CE MarketMetrics is a statistical program administered and produced by CEA. Formerly known as the Market Activity Reports and Analysis (MARA) program, CE MarketMetrics has tracked shipments of CE products from the factory to U.S. consumer sales channels for more than 80 years.
CE MarketMetrics reports are compiled from manufacturer shipment data reported monthly or weekly to CEA via a confidential and secure process. Shipment data is aggregated and projected to the total U.S. market. Our reports are structured around product features - not brands. Instead, what you find in a report are industry shipments segmented by product specifications or functions (e.g. screen size or MP3 playback) delivered in Excel format on a monthly or weekly basis (depending on the category).
CE MarketMetrics data reports are strategically designed to measure the total U.S. sell-in market opportunity (units and revenue) for dozens of CE products and technologies from home A/V solutions to automotive electronics.
No brand share is reported and no company specific data is ever revealed.
CE MarketMetrics shipment data reports are used by anyone wanting to understand market size and growth in the CE industry. Participating CE manufacturers use our reports to gauge their sell-in share and benchmark sales versus the total market. The reports also enable manufacturers to tell a story of a market when they meet with retailers or other business partners.
Some common questions answered with CE MARKETMETRICS data include:
-
What is my sell-in share?
-
Are my sales growing at the same rate as the industry?
-
Which features are driving sales in my product category?
-
Why is it important for a retailer to stock my product?
Sell-in refers to factory to dealer shipments. Dealer shipments includes: retailers, dealers, distributors, wholesalers and direct to consumer sales. OEM or B2B shipments are not reported.
Methodology
Manufacturer shipments are confidentially reported to CEA through an input form that mirrors the actual report. Completed forms are securely uploaded to our data portal for aggregation. Shipment reporting is generally conducted on a monthly basis, with data due mid-month for the previous month. However, some reports record weekly product shipments (e.g. digital displays).
For data security and integrity reasons, CEA employs a confidential data partner, VERIS Consulting LLC, to aggregate, project and distribute CE MarketMetrics reports.
A projection factor is used to 'gross-up' collected raw company sales data to the total U.S. market. A projection factor is an expression of the estimated market share (units and revenue) of combined manufacturer shipments in a given category. Because participating manufacturers may be stronger (or weaker) in certain feature sets, projection factors are developed for each line in a given report.
Projection factors are developed using brand share data garnered from third-party sources including research companies, company reports, analyst firms, news stories and other sources. These factors are typically updated twice a year, or as needed (e.g. when a new company joins a report).
Data Security and Integrity
CEA makes great effort to protect participant company data through various security provisions and rules. These include:
Three Company Mandate
CEA will not publish any shipment data unless three companies are reporting on a given line in a report - regardless of how many companies are competing in the category. This is a guarantee of sample size - so we are not projecting off a single company's data.
50% Share Rule
As an added security measure, if any participating company has a 50% or greater share of the projected data total on a line in a report, that company has the option to mask this detail. Usually this involves combining the volume with another line in the report.
Three Month Rule
All company sales data is purged from our systems after three months. This minimizes exposure risks from a security breach of the data warehouse. NOTE: The CEA MarketMetrics program has never had a leak or breach compromising company specific shipment data.
Low-Cost Pricing Structure
To help cover the costs of program administration, report production, etc. CEA assesses a small fee per report to help balance the books. The CE MarketMetrics program is an organic industry enterprise designed to give CEA members and other industry constituents access to low-cost market size data and analysis. CEA members are eligible for discounted pricing on all reports!
- CEA is an unbiased, credible, non-profit entity and the CE MarketMetrics data program has a proven track record of value, data accuracy, integrity and security.
- Our methodology is unique in the industry and embodies a spirit of cooperation among the participants (stakeholders) of the reports.
- Our program is designed to return value for value – companies share their shipment data in return for a view of the total market opportunity.