Appoints Ralph McLaughlin as Chief Economist

February 12, 2025 — OpenBrand, a leader in real-time market intelligence data, proudly announces the launch of the OpenBrand Consumer Price Index (CPI) – Durable and Personal Goods. This monthly report provides unparalleled insights into pricing trends across major consumer product categories, offering businesses, policymakers, and other market participants timely, granular data to make informed decisions in a rapidly evolving market.

OpenBrand’s CPI covers a growing list of over 200,000 individual products, more than double the scope of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI, delivering a deeper and more comprehensive view of pricing shifts across appliances, communication devices, home improvement products, personal care items, and recreational goods. The inaugural report reveals a 0.6% increase in prices for January 2025, reflecting inflationary pressures ahead of anticipated tariffs on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico.

“With the launch of our CPI, OpenBrand is setting a new standard for retail intelligence,” said Ralph McLaughlin, OpenBrand’s newly appointed Chief Economist. “Our ability to provide the largest and most real-time, SKU-level pricing data for consumer durables and personal care products empowers businesses to respond swiftly to market changes, giving them a competitive edge in understanding and navigating pricing dynamics.”

“OpenBrand brings unique data to the market,” added Greg Munves, CEO of OpenBrand. “Unlike traditional pricing indices, our data leverages the most accurate, robust, and dependable large-scale pricing dataset across the broadest set of consumer durables and personal care products, dives deeper into sub-category and SKU-level insights, offering unparalleled granularity. This rich dataset empowers retailers and manufacturers to anticipate shifts and optimize their strategies with a level of precision previously unavailable in the market. We are excited to bring additional insights to market participants with our own consumer price indices.”

Introducing Ralph McLaughlin, Chief Economist

OpenBrand is excited to welcome Ralph McLaughlin as Chief Economist, bringing a wealth of experience in economic analysis and data science. His distinguished career has encompassed industrial economics, applied econometrics, economic geography, and housing market economics, establishing him as a leading voice in market pricing, analytics, and forecasting.

Before joining OpenBrand, Ralph served as Chief Economist at Trulia and Haus, Deputy Chief Economist at CoreLogic, and Senior Economist at Realtor.com. Ralph held academic appointments at USC, San Jose State University, and the University of South Australia. He earned a PhD in planning, policy, and design from UC Irvine and a BA in geography and regional development from the University of Arizona. Ralph is also an FAA-certified commercial pilot and instructor.

About the OpenBrand CPI

The OpenBrand Consumer Price Index (CPI) – Durable and Personal Goods is a free monthly report offering detailed analysis of price movements, promotional trends, and macroeconomic factors impacting key product categories. To stay ahead of market shifts, OpenBrand will soon introduce more targeted indexes focused on specific industries and product segments, providing even greater granularity and actionable insights. Subscribers can access these targeted indexes with weekly updates and same-day, SKU-level pricing data, enabling businesses to get ahead of the curve and respond proactively to emerging trends.

For more information and to access the full report visit the OpenBrand CPI – January 2025 page.

Media Contact:
Sidney Waterfall, VP of Marketing, OpenBrand
press@openbrand.com
sidney@openbrand.com 

About OpenBrand

OpenBrand is the leading real-time market intelligence platform for the consumer durables market. Its unique optical web collection and AI-based processing technology enable the creation and delivery of the most accurate, dependable, and timely competitive intelligence and market measurement data. Brands and retailers leverage the data and analytics to understand why they are winning or losing so they can make the strategic adjustments they need to succeed.