Build vs. buy: Why retailers choose a partner for geolocation infrastructure

As mobile drives more of the customer journey, from Store Mode to curbside pickup, retail teams are under pressure to deliver smarter, faster location-based experiences.

That's why many face a familiar decision: build geolocation infrastructure in-house, or partner with a platform like Radar.

Building might seem cheaper or more flexible at first. But geolocation is harder than it looks. Off-the-shelf tools are often too imprecise for real-world use cases, and building the accuracy, battery efficiency, and cross-platform consistency retail apps demand takes deep mobile expertise and constant tuning. And the long-term costs aren't just technical, they're strategic.

In this post, we'll break down the trade-offs and explain why leading retailers choose Radar to move faster, reduce costs, and deliver better customer experiences, without overloading their teams.

The case for building in-house

Some teams start by building their own geofencing logic, address validation workflows, or a custom store locator. This approach can offer:

• Full control over the tech stack.
• Custom logic for specific business needs.
• Potential short-term cost savings.

If you're early-stage, this can be a way to test ideas quickly. But most teams eventually run into limitations.

The hidden costs of building

1. Engineering overhead
Maintaining a location stack is rarely a one-time project. You'll need to manage APIs, tune accuracy, monitor edge cases, test across devices, and handle battery optimization. That's ongoing work your team can't automate away.

2. Accuracy and performance
Out-of-the-box iOS and Android geofencing can drift by 50 to 100 meters. That might work for city-level alerts, but not for a user pulling into a parking spot. Achieving 5-meter accuracy is possible, but requires deep mobile expertise and time you may not have.

DICK'S Sporting Goods uses Radar across their mobile app for store locators and in-store experiences. They leaned on Radar instead of extending internal systems to support geofencing and maps.

3. Lack of scale and flexibility
Retail needs evolve quickly. Adding support for drive-thru pickup, Store Mode, or international expansion often means rebuilding your solution, or scrapping it altogether.

4. Opportunity cost
Every hour spent maintaining location infrastructure is an hour not spent building features that actually differentiate your app or drive revenue.

The case for buying from Radar

Radar is the modern location platform trusted by retailers like T-Mobile and Five Below. We offer:

• Geofencing SDKs with 5-meter accuracy and battery-efficient tracking.
  
• Address validation and autocomplete APIs that reduce checkout friction and failed deliveries.
  
• Store visit detection and arrival triggers that power BOPIS, loyalty programs, and Store Mode.
  
• Dynamic and static maps that support branded store locators.
  
• Routing APIs to help time handoffs and prep orders.
  

Radar is purpose-built for retail. You get the tools you need, without having to build or maintain them yourself.

Build vs. buy: a side-by-side comparison

Route's success story

Route powers real-time package tracking and delivery ETAs for millions of users. After switching to Radar for geocoding and distance APIs, they saw:

• Over $1 million in annual cost savings.
  
• 99.99 percent API uptime, powering reliable delivery features.
  
• A 20 percent increase in conversion from more accurate shipping estimates.
  

"Radar's geolocation services are phenomenal. The data is incredibly accurate and the platform is consistently available. Accuracy and availability are what we value the most in a partner, and we can trust the entire platform. Radar's APIs are simple to use and easy to integrate, which saved us time and allowed us to dedicate resources to other projects."

— Nick Lloyd, Senior Director of Software Engineering at Route.

Why leading retailers trust Radar

Radar isn't a point solution. It's a full-stack platform designed to scale with you.

• All-in-one tools. Geofencing, maps, routing, and validation in one platform. No juggling multiple contracts or APIs.
• Enterprise-grade reliability. Radar supports retailers from 10 locations to 10,000. You don't need to architect for scale, we already have.
• Transparent pricing. No penalties for scale, no overages, and no limits on geofences or map tiles.
• Proven performance. Radar powers location experiences for some of the largest retail brands, from curbside pickup to real-time loyalty rewards.

T-Mobile uses Radar to power geo-targeted campaigns for T-Mobile Tuesdays, their weekly rewards program. By detecting when users are near participating locations, Radar helps T-Mobile customize offers by region, increasing offer relevancy and customer happiness.

Focus your team on what matters

Location is critical, but it doesn't need to be your team's biggest time sink. With Radar, you get modern, scalable infrastructure and a faster path to value, while keeping your engineers focused on what makes your product unique.

Explore the Radar Docs to learn more, or get in touch to see how we can help you build the future of retail without building it all yourself.