CityData

A guide to pricing of 160 products and services across 123 cities and 79 countries, CityData is the most complete guide to global price levels available. It contains pricing information on over 160 products and services in 123 cities worldwide. Prices range from the cost of a loaf of bread to the average electricity bill for a local family, and from the cost of office rents to median salary levels. Pricing information runs from 1990 to the present, which enables you to plot trends in pricing and costs over time. CityData is a valuable tool for regional and global managers who need to compare and benchmark operational costs and pricing policies where they do business. For example, CityData allows you to judge where the highest margins for your products and services are likely to be in overseas markets. Human Resources departments use the data to calculate compensation and relocation allowances for expatriate staff worldwide and allow business travellers to determine costs of overseas visits. Among the questions that CityData can help you answer are:

• At what level should you price your type of product in a new market?
• How does product price growth compare with the national inflation rate?
• Is your product type particularly sensitive to movements in the overall consumer price index?
• Where are your largest margins likely to be in overseas export markets?
• What should I pay my local sales manager?
• How much does it cost to rent an office in a city?

Real prices, collected on the ground—the prices in CityData are collected twice a year by local residents who visit outlets to record price levels. Prices are gathered from supermarkets and mid-priced stores to enable a comparison of distribution channels. Categories of prices within CityData include: food; alcohol; household supplies; personal care; tobacco; utilities; clothing; domestic help; recreation; transport; office and residential rents; schools, health and sports; business trip costs; and salaries and disposable income levels.

Published

Bi-annually

Delivery

Online via the Internet

Website platforms

• Bureau van Dijk—(countrydata.bvdep.com)
• Alacra—(eiu.alacra.com)