Televisions: Quality Changes and Scanner Data

Articles and reports: 62F0014M2001014

Description: This paper is the first in a series of reports examining the possible use of scanner data for constructing price indexes. This case study focuses on televisions and compares their price behaviour taken from current surveying methods with alternative measures obtained from massaging electronic data records on all sales by a retailer over a comparable period. Examination of the price index history for televisions shows that the recognition and adjustment for quality change in the sample and the impact of shifts in purchasing patterns have similar impact on the index numbers. The advantages of scanner data - that they record actual sales and current purchasing patterns - have to be set against the difficulty of recognising quality change. This analysis shows that while there are substantial gains from using scanner data in monitoring and adjusting for purchasing pattern changes, it is difficult to account for quality changes without micro-editing the data. The scanner data set raises statistical issues, largely questions of what aggregation across time, outlets and products should be done, that have to be answered before using it in index estimation. Future analysis will be aimed at resolving these issues.

no: 14

Issue Number: 2001014

Frequency: Occasional

Author(s): Lowe, Robin

Main Product: Prices Analytical Series