Patent ID: 7702518
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method performed by an electronic data machine for grouping together one or more retail units of a first set of retail units based on common economics, said method comprising: a) collecting at least one fixed price index for each retail unit over a select period of time; b) identifying a number of variables associated with each retail unit, each variable having a standardized value; c) regressing profits against the price index and the product of the price index and the identified variables, and generating a regression coefficient for each of the identified variables; d) identifying which variables have more significant regression coefficients, and grouping retail units having these characteristics together as being in a common economic market; e) assigning said one or more retail units in groups with less than a set number of retail units to another existing group that exhibits the closest set of characteristics, thereby reducing the number of retail unit groupings; f) describing the different groupings using any one or more of discriminant analysis, factorial analysis, correspondence analysis, and using the description results to validate the grouping assignments; and g) assigning new retail units to at least one corresponding group.