METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY LOCAL TRADE AREAS

• US 20170091795A1
• Filed: 09/30/2015
• Published: 03/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Consumer LLC (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Zenor, Michael J., Lou, Congrong, Mansour, John P., Kriss, Mitchel
• Granted Patent: US 10,339,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to identify local trade areas are disclosed. An example method includes selecting, with a processor, census block groups (CBGs) associated with a retailer location, identifying, with the processor, a plurality of stores within the selected CBGs and associated all commodities volume (ACV) values for respective ones of the plurality of stores, calculating, with the processor, similarity index values associated with respective pairs of the plurality of stores, generating, with the processor, local trade areas (LTAs) of subgroups of the plurality of stores based on a comparison of the similarity index values to a similarity threshold value, and when a respective one of the LTAs includes a violation of a releasability criterion, preventing, with the processor, erroneous disclosure of market share information by re-distributing the stores within the respective one of the LTAs to a geographically adjacent LTA.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to identify a local trade area (LTA), comprising:

selecting, with a processor, census block groups (CBGs) associated with a retailer location;

identifying, with the processor, a plurality of stores within the selected CBGs and associated all commodities volume (ACV) values for respective ones of the plurality of stores;

calculating, with the processor, similarity index values associated with respective pairs of the plurality of stores;

generating, with the processor, local trade areas (LTAs) of subgroups of the plurality of stores based on a comparison of the similarity index values to a similarity threshold value; and

when a respective one of the LTAs includes a violation of a releasability criterion, preventing, with the processor, erroneous disclosure of market share information by re-distributing the stores within the respective one of the LTAs to a geographically adjacent LTA.

2. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including calculating the similarity index values based on a ratio of (a) a sum of ACV values of respective pairs of the plurality of stores that share a common CBG and (b) a sum of ACV values of the respective pairs of the plurality of stores from all CBGs in which they contribute.

3. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including calculating a geographical center of the LTAs, the geographical center based on geographical coordinates of the subgroups of the plurality of stores.

4. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the releasability criterion violation represents a store sales amount within a geographical area defined by one of the LTAs.

5. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein re-distributing the stores to the geographically adjacent LTA includes re-distributing to two or more geographically adjacent LTAs.

6. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 5, further including verifying the two or more geographically adjacent LTAs satisfy the releasability criterion by re-calculating a market share value of respective stores in the two or more geographically adjacent LTAs.

7. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including identifying the geographically adjacent LTA as ready for syndicated distribution when the releasability criterion is not violated.

8. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, further including generating a distribution shape file of the geographically adjacent LTA.

9. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 8, further including adding demographic information associated with respective CBGs to the distribution shape file.

10. (canceled)

11. An apparatus to identify a local trade area (LTA), comprising:

a census block group (CBG) interface to select CBGs associated with a retailer location;

an all commodities volume (ACV) interface to identify a plurality of stores within the selected CBGs and associated ACV values for respective ones of the plurality of stores;

a similarity index engine to calculate similarity index values associated with respective pairs of the plurality of stores;

a local trading area builder to generate local trade areas (LTAs) of subgroups of the plurality of stores based on a comparison of the similarity index values to a similarity threshold value; and

a release requirement manager to, when a respective one of the LTAs includes a violation of a releasability criterion, prevent erroneous disclosure of market share information by re-distributing the stores within the respective one of the LTAs to a geographically adjacent LTA.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the similarity index engine is to calculate the similarity index values based on a ratio of (a) a sum of ACV values of respective pairs of the plurality of stores that share a common CBG and (b) a sum of ACV values of the respective pairs of the plurality of stores from all CBGs in which they contribute.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, further including an LTA spatial engine to calculate a geographical center of the LTAs, the geographical center based on geographical coordinates of the subgroups of the plurality of stores.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the releasability criterion violation represents a store sales amount within a geographical area defined by one of the LTAs.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the release requirement manager is to re-distribute to two or more geographically adjacent LTAs.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including a market share calculator to verify the two or more geographically adjacent LTAs satisfy the releasability criterion by re-calculating a market share value of respective stores in the two or more geographically adjacent LTAs.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the local trading area builder is to identify the geographically adjacent LTA as ready for syndicated distribution when the releasability criterion is not violated.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, further including a shape file generator to generate a distribution shape file of the geographically adjacent LTAs.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the local trading area builder is to provide sales data based on a received geographic coordinate, the sales data associated with at least one LTA located proximate to the received geographic coordinate.

19. (canceled)

21. A tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to, at least:

select census block groups (CBGs) associated with a retailer location;

identify a plurality of stores within the selected CBGs and associated all commodities volume (ACV) values for respective ones of the plurality of stores;

calculate similarity index values associated with respective pairs of the plurality of stores;

generate local trade areas (LTAs) of subgroups of the plurality of stores based on a comparison of the similarity index values to a similarity threshold value; and

when a respective one of the LTAs includes a violation of a releasability criterion, prevent erroneous disclosure of market share information by re-distributing the stores within the respective one of the LTAs to a geographically adjacent LTA.

22. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to calculate the similarity index values based on a ratio of (a) a sum of ACV values of respective pairs of the plurality of stores that share a common CBG and (b) a sum of ACV values of the respective pairs of the plurality of stores from all CBGs in which they contribute.

23-28. -28. (canceled)