About
This website is my small attempt to provide regional retailers, who do not have a fleet of analysts, with data and info on the U.S. grocery market. I am passionate about neighborhood supermarkets and think the world will be a much less interesting place without them. I worked at a neighborhood grocery store in high school and college. It was the best job I ever had.
Eric Karlson created the Retailer Preference Index (RPI) in 2016 to help understand why shoppers choose one retailer over another. He spent 13 years in grocery retail as a data scientist, client lead, retail strategist, and retail economist — including building the retail strategy and insights team at dunnhumby and leading engagements that helped regional retailers reverse negative unit trends by reconnecting with their customers.
He has completed demand-side forecasts, helped retailers set budgets, led large-scale analytics for pricing and assortment, and worked across grocery, automotive, and utilities applying the same core discipline — data, information, and insights to understand what drives customer behavior and connecting it directly to financial performance.