Pinpoint: Location Scout

The impact of the internet on location decisions in IGCSE Business

This free game is part of our Pearson Edexcel iGCSE Business (4BS1) course for exams in EXAM YEARS 2026-2028.

Does location still matter?

Traditionally, many businesses followed the rule "location, location, location": find a busy street with lots of passing customers. The internet has changed that. Businesses that sell online do not need footfall at all, so they choose locations for very different reasons. But location has not stopped mattering. The internet has changed which factors matter, and that depends on the business.

In Pinpoint: Location Scout you work for a location agency in the 3D town of Lemonford. Six clients need a site, and every site is rated on seven factors: low rent and costs, footfall, broadband, transport links, skilled workers, space to grow, and power and cooling. Your job is to match each site to what that business actually needs.

Online businesses

• Online retailers need cheap space for warehouses and good transport links for deliveries, not a shop window. ASOS has no high street shops and ships from a huge fulfilment centre in Barnsley, close to the M1.
• Data centres need cheap power, cool air and fast fibre. Nobody visits them. Meta built a data centre near the Arctic Circle in Luleå, Sweden, where cold air cools the servers and hydroelectric power is renewable.
• Digital firms such as games studios often locate near skilled workers rather than customers, because their products are downloaded, not delivered.
• Freelancers and service businesses can work from anywhere with good broadband and serve clients around the world.

Businesses that still need footfall

About a quarter of UK retail sales now happen online, and many shops selling things you can easily order or stream have struggled: travel agents, bank branches and music shops, for example. But businesses that sell experiences and face-to-face services, such as cafés, barbers, gyms and leisure, still need customers to come to them, so footfall still matters.

Many retailers now use a click-and-mortar (or "clicks and bricks") model, selling online and in store. John Lewis lets customers browse online and collect in store, and its shops also act as local distribution points.

Exam tips

• Always relate the location factor to the type of business in the question. Footfall is vital for a café but irrelevant for an online seller.
• For online businesses, focus on cost (cheap land and rent), transport links, broadband and skilled workers.
• Remember the internet reduces the need to be close to customers, but it does not remove the need for a location altogether.