When Chris Myers, Director of GIS and Research joined NewQuest in 2021, he had a bit of a blank canvas - there wasn’t even a GIS department. "I was building it from scratch," he said. Thankfully, Chris had used ChainXY before and knew it was the first tool he needed to get started. _‍

"It was a no-brainer. You guys are really good at what you do—no complicated fluff, just solid, up-to-date retail data." - Chris Myers_‍

For a commercial real estate developer like NewQuest, accurate retail location data is crucial. It powers everything from their brokerage team’s deals to their development strategy. Before the integration with ArcGIS Online (AGOL), keeping that data updated was, well, a bit of a hassle for their team. “We had hundreds of collections, and we were manually updating them - quarterly, if we were lucky. It was hard to keep up,” Chris admitted.

ArcGIS .... More like ArcGIS Yes!

But then came the game-changer: ChainXY’s AGOL integration feature. “When you launched it, it was like, finally! It streamlined everything,” Chris said. With the integration, his team could sync collections directly to feature layers that automatically stayed updated. “Now we just maintain one big collection, and we can filter it however we want for different apps - fitness, groceries, hotels, you name it. No more downloading CSVs or wondering when we last updated something.”

The integration even helped their marketing team. By using ChainXY’s data through Esri’s Adobe extension, designers could create accurate, up-to-date maps for brochures and marketing materials without having to bug the GIS team. “Our marketing team loves it,” Chris said. “ They can now confidently whip up a map knowing it’s current, which saves everyone a ton of time.”

Getting the integration up and running wasn’t without its quirks - “Esri licensing, am I right?” Chris joked - but the ChainXY team had his back. “You guys were super responsive. Even when syncs failed, the platform’s change log made it easy to figure out what was wrong. And now, with updates like email alerts, it’s even smoother.”

Quality Data Makes A Difference

The benefits of ChainXY’s data and integration weren’t just about saving time (though that was a big one). Chris shared how they used the data to spot market trends, like which retailers were moving in and out of specific areas. One cool example? Tracking where luxury brands were setting up shop in unexpected markets like Boise and Detroit. “Luxury brands are super strategic. When they enter a market, it’s a big indicator of growth and confidence,” Chris explained. It’s insights like these that help NewQuest stay ahead in tight retail markets.

Looking ahead, Chris has a wish list for ChainXY: “If you could link change logs directly to feature layers, that would be amazing. We already use the change logs all the time, but having them live and integrated would make it even better for things like market analysis.” When asked if he’d recommend ChainXY, Chris didn’t hold back. “Absolutely. If retail location data is a big part of your strategy, it’s worth it. The integration saves so much time and stress. And it’s not overcomplicated - it just works.”

Chris ended with some advice for ChainXY: “Stick to what you’re great at - solid retail location data. So many tools out there try to do too much and end up being mediocre at everything. You guys are different, and that’s why we’ve never needed to look anywhere else.”

At the end of the day, it’s about results, Chris put it precisely -  

“With ChainXY, we don’t have to worry about our data being out of date or our workflows being clunky. It’s reliable, efficient, and honestly, it makes our lives so much easier.”