Alternative data is transforming the financial services industry. From analyzing macro environments to understanding specific businesses, alternative data allows economists to get a clear picture of the market and make data-driven decisions.

One increasingly popular type of alternative data is geospatial, such as points of interest and foot traffic. Geospatial data provides a unique view of market indicators that can be used to develop more accurate economic forecasts. Understanding how consumers are visiting businesses, where people are moving throughout the day, and where businesses are opening and closing provides insight into how industries and regions are performing economically. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend of applying geospatial data in financial analysis, as the way consumers interact with businesses has drastically shifted. Geospatial data provides the detailed information needed to fully understand COVID-19’s impact on the economy and greatly improves the accuracy of economic forecasts.

Join economists David Mericle and Ronnie Walker from Goldman Sachs, and data expert Jason Richman from SafeGraph, as they discuss the process of using alternative data for economic forecasting in COVID-19. They’ll discuss how to identify and source the data needed for a particular analysis, and walk through an example of how to improve accuracy in forecasting with geospatial data. 

Speakers:

Ronnie Walker, US Economist @ Goldman Sachs
David Mericle, Chief US Economist @ Goldman Sachs

Jason Richman, Director of Enterprise Sales @ SafeGraph