In this week’s Unboxed column, Steve Lohr writes that ever-expanding ways to track consumer behavior online could be a boon to those in the business of making economic forecasts. This is because online data collection is scooping up all kinds of previously untrackable consumer behavior â€" everything from what you browse and buy on the Web to the location info given off by your cellphone â€" and making it available. But the data is fallible, too. A study that used internet search data to predict future home sales was more accurate than forecasts by experts from the National Association of Realtors, but a similar approach using searches related the flu was not. Read the full article here.
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