Glossary of report terms
Plain-language definitions for the terms in a Roocation report — each with why it matters and its main limitation.
No terms match — clear the search or choose another category.
Plain-language definitions for the terms used in Roocation reports. Every report reads the external conditions around an address — never a business's own sales, costs or performance — and each entry below notes why the term matters and its main limitation. For how these pieces fit together, see our methodology.
Opportunity Score
A 0–100 composite that summarises how favourable the external conditions around a location look for a given business type, combining six scored categories — demand, demographics, catchment, access, reviews and competition.
Why it matters: Gives a single comparable headline across locations. Limitation: It is a directional signal from external evidence, not a prediction of revenue or success.
Assessment band
The plain-language label attached to a score range, such as Promising or Constrained.
Why it matters: Makes a numeric score easier to interpret at a glance. Limitation: Bands are thresholds on the same evidence — read the underlying sections, not just the band.
Data Confidence
How much recent, relevant public data supports a section: High confidence, Moderate confidence, Limited evidence or Not enough evidence.
Why it matters: Tells you how much weight to place on a finding. Limitation: Confidence describes evidence quality, not performance, and is never highlighted as "best".
Direct competitor
A nearby business offering substantially the same product or service to the same customers.
Why it matters: Direct competitors compete for the same demand. Limitation: Classification depends on public listings and can miss very new or unlisted businesses.
Adjacent competitor
A nearby business that overlaps partially — sharing some customers or occasions but not the core offer.
Why it matters: Adjacent supply still shapes demand and pricing. Limitation: The line between direct and adjacent is a judgement based on category data.
Catchment
The estimated reachable area around a location, based on distance and routing assumptions.
Why it matters: Frames who could realistically reach the location. Limitation: It is modelled, not observed customer journeys, and ignores habit and preference.
Demand signal
Public interest indicators — such as search interest — pointing to demand for a category near a location.
Why it matters: Highlights where interest may outstrip local supply. Limitation: Signals are directional and can reflect curiosity rather than spending.
Market gap signal
A pattern where demand indicators appear stronger than the identified nearby supply.
Why it matters: Points to a possible unmet-demand opportunity. Limitation: A gap in the data is not proof that a business will succeed there.
Analysis area
The radius or area chosen for an analysis, matched to the business and local context.
Why it matters: Determines which competitors, residents and access count. Limitation: Too large or too small an area can distort the picture; choose it deliberately.
Derived indicator
A value Roocation calculates from source data rather than reading directly.
Why it matters: Turns raw data into a comparable measure. Limitation: Derivations carry the assumptions of their method — see the methodology.
Source data
Values read directly from a public or licensed dataset, labelled with source and date.
Why it matters: The factual base under the analysis. Limitation: Source data inherits the coverage and update gaps of its provider.
Calculated / derived evidence
Evidence produced by combining or transforming source data.
Why it matters: Lets sections compare unlike inputs on a common basis. Limitation: Interpret alongside the source and confidence notes for that section.
Suppression
Withholding a value when the underlying data is too sparse to report responsibly.
Why it matters: Prevents misleading precision from thin data. Limitation: A suppressed value means "not enough evidence", not zero.
Insufficient coverage
When a location lacks enough recent public data across core families to produce a reliable report.
Why it matters: Explains why some addresses cannot be analysed. Limitation: Coverage can change over time; a waitlist notifies you if it improves.
Monitoring baseline
The snapshot of external conditions captured when Monitoring begins, used for later comparison.
Why it matters: Later checks are measured against it. Limitation: It reflects conditions on the baseline date only, not a target.