APT Launches UK Index, Offering Regular Performance Benchmarks for the Retail and Restaurant Sectors

LONDON, October 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The APT Index captures sales and transaction data from more than 10,000 locations in the UK 

Tube strike data reveals interesting variations of retail and restaurant sales performance during the mass walkout 

Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) announces today the launch of an APT Index for the UK to help retailers and restaurant chains gain valuable insights into how their stores should be performing based on the local economy. The Index aggregates in-store data at over 10,000 chain stores and restaurants across the UK.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151021/279309 )

The data integrates sales and transaction data with weather, demographic, competition and other factors that can impact customer behaviour and sales at a given location. This holistic approach of data aggregation and analysis enables APT to provide unique benchmarks for each location, allowing stores and restaurants to compare their performance against stores in their local area. This data can also be used for management reporting, allowing retail and restaurant chain managers to understand what are the top and bottom performing locations, how this relates to their overall store performance and more.

For instance, by comparing two stores with depressed sales in different cities against the local average store performance, organisations will be able to better understand whether the decrease in sales is caused by local economic factors or by specific management decisions. This approach to segmenting and comparing the results to the local environment can uncover the drivers of over- or under-performance and allow more effective decision making.

Moreover, companies can use the Index to monitor how their performance is impacted by disruptive weather conditions, major events and national marketing initiatives such as launching a national ad campaign.

Effects of the Tube Strikes 

The APT Index captured the effects of recent London tube strikes on retail and restaurant sales in and around London on Thursday 6^th, August of this year. As expected, sales comps fell below the UK average in central London on the main day of the strike. Meanwhile, sales shifted to the suburbs as many commuters chose to work from home, contributing to an above average increase in sales in those areas.

Commenting on the launch, Rupert Naylor, Senior Vice President at APT, said, "The APT Index offers unique insight into how external events and other factors impact customer behaviour and sales. It is extremely important for retailers and restaurant chain executives to determine how these changes affect each of their locations and accurately evaluate performance, after accounting for local economic factors. This approach can not only help them make better business decisions about important initiatives such as rewarding managers and evaluating marketing programmes, but it can also drive more competitive products and services by allowing managers to better understand customer behaviour."

London Tube Strikes: Main Tube Strike Day, Thursday, August 6^th 

Data represents retail and restaurant sales comps, comparing Thursday, August 6th, 2015 to the same weekday last year (Thursday, August 7th, 2014). 

About APT 

APT is a leading cloud-based analytics software company that enables organizations to rapidly and precisely measure cause-and-effect relationships between business initiatives and outcomes to generate economic value. Our intuitive and proprietary Test & Learn® software utilizes sophisticated algorithms to analyze large amounts of data, enabling business leaders to conduct experiments and allowing them to make optimal decisions and implement business initiatives at scale. We also offer products that support decision-making for specific business needs including transaction analysis, space planning, promotion design, category management and location selection. APT's client portfolio features some of the world's best known brands, including Walmart, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Victoria's Secret, American Family, Hilton Hotels, SUBWAY, TD Bank, T-Mobile, and others. APT has offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London, Bentonville, Taipei, Tokyo, Sydney, and Chicago. Visit http://www.predictivetechnologies.com to learn more.

SOURCE Applied Predictive Technologies (APT)