Prediction of department store sales performance from personal data

Abstract

The file of application blanks for one year in a large department store were examined. The most successful and the least successful clerk in each of 85 departments was selected to form the criterion groups. Selections were made on the basis of "selling cost per cent," which is a ratio between total selling cost and total net sales. The Chi-square test was used to analyze the 42 items on the application blanks. 12 items proved to distinguish between the two groups at the .05 confidence level. These were: age, years of formal education, years of previous selling experience, weight, time on last job, time on next to last job, domicile, type of principal experience, number of dependents, marital status, and time lost on job in last two years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)