- NPD Games
Retail Tracker: What Changed in 2018
Retail Tracker added a lot of cool new features during 2018! Here’s a quick recap of everything that has been updated and improved.
Email Tracker
A New Retail Tracker service from EEDAR!
Tracks email promotions from Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and GameStop
Utilizes current Retail Tracker metadata and exists alongside the current dataset
Users who purchase Email Tracker can view and filter for email campaigns the same way as any other retail promotion
Adds a new metadata point which tracks the email’s subject line
Update to the Digital Location System
Removal of “Console / Genre / PC” location
More direct name matches to more accurately represent each storefront
Individual Metadata Per Product, Instead of Per Campaign
Allows for more granular classification of each item in a given promotion
Detailed per-product pricing data on major promotions
Look forward to the Black Friday 2018 Pricing Report!
Email Tracker expands promotional coverage to email blasts, giving further insight into the retail advertising space beyond brick and mortar and websites / digital storefronts.
The digital location and metadata updates allow for more detailed data per promotion, and a more accurate overall picture of a retailer’s storefront. Plus, it gives us the ability to create an awesome Black Friday Pricing Report, which will include promotional metadata and pricing information for every discounted game from our tracked retailers’ Black Friday promotions.
The Edition Type and Early Supporter filters were updated to account for new trends in the gaming industry. Season Pass editions are everywhere, and 3-day head starts are now a widely-used purchase incentive, so we updated the hierarchy to track all the latest and most relevant data!
Expanded the Edition Type Call Out Filters
Bonus Content Edition (Existing) – Base game + bonus digital content
Collector’s/Limited Edition (Existing) – Limited edition with high-quality physical items
Day One Edition (Existing) – Specifically-named pre-launch edition
Season Pass Edition (New!) – Base game + the Season PassPost-Release Edition (New!) – Game of the Year / Ultimate Editions
Expanded the Early Call Out Filters
Beta (Existing) – Beta access
Early Access (Existing) – A game that is playable but still in development
Head Start (New!) – Play the game 2-4 days before the official launch date, usually as a pre-order or upgrade incentive
Added Hardware Pack-In giveaway Filter
Accounts for games included in official console bundles
Even if the promoted product is a PS4/XB1/Switch, the included game is still technically being “promoted.” This filter allows EEDAR to track such games when they are shown alongside the console bundle
Updating the retail metadata hierarchy is necessary to keep up to date with current and emerging trends in video games retail advertising. ‘Season Pass’ editions are here to stay, and are distinct from other upgrade editions. 3-day head starts are a popular, emerging trend. Tracking these new data points allows for deep insight into current best practices and the most effective promotional strategies for games of all shapes and sizes, from the top-selling franchises to digital-only indie releases. Better, deeper data helps you make better business decisions. We’re committed to making sure EEDAR’s retail data is the best, most relevant dataset it can be.
