public comment on the draft survey then issue a final report later.

“This is the first time looking at the data, said Kristine Stabler, Vice President of Community Affairs for Arlington International Racecourse and a member of the Alliance. “What I was most impressed with were the business owners who came out to hear the information. I look forward to the next round to hear more from them.”