Patent ID: 7899691

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for creating a product sales model for each of a plurality of products, the method being implemented as a plurality of program instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium in a computer system, said method comprising the steps of: creating, using the computer system, a plurality demand groups, wherein each demand group is a user defined group of highly substitutable products, further wherein each demand group is a set of, at least one product and at least one of the demand groups is, a set of at least two products; creating, using the computer system, a demand group sales model as a function of price wherein said demand group sales model models sales for each demand group, further wherein said demand group sales model provides a single model for modeling sales of all of the products in each said demand group; creating, using the computer system, a market share model wherein said market share model determines the fraction of the sales of each demand group comprised by each product; and creating, using the computer system, said product sales model by combining said demand group sales model and said internal market share model, wherein said product sales model models sales for individual products, further wherein said product sales model combines said demand group sales model and said internal market share model to produce said product sales model for individual products.