What retail opportunities should be researched in Desert Hot Springs

DHSed practical guide · Sources checked November 12, 2026

A good retail opportunity starts with a customer need that is not being met well enough. For Desert Hot Springs, investigate what residents buy repeatedly, what visitors look for and what local operators need from suppliers. Then test whether a business can serve that demand at a sustainable price.

Start here: choose one customer group and one product or service. Use the County's retail data as background, then talk with people and check existing businesses.

Use market figures for the question they answer

Riverside County publishes a DHS retail demand by industry report prepared by Esri. It estimates household spending across categories. Such estimates can help compare categories, but they are not a count of sales available to a new shop.

Households can spend outside the City or online. Visitors may add a different type of demand. A spending forecast does not show how much an individual site can capture or prove that a category has too few businesses.

Five practical concepts to investigate

Everyday convenience: what do nearby residents need frequently, at useful hours?
Food and small hospitality offers: what would residents or visitors use repeatedly at the proposed price?
Home and property support: which supplies or services do households and local operators struggle to obtain?
Specialty products: can a clearly defined customer group support a focused offer?
Business to business supply: what could shops, hotels, spas or service firms buy from a reliable local operator?

These are research questions, not a claim that each category is currently underserved. Use the local directory, map searches and visits to build a fuller competitor list.

Ask customers about actual purchases

Ask what they bought recently, where they went, why they chose that supplier and what they paid. This is more useful than asking whether they like an idea. Speak with people outside your own friends and family, and record patterns rather than treating a few favorable comments as a market study.

Test before taking on large fixed costs

Where the required permissions allow it, a small order test, customer interview round or supplier conversation can show whether the offer is worth developing. Work out the sales needed to cover costs using the budget worksheet. Check a possible location with the corridor guide and the address checklist.

Write a one page decision: customer, need, existing alternatives, evidence, price, likely costs and what you still need to learn. Take that to a business adviser before committing to a lease or a large stock order.

Your next step

Test your retail concept with a business adviser

Keep going

Sources and updates

Prepared by DHSed with AI assistance from the linked public sources. Provider details can change. Send a correction.