In Marketing, Product category volume (PCV) is the
weighted measure of distribution based on store sales within the
product category
In the mathematical field of category theory, the product of two categories ''C'' and ''D'', denoted and called a product category, is an extension of the concept of the Cartesian product of two sets. Product categories are used to define bifun ...
. PCV is a refinement of
all commodity volume (ACV). It examines the share of the relevant product category sold by stores in which a given product has gained distribution.
[Farris, Paul W.; Neil T. Bendle; Phillip E. Pfeifer; David J. Reibstein (2010). ''Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance.'' Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. .]
Distribution metrics quantify the availability of products sold through
retailer
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
s, usually as a percentage of all potential outlets. Often, outlets are weighted by their share of category sales or “all commodity” sales. For marketers who sell through resellers, distribution metrics reveal a brand's percentage of market access.
Balancing a firm's efforts in “push” (building and maintaining reseller and distribution support) and “pull” (generating customer demand) is an ongoing strategic concern for marketers.
Purpose
Product category volume measures a firm's ability to convey a product to its customers in terms of total category sales among outlets carrying the brand. It helps marketers understand whether a given product is gaining distribution in outlets where
customer
In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...
s look for its category, as opposed to simply high-traffic stores where the product may get lost in the aisles.
When detailed sales data are available, PCV can provide a strong indication of the market share within a category to which a given brand has access. If sales data are not available, marketers can calculate an approximate PCV by using square footage devoted to the relevant category as an indication of the importance of that category to a particular outlet or store type.
Calculation
Product category volume (PCV) is the
percentage
In mathematics, a percentage (from la, per centum, "by a hundred") is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", although the abbreviations "pct.", "pct" and sometimes "pc" are also us ...
share (or dollar value) of category sales made by stores that stock at least one SKU of the brand in question, in comparison with all stores in their universe.
:Product Category Volume (PCV) Distribution (%) =
:100 x Total Category Sales of Outlets Carrying Brand ($) ÷
:Total Category Sales of All Outlets ($)
:Product Category Volume (PCV) Distribution ($) =
:Total Category Sales of Outlets Carrying Brand ($)
See also
*
Numeric distribution
*
All commodity volume
*
Category performance ratio
References
{{reflist
Product management
Distribution (marketing)