Market basket
The term market basket or commodity bundle refers to a fixed list of items used specifically to track the progress of inflation in an economy or specific market.
Consumer basket
The most common type of market basket is the basket of consumer goods, used to define the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This is intended to track the prices of consumer goods and services, i.e., it is a sample of goods and services, offered at the consumer market. The consumer basket is the base for the definition of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The list used for such an analysis would contain a number of the most commonly bought food and household items. The variations in the prices of the items on the list from month to month give an indication of the overall development of price trends.
The market basket is divided into the following categories and includes: household items, personal goods and services, tobacco, leisure goods, households services, housing, alcoholic drinks and other categories, depending on the country's survey.
Other baskets
Other types of baskets are used to define Producer Price Index (PPI), previously known as Wholesale Price Index (WPI), as well as various commodity price indices.
See also
- Market basket analysis - a distinct concept in data mining involving the analysis of items frequently purchased together.