Evaluate store mapping software against a written CRE assignment. Specify what the map must show, where its facts will come from, who will update it and what file the reviewer needs. Then ask each vendor to demonstrate those requirements in the applicable product version and plan.
A software category label does not establish a product's features or limitations. This guide provides a checklist and describes CRE Retail Maps' documented visual workflow from our product perspective. It does not rank other products or attribute missing features to an entire category. Our linked product information was reviewed October 2, 2026.
Define what the assignment requires
For an OM exhibit, the brief might call for a subject-property marker and selected surrounding stores. A different assignment might call for indoor navigation, store territories, demographic evidence or another analytical output. Record each required result separately instead of treating these jobs as interchangeable.
Prepare the following before a vendor trial:
- The property address, geographic coverage and intended audience
- The business or tenant information that must appear
- The approved sources and required citations
- The label, artwork and brokerage-brand requirements
- The receiving page or slide dimensions and file format
- The revision, storage and access requirements
- Any research or analysis that the final package must include
Ask the vendor which requirements are supported, which need another service, and which depend on a particular plan or license. Leave an item unresolved until you have documentation or an observed result.
Review locations and artwork
Use a test property with a list of stores that can be checked independently. Record the source and review date for each location. Distinguish a nearby business from a confirmed tenant of the subject property, and identify any information that still needs confirmation.
For artwork, check the business match and permitted use. Test how to replace an unsuitable image or use a text label. Search results and recognizable artwork do not by themselves verify current operation, tenancy or affiliation.
Test the editing and review process
Evaluate the actual controls available in the tested plan. Use the checklist below without presuming that a particular product category includes or omits them.
| Requirement | Evidence to request or inspect |
|---|---|
| Subject property | Address, marker location and editable label in the test map |
| Business content | Source, selection controls and a way to correct an item |
| Artwork and labels | The displayed match and the available replacement or text controls |
| Visual arrangement | The required placement, line, grouping and style controls |
| Revisions | A saved edit that can be reopened and checked |
| Output | A file in the required format, dimensions and final document |
| Access and cost | Written plan limits, seat terms, data licensing and current price |
Inspect a revision as well as the initial result. Change one location or label, reopen the saved work, and produce another output. Record observed steps and review findings rather than assuming an interface will reduce work or suit every user.
Check the final file
Test the file at its intended display or print size. Inspect the subject-property label, store names, artwork, line anchors, cropping, source credits and contact details. Ask the receiving team to confirm that the file works in its actual document process.
Pixel dimensions and a file-format label alone do not establish factual accuracy, legibility or print suitability. If your package needs demographic, traffic or other analysis, check the source, date, geography, methodology and licensing of that evidence separately. A location illustration should not be presented as a measured claim about demand or performance.
What CRE Retail Maps currently provides
CRE Retail Maps is a visual retail-map editor. It provides address search, nearby-business candidates in the visible map area, searchable artwork candidates, subject-property markers, leader lines, grouped containers and nine map styles. You review locations and artwork before using them. See the features page for the documented controls.
Pro supports 2D PNG/JPG exports up to 8,000 pixels per side, 3D image exports up to 4,096 pixels per side and five PDF layouts. Review the export guide and layout samples, then inspect the result from your own map. CRE Retail Maps does not provide demographics, foot-traffic analytics or drive-time analysis.
The pricing page lists Free build-and-preview access for up to three maps and Pro at $39/month or $379/year. Pro supplies image, PDF and high-resolution downloads.
Use these stated capabilities and your trial results to decide whether CRE Retail Maps covers the visual part of the assignment. Review each other vendor's current scope, terms and sample output on the same basis. Record unmet requirements before selecting one product or assembling a workflow with separate sources.
CRE Retail Maps Team
Published by CRE Retail Maps
CRE Retail Maps publishes its own product guides and broker mapping resources. Our comparisons are written from our product's perspective. Check the linked sources, update date, and stated limitations when evaluating software; vendor features and pricing can change.