Purchase of electronic scanner data

Purchase of Electronic Scanner Data on Retail Sales of IT Productivity Goods, Software, and Consumer Goods (Mobile/Handheld/Video Products) to Improve the Estimation of Personal Consumption Expenditures in the National Accounts

The objective of this procurement is to obtain additional real-time electronic scanner data on retail sales of IT Productivity Goods, Software, and Consumer Goods (Mobile/Handheld/Video Products) for improving the estimation of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) in the national accounts.

BEA needs a consistent time series of sales of IT Productivity Goods, Software, and Consumer Goods (Mobile/Handheld/Video Products) reported by both type of product and by industry. BEA needs the data to track personal consumption expenditures (PCE) of these goods, an important and rapidly changing sector of consumption. The data must come from a large, consistent, representative sample of retailers across the United States. BEA also needs to receive these annual sales data within a few months of the end of a calendar year. To meet this rapid schedule, the data must also come from point-of-sales electronic scanner equipment because no other source can provide this detailed information so quickly.

By purchasing real-time scanner data on sales of IT Productivity Goods, Software, and Consumer Goods (Mobile/Handheld/Video Products) reported by product type and industry, BEA can produce more accurate, up-to-date estimates of changes in the sales of these consumer goods, and, thus, better estimates of PCE.

The detailed annual real-time sales data for IT Productivity Goods, Software, and Consumer Goods (Mobile/Handheld/Video Products) is very important to the GDP estimates. The data must be provided in a consistent time series. The data must represent a significant share of the transactions in the major markets.

BEA requires annual data on sales of all goods categories. The data will be at the category (product) level, broken down by channel (industry).

• The report will provide retail numbers with list of participating retailers, broken down by channel, for the calendar year.

• The measures provided in these reports will be both units and dollars.

• The reports will be delivered in the form of Microsoft Excel files.

• The data reported for these goods will be point-of-sale scanner data.

Delivery Schedule: Data is to be delivered immediately upon award of purchase request.

 QUESTIONS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 3/22/2018 AT 12:00 EST. QUESTIONS ARE TO BE EMAILED TO:  PAMELA.A.MILLER@CENSUS.GOV WITH THE TITLE "QUESTIONS-BEA-18-0034" IN THE SUBJECT LINE.  NO QUESTIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 3/22/2018 AT 12:00 EST.

RESPONSES WILL BE POSTED BACK TO THIS WEBSITE NO LATER THAN 3/28/2018.