Laptop Sales Analysis

​This project involves identifying the details of a direct marketing campaign for a computer chain store.

It is ideal for applying for jobs related to:

  • Marketing
  • Consulting

Hi there!

Thanks for joining our team and helping with this project!

My name is Linda and I'm your supervisor. We will be working on this project together.

Just to give you a little background about what we are trying to do:

We are a computer chain store in London, UK and we have 15 stores within the city.

Below are the data sets we have related to our sales performance:

Download them to your shared folder so that you can access them on your SAS system.

​For your convenience, the store locations are marked on the map below:

You can also check the Google Map for the stores.

Note: the data is modified; you won't see actual stores in the Google street view.
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Direct Marketing Campaign

Just like any other business, we are always looking to increase sales.

The management team is planning to launch a direct marketing campaign, which includes mailing marketing materials to residential areas based on the postcode.

However, there are three questions we need to answer before we can start the campaign:
  • Which stores are we launching the marketing campaign for?
  • Which geographical area should be targeted?
  • Which product should be promoted?


Which stores are we launching the marketing campaign for?

As mentioned, we have 15 stores across London. However, we are only going to target two to three stores at this time.

The exact stores we will focus on depend on the sales performance of the stores.

Now, your first task is to help me find the total sales for each store over the entire year.

The information can be found from the data sets above. Let me know if you need help getting the results.

The boss is expecting the results in an Excel spreadsheet so please export the results once you're done.


Which geographical area should be targeted?

The second task is to figure out the geographical in which area to mail our marketing materials.

This is the most challenging part of the project.

Mailing marketing materials is expensive and we'd like to mail only to those who live close to the stores.

I want you to find out how far people usually travel to buy computers in London.

In the POS (point of sale) data sets, each customer’s postcode is recorded in every transaction.

Each postcode is associated with a pair of easting and northing coordinates (e.g. 537275, 169398), which represents a geographical location.

They can be used to calculate the distance from other location such as the stores’ address.
For more information, please see Wikipedia.
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To calculate the distance between the customers' postcode and the stores' postcode, you can simply use the equation below:

Please help me find out how far our customers usually travel to buy computers.

For example, what's the average distance our customers travel to come to our stores?

It would be great if you can plot a histogram too. This can be done using Proc Univariate if you aren't familiar with the procedure.

I think that's it for now!
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Once you provide the information I requested from you, we will move forward to the next step and find out what products to promote in our campaign.

Important Note 1

The sole purpose of this project is for you to gain relevant work experience for your job search.

The very best way for you to learn is to go through the project as if you have been hired to do the job.

Please ask questions if you need clarification.
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We can set up a quick online meeting if needed.

Important Note 2

When going through this project, you are expected to investigate the data and report to your supervisor (Linda) if you find any errors.
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We won't hold your hand on every single task. However, we are available to answer any questions if you need help.

How to contact your supervisor

Linda is your supervisor and you can reach her at [email protected] at any time during the project.

We have many students working on this project and Linda is extremely busy. Please allow one day for her to get back to you.

Be nice too :)
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That's it for now! Good luck on the project and let us know if you need help.