Dealerscope, NAPCO Research Launch CE Retail Confidence Index to Measure Ongoing CE Retailer Confidence

PHILADELPHIA – November 11, 2016 – Looking to fill a massive void in the landscape of resources available to the consumer electronics retailers throughout the country, Dealerscope, in collaboration with NAPCO Research, (NAPCO is the parent company of Dealerscope) has launched a new data-driven tool that aims to paint an exceptionally accurate picture of the state of the CE retail industry. The Dealerscope CE Retail Confidence Index is a monthly report that collects data and insights from consumer electronics retailers around the country, and analyzes the feedback to develop an overall industry confidence score.

“We are the voice of consumer electronics retailer, and this new tool represents our commitment to developing data-driven solutions for them,” said Benjamin Felix, President and CRO for Dealerscope. “Our goal is to continue to provide valuable tools to our audience by continually developing new and meaningful resources like the CE Retailer Confidence Index.”

To build out the report, Dealerscope worked with the NAPCO Research team to design a methodological approach for measuring retailer confidence in the consumer electronics market. NAPCO Research designed a panel made up of a mix of independent retailers, big-box retailers, regional chains and e-tailers. The panel makeup is designed to closely map to the distribution of retailers in the CE industry. Panel members will be surveyed on a monthly basis and their responses will be plugged into a proprietary NAPCO Research scoring algorithm, which will weigh the score against market factors and output an overall sales confidence score. The score will be published, along with Dealerscope expert analysis on a monthly basis on the Dealerscope website.

“The Dealerscope CE retailer panel will enable us to measure the shifting tides of retailer confidence month over month,” said Nathan Safran, Director of Research at NAPCO Media. “Our scoring algorithm tests across a variety of market factors including retailers sales confidence across product types—i.e. TV vs. video game consoles—confidence in retailers’ ability to drive both digital and foot traffic, and more. The algorithm is designed to take a holistic measure of CE retailer confidence and benchmark for retailers how the industry is doing month over month.”

The first report, which was published this week on the Dealerscope website, looked at CE retailers’ confidence heading into the month of November as well as how they performed in relation to their sales goals from the previous month. The debut Confidence Index score came in at 185.89, and Dealerscope reported that the overall sentiment heading into the month was low due to distractions from the hotly-contested election and the build-up heading into the holiday shopping season.

“It’s difficult to tell what that score really represents right now, but over time as we continue to gather and analyze the data we will be able to identify countless trends around sentiment and actual performance in the consumer electronics retailing industry,” said Rob Stott, editor and lead author of the first report. “What this score does ultimately represent is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work developing the formula, gathering the data, and publishing our first report. We look forward to continuing this effort in the months and years ahead and hope that this Index proves its worth in an industry starved for meaningful data.”

If you are a retailer and want to join the Dealerscope retailer confidence panel, sign up here.