Retail/Service Transaction Data

The following Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for Market Research purposes. The U.S. Census Bureau will use the information gathered in determining opportunities for the Census Bureau to supplement existing data products covering the retail and service sectors of the economy and conduct research to improve survey methodology.

This document does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a commitment to issue a Request for Proposal by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau is not accepting offers at this time nor will the information provided be evaluated or considered as an offer. The Census Bureau is not responsible for any cost incurred by a contractor in responding to this announcement.

The following questions are intended to help the Census Bureau learn more about best practices for the acquisition of commercial databases to improve coverage of administrative records data used in the work described above. Although answers to these questions are optional, the Census Bureau encourages companies to submit responses based on their knowledge and experience with this service in the commercial marketplace. Based on the information provided, and as part of its ongoing market research, the Census Bureau may contact individual respondents for additional information.

All information provided will be kept confidential and will be utilized for market research purposes directly related to the work described above.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Responses to this RFI should be sent as an attachment to mark.c.hopson@census.gov, in a Word or PDF compatible format document, not to exceed ten (10) pages (8.5" x 11", 12-pitch font size).

The following information should also be included in your responses document:

1. Company name, address, and Web site.
2. Contact person's name, position, email and phone number.
3. Brief description of the organization, including business size (e.g. approximate dollar amount of transactions covered in calendar year 2013) and type of services provided. If company has a current GSA contract, please provide the contract number.
4. Available Databases (Db). For each, include:
a. Db name,
b. Db coverage
c. Data dictionary of all variables/elements to include the data source(s) and update frequency (daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.) for each variable/element***, and
d. List available delivery formats (encryption software, compression software, data transfer - electronic transmission, tape, DVDs, etc.)

***Note regarding Db elements: The Census Bureau has particular interest in the following elements - company name (optional), geographic identifier, industry or merchant category code (MCC), aggregated transaction value, transaction date/period.

You may include marketing literature or brochures (pdf format) with your response.