It's that time of the year again! It's time for the worst weather imaginable and the worst kind of consumer-driven pressure, because corporations wanted to create a holiday with the sole purpose of making more money. Since you're reading this, that must mean it's Valentine's Day, the most unholy of days that make half of all humans feel like miserable lonely pieces of garbage, and the other half freak out about reservations.
Flowers die too quickly, diamonds are expensive, and so humanity came to the conclusion chocolate was the answer. And what better brand to purchase at a gas station when you forgot what day it is than Russell Stover ($SWX:LISN), a candy company named after someone who sounds like my neighbor. What data did we find interesting about the Lindt & Sprüngli brand?
Last year's Valentine's Day, there were thousands of people talking about Russell Stover chocolate. Facebook likes were going up, and then all of a sudden this year the exact opposite is happening. Likes are going down, there isn't as big a bump in the 'Talking About' count, and it's fair to ask if fewer people are buying this brand for their loved ones.
So maybe go with Hershey's, people seem to like that. Or maybe no chocolate at all. Whatever works, you do you.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.