Daily Research News Online no. 9252 - BIGresearch Unveils Forecasting Service

BIGresearch Unveils Forecasting Service

December 3 2008

US-based BIGresearch has developed a forecasting service to understand what consumers will spend at specific retailers up to 75 days in advance.

The new ForecastIQ prediction tool was designed by Prosper Technologies and is the product of 20 years of academic research at Ohio State University by Dr Greg Allenby, author of Bayesian Statistics and Marketing, who analyzed more than seven years of data from BIGresearch's monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) surveys.

Allenby examined same store sales figures from over 37 retailers and applied Bayesian quantile analysis to the data, including whether or not consumers said they plan to spend more, the same or less.

Same store sales forecasts are provided by percent growth over the next 45- and 75-day period, while short-term forecasts are also available via enhanced consensus estimates.

Features include:

same-store sales forecasts for each business, with customizable forecast periods
comparison of historical predictions against actual values
an Analyst Expectations Enhancement Tool that improves the accuracy of user-supplied retailer sales expectations
a 'Drivers' view for each business that shows which product categories affect each business and how consumer intentions for that category will impact sales.

The tool has its own web site at www.forecastiq.com while BIGresearch is online at www.bigresearch.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.