Problem_C_Data.zip

2020 MCM Weekend 2
Problem C: A Wealth of Data
In the online marketplace it created, Amazon provides customers with an opportunity to rate and
review purchases. Individual ratings - called “star ratings” – allow purchasers to express their
level of satisfaction with a product using a scale of 1 (low rated, low satisfaction) to 5 (highly
rated, high satisfaction). Additionally, customers can submit text-based messages – called
“reviews” – that express further opinions and information about the product. Other customers
can submit ratings on these reviews as being helpful or not – called a “helpfulness rating” –
towards assisting their own product purchasing decision. Companies use these data to gain
insights into the markets in which they participate, the timing of that participation, and the
potential success of product design feature choices.