McKinsey estimates that in-store sales will still make up 75% to 85% of all retail sales in 2025. For online-native retailers eyeing growth and expansion, this makes an omnichannel retail strategy critical.

One year ago today, we announced the launch of CARTOframes, a Python package for interacting with CARTO built specifically for data scientists. To celebrate, I sat down for a Fireside Chat with CARTOframes creator and member of our data science team, Andy Eschbacher, and Senior Customer Support Manager Jeff Ferzoco.

The recent releases of CARTO VL and Airship presented the opportunity for a post on solving common mapping problems.

When building new software applications, developers wrestle with doubts on whether their design decisions will deliver users the best possible experience. From interface layout to control and display element selection, developers must decide on a range of issues which directly impact the functionality of their apps. At CARTO we’re fortunate enough to work with a fantastic Design team who provides feedback on our projects, but most customers and partners don’t sit across from designers who can help them with these decisions.

To say that Amazon’s HQ2 decision proved divisive would be an understatement. Whether Jeff Bezos selected the neighborhoods of Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia and Long Island City, in Queens, New York because of their proximity to the political and economic centers of the U.S., or because he owns homes in each area, or both, many are criticizing the e-commerce giant for its year-long site planning contest where local officials in 236 U.S. cities dedicated limited resources on proposals to attract Amazon that could have been better spent.

Six months after the beta release, the CARTO team is proud to announce the full, public launch of CARTO VL, our JavaScript library for vector-based visualization and analytics, enabling faster, smarter decision making with Location Intelligence applications.

Vision Zero, a popular initiative aiming to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, emphasizes the need for more traffic data analysis. In understanding past mobility and movement patterns, cities and municipalities can better predict and prevent future accidents. As increased urbanization drives the need for more of these studies, let’s take a look at working with location data streams to measure, monitor, and manage traffic and mobility safely.

More than 5 billion of the world’s 7.5 billion people own a cell phone. That ubiquitousness, coupled with their innate connectivity, makes mobile devices, and specifically the font of data generated by them, the world’s most powerful tool for understanding people.

Frustration with Facebook and Google’s online advertising “duopoly,” which accounted for 63% of all U.S. digital ad revenue in 2017, is leading digital marketers to search for alternative ad-tech solutions. What firms, agencies, and departments are looking for is an agnostic platform that can process different types of location data, and especially mobile data, in order to design, deploy, and determine performance of geomarketing campaigns.

First used in the late 1800’s, Isochrone Maps, which depict the transport times in every direction from a distinct point, have long been an important component in the business analyst’s toolbox. But with modern data streams and Location Intelligence, a deeper understanding of customer travel and activity can be had using catchment areas derived from mobility data.