"Markets have gotten very sophisticated in identifying what characteristics go with their customers," she said.

Factors such as job growth, residential building, household composition, education and income levels go into a retailer's decision to locate in new areas, she said.

"They're really interested in growth," Perlich said. "It takes a certain amount of rooftops to make any retail operation viable."

Natural foods retailer Whole Foods has been looking at Utah as a place to open a store for some time, spokeswoman Kate Lowery said. Salt Lake in particular was viewed as a desirable location for a market, she said, given the city's demographics.

"We tend to look at education first," she said. "A lot of companies look at income first, but education for us is very important, and the two are definitely related."

Urban Outfitters decided to enter the Utah market after determining Salt Lake City would offer a strong customer base for the popular apparel, furniture, novelties and accessories store.

"With all of our locations, we determine an opportunity based on if our customer is present in that market," company spokeswoman Kiley Baun recently told the Deseret Morning News. "Salt Lake has a great youth culture in a very vibrant metropolis peppered with plenty of college students living in great communities."

Continued strong job growth has resulted in a greater number of people moving to Utah, bringing a much more diverse population than ever before, Perlich said. They come from different cultures and income groups and bring with them different tastes and buying patterns, which is all very attractive to retailers looking to expand their customer base.

"The place is growing," Perlich said. "The place is also so much different than it was just 10 years ago. Who would have figured there's a coffee shop on every corner?"

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com