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Do Inventory and Gross Margin Data Improve Sales Forecasts for U.S. Public Retailers?

Author

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  • Saravanan Kesavan

    (Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599)

  • Vishal Gaur

    (Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853)

  • Ananth Raman

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

Abstract

Firm-level sales forecasts for retailers can be improved if we incorporate cost of goods sold, inventory, and gross margin (defined by us as the ratio of sales to cost of goods sold) as three endogenous variables. We construct a simultaneous equations model, estimated using public financial and nonfinancial data, to provide joint forecasts of annual cost of goods sold, inventory, and gross margin for retailers using historical data. We show that sales forecasts from this model are more accurate than consensus forecasts from equity analysts. Further, the residuals from this model for one fiscal year are used to predict retailers for whom the relative advantage of model forecasts over consensus forecasts would be large in the next fiscal year. Our results show that historical inventory and gross margin contain information useful to forecast sales, and that equity analysts do not fully utilize this information in their sales forecasts.

Suggested Citation

  • Saravanan Kesavan & Vishal Gaur & Ananth Raman, 2010. "Do Inventory and Gross Margin Data Improve Sales Forecasts for U.S. Public Retailers?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(9), pages 1519-1533, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:9:p:1519-1533
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1100.1209
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    References listed on IDEAS

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