Frequently asked questions

Q1-1. What is “Nikkei CPI Now” actually?

  • Nikkei CPI Now is a daily CPI produced with high accuracy & speed by utilizing so called “Big Data” that is analyzed from POS Data that is measured in real time from the sales volume and prices of selected items in retail stores in Japan.
    Nikkei CPI Now is the next generation-product following the Nikkei・UTokyo Daily Price Index developed by Tsutomu Watanabe (Professor of Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo) and Kota Watanabe (School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences , Meiji University・Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo). Shops assigned by Nikkei・UTokyo Daily Price Index have more than tripledand. We not only deliver the composite index and the item-specific index but also deliver a variety of series.

Q1-2. When was “Nikkei CPI Now” formed?

  • Beginning from 5th January 2016, Nowcast began providing the “Nikkei CPI Now” data to our customers via our statistical data platform “Nikkei CPINow”.

Q1-3. What is included in the released data series of Nikkei CPI Now?

  • By using Nikkei CPI Now, we will not only deliver the composite index and the item-specific index of T-index which follow from the Nikkei・UTokyo Daily Price Index but also deliver the S-index to satisfy your needs of forecasting CPI announced by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Also, in order to make it possible to analyse users deeply, we prepare a variety of derivative series in T-index.
  • Specifically, we deliver mode index (the value that appears most often in a set of data) to grasp the keynote of prices after eliminating bargain prices, and we also deliver the sales index which shows the change of sales of supermarkets all over the country.
  • ※１．About T-index, except for mode index, we deliver both daily and monthly series.
  • ※２．Click here to see details of delivery series.

Q1-4．Where can I get a hold of Nikkei CPI Now?

  • You can download from the member-exclusive statistical database “Nikkei CPINow” and we are planning to provide it in a quick terminal.

Q1-5．When are the data series of Nikkei CPI Now released?

  • Daily T-index series are updated every day except for Monday and prices two days ago are reflected in them. Due to the specific nature of mode index (the value that appears most often in a set of data), it reflects prices 28 days ago.
  • Monthly T-index series are announced on the 8th of every month. ( In the case of public holidays, it will be postponed to the next business day).
  • S-index is published three business days( In the case of public holidays, it will be postponed to the next business day) after official CPI investigation day (from Wednesday to Friday in the week which contains 12th).

Q1-6．How much does it cost to utilize Nikkei CPI Now?

  • In order to use Nikkei CPI Now, you are required to pay for it in the form of monthly membership fee and the amount differs according to your membership qualifications.
  • Click here to inquiry about details.
  • Now NOWCAST, Inc. are recruiting trial members to experience our new membership services of “Nikkei CPINow” from Jan.2016.
  • ◆Click here to see details about “Nikkei CPINow”
  • ◆Click here to sign up for a trial member.

Q2-1．How are the composite index and the item-specific index of the T-index formed?

  • In order to have an estimation close to the true CPI , we use the most popular index in theory called Törnqvist index to compute.
  • The introduction of Törnqvist index requires a collection of both selling price and quantity data at each investigation time point and we solve this problem by using OS data.
  • Click here to see details.

Q2-2．How is the Mode Index of the T-index formed?

  • In order to grasp the keynote of prices except for bargain prices, we define the value that appears most often in [t-28, t+28] as the statistically mode price of some t to compute the basic price of a certain period.
  • Click here to see details.

Q2-3．How is the sales index of the T-index formed?

  • We choose stores which have both exiting products and entering products at two time points as our target stores. For exiting products we use sales data contain the sales at the time point of comparison and for entering products we use sales data contain the sales today to compute the extent of the change of sales compared with the last year.
  • For details please refer to this link.

Q2-4．How is the S-index formed?

  • To fulfil the demand to forecast the official CPI announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the S-index is formed using the same Laspeyres formula used for the official CPI, with the same brand base.
  • The method of calculation is executed based on the "Replicating Japan's CPI Using Scanner data" journal which was presented at the International CPI Meeting in May 2015 by our company’s Imai and Watanabe.
  • For details please refer to this link.

Q2-5．How is the consumption tax handled for each data series?

  • For each series of the T-index, the calculations are completed with the tax exempted for each individual product.
  • For the S-index, the calculations are completed with the tax individual for each individual product.

Q3-1．Which stores are selected to be included in the consumer price survey?

  • Currently, the stores we target for our data survey includes 800 supermarkets across Japan. Relative to the Japanese population, the entire country’s area is covered evenly. Majority of the targeted stores are chain stores of Nikkei Inc., a strong business partner of Nowcast in Japan. We also include data collected from rural supermarkets.
  • With the aim to further expand the number of data sources, we are currently at the stage of negotiating with various corporations.

Q3-2．Which store items are included in the consumer price survey?

  • Of all the daily commodities and food products that is handled by our targeted stores, our T-index covers 217 products, and our S-index covers 137 products.
  • Detailed data on the products we cover can be downloaded here.

Q4-1．Is it possible to use the released data in reports?

  • Yes, you may quote Nowcast’s data in academic and analysts’ reports. We understand the importance of using analytics material from multiple sources, which is the reason why we continue to provide and develop real time statistical data. We hope that our data will be used for many beneficial and fruitful ways and avenues.
  • However, we request that the name “Nowcast Inc.” is clearly stated when our data is being quoted for any insights or analysis.
  • Also, we strongly prohibit the disclosing of our data in the form where the information disclosed includes more than 30 days of our raw data in one delivery.
  • For more details, please refer here concerning the regulations on utilizing our data.

Q4-2．Would it be possible for clients to use Nowcast’s data to create their own charts, and write commentaries/interpretations using Nowcast’s data?

  • Clients are very much welcomed to use our data for commentaries and further analysis. However, we request that clients quote our company’s name “Nowcast Inc.” when utilizing our data for the above purposes.

Q5-1．What types of membership packages are available?

  • For corporations, we offer 4 types of membership packages: (1) Diamond Membership, (2) Platinum Membership, (3) Gold Membership, and (4) Silver Membership. For individual clients, we provide an Individual Membership package.

Q5-2．What kind of services do members receive?

  • For those who sign up with our membership packages, we provide the following services:
    • 1. Individual study workshop
    • 2. Group study workshop
    • 3. Data downloading service
    • 4. Nikkei CPINow’ monthly reports
    • 5. Prioritised participation for public seminars
  • The services provided differs depending on the membership package that a customer signs up with.

Q5-3．How do I register to become a member?

  • If you would like to register as a member, firstly, please complete your registration for the trial membership ID by clicking here.
  • For those who have registered for the trial membership ID, our staff will contact you soon to proceed with the membership registration. Our staff will set an appointment with you to further understand your needs with regards to our services.

Q5-4．My company already has people registered as members with Nowcast. Is it possible to produce additional membership login IDs for my company?

  • We accept applications for additional membership login IDs at any time. If you apply for an additional ID by the 18th day of any month, you will receive and be able to use the new additional ID by the following month.
  • For example:
    • Applied for additional ID by 17th Dec 2016 → New ID can be used starting 1st Jan 2017
    • Applied for additional ID by 20th Dec 2016 → New ID can be used starting 1st Feb 2017

Q6-1．What is the difference between Nikkei CPI Now and UTokyo Daily Price Index?

  • In comparison to the UTokyo Daily Price Index, the Nikkei CPI Now continues to sustain the speed and accuracy of its results, while increasing over double the number of targeted stores (300 stores → 800 stores).

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