Environment

Product: Consumer Insights Platform
Reports: All reports containing a Product or Store Filter

Answer

There are several methods of using the Product and Store filters in CIP reports. Please note that options and terminology will differ between retailers.

  1. All Products/Stores
    Purpose:     This option is selected by default, no filtering is performed.
    Typical use: All Products/Stores is used when you wish to report on all of the products or stores to which your account has access.
  2. Product/Store Master Hierarchy
    Purpose: Drill down through the different product or store levels from broad to more specific categories, such as Department, Division, or Region.
    Typical use: This method is most useful if you aren't sure of the exact group or products/stores to choose, as you can narrow down these options by choosing known higher level groups.
  3. Manual Product/Store Entry
    Purpose: Select the attribute you wish to filter on, and then manually enter the values you need. Multiple values are separated by a comma or space.
    Typical use: Manual entry is used when you know the exact products or stores for your report, such as SKUs or Store Numbers, or when you want to select all products/stores with a common attribute, such as Department or Region.
  4. Custom Product/Store Hierarchy
        Purpose: Selecting a Custom Hierarchy can be used for two main purposes:
    1. Employ a custom hierarchy you have already created (see: Create and Use a Custom Hierarchy)
    2. Use the Product Master or Store Master table to select specific attributes. This method is similar to using the Product or Store Master Hierarchy, but instead of drilling down from broad to specific attributes, you can simply select specific attributes.
      Typical use: 
      a. Use a Custom Hierarchy you have created in order to filter on your own custom columns (for example, Size, Mens/Womens, Adult/Kids products, or Store Manager)
      b. Select specific product/store attributes without drilling, or filter/summarize on attributes which are not available by default (for this usage, please see: How do I summarize a report on different attributes?)

      Usage A: Selecting a Custom Product and Store Hierarchy, and filtering on custom attributes (Size and Distributor)

      Usage B: Selecting the Product and Store Master tables (default option when Custom Hierarchy is selected), and selecting particular attributes without having to drill down through higher levels
  5. Custom Product/Store List
    Purpose: Use a custom list you have created to filter your report (see: Create a Custom List).
    Typical use: This is used when you have multiple values to select, especially when you need a custom list to be convenient and re-usable. This method is similar to pasting in copied values using Manual Product/Store Entry; however, the Manual Entry method has a character limit which causes an error when reached. A Custom List is necessary when filtering on many values in the Product or Store filters.

    Other Options

    Product Filter
    Private Label:     Only return products belonging to the retailer's private label
    Own Items Only:     Only return products which are supplied by my own company

    Store Filter
    All Store Formats:     This option can be unchecked to select specific store formats
    Comp Store Only:     Only return data for stores which are currently defined as Comp Stores