NPD: loss of numbers from Toys “R” Us nothing major

Were October’s NPD sales numbers indeed skewered due to lack of data from Toys “R” Us? NPD‘s vice president Martin Zargosek defends the integrity of NPD’s October numbers, saying that the loss of numbers from toy retail chain Toys “R” Us is offset by the addition of new, relevant retail stores, such as Amazon. Read on to find out.

After Pacific Crest Securities expressed their opinion why October’s NPD sales data scored lower than expected – they believe that the numbers were skewered due to Toys “R” Us not submitting video game sales data to NPD – NPD released a statement to defend the integrity of their data, through their vice president Martin Zargosek.

Zargosek explained that the NPD typically lose data from one or two retailers in any given period, and get new data from retailers whose numbers were not taken into account in previous data collection periods. “This year both the adds (e.g. amazon.com) and the losses (Toys “R ” Us) were a bit larger than usual, but overall our market coverage has not changed very much compared to last year,” he added.

Zargosek also commented that the new retailers they added were increasing in importance. “We feel that our data accuracy may improve rather than deteriorate due to these changes,” he said. The addition of data from new entries, such as Amazon, will eventually offset the loss of numbers from retailers such as Toys “R” Us.

Via Game Daily