Retail Price Surveys – Who Does Them, How Are These Done, How Are They Used?

As part of your membership to IAMCA, you have access to a database of retail prices as reported by several states in the United States. A few years ago, we began to add the question on our membership form asking if your organization conducts retail price reviews, if you can share these reviews, and if you would like to receive periodic reports from our survey data.

During the current Covid-19 pandemic, where many organizations are limiting the exposure of staff to the virus, retail price surveys are becoming delayed or postponed. As such, we have not recently published the results, given the lack of full participation in the reporting received.  These reports may not be comparable to previous years, which I assume would be an important aspect in your reviews.

Given the above, it may be high time to revisit this review process.  As a relative newcomer, I wonder how the states that report their retail prices (high, low, and averages) obtain and calculate these reported prices?  I intend to contact each one to ask specifically, if for no other reason other than to ensure that they are relatively consistent and to document for history this process.

Therefore, I am again asking if your organization surveys retail prices, and if so, I am asking again if you can please share this information. Only through wide participation of the association members would this data have greater importance; especially in the current market  and situation.

Thank You,

Dan McCarthy