The State of Data Falsification

I was browsing LinkedIn this morning when I came upon this post in my timeline…

What’s this? People prefer to shop in a store rather than online? Surely, behind this post was some truly compelling data unearthed by TimeTrade Systems, a company that provides a solution for in-store appointment scheduling. The post contained the following assertion… 70% of those surveyed would prefer to shop in an Amazon brick and mortar store than at Amazon.com.

Wow. Just wow. This is groundbreaking stuff here. I mean never mind the fact that it’s a little tough to answer “Yes” or “No” to a multiple choice question… nevertheless, nothing to see here, move along! The post goes on to question the hype around all this e-commerce hubbub.

What’s going on here? Wasn’t online shopping and e-commerce supposed to permanently change the way consumers buy things? Not according to these folks.

Well, I had to dig deeper to see what other revelatory insights came from this TimeTrade-funded and TimeTrade-published survey. So, I downloaded their free “State of Retail” report. I did a quick search for the word “Amazon” and I was incensed and dismayed to find out that there was some complete “data fuckery” going on (sorry, it’s really the perfect phrase, in this case). Here’s the actual excerpt from the report:

Context. It can be a real bitch. The data that they were citing in the sensational LinkedIn post was in response to the question… “Would you shop at an Amazon store?” NOT “Would you rather shop at an Amazon brick and mortar store over Amazon.com?” Oh, and I forgot to mention that this was posted by the CEO of TimeTrade, not some lowly Business Analyst.

Meanwhile, TimeTrade has been racking up the “likes” and reshares on LinkedIn while the mindless masses glom on to a narrative that supports an absurd agenda to challenge the consumer preference for and growing trend in online shopping. Watch out, Jeff Bezos, your days are numbered unless you embrace those B&Ms!

The sad thing is, TimeTrade is a somewhat reputable company that has partnered with the likes of Apple and other major retailers. Why they would stoop to this level of manipulation and flagrant misinformation is beyond me.

Be informed and be responsible when consuming these “facts” and data insights sketchy companies throw around willy-nilly on LinkedIn.