Bushwick Daily · Playbook/Phase 3
Grocery Price Index
The rulebook that makes the comparison trustworthy. Lock it before fieldwork; both of you follow it identically. Verify the seeded basket and stores — don't inherit them blindly.
A. Research question & index definition
A price table isn't an index until you define the comparison. A common shape: (1) the total basket cost per store, and (2) each store scored against the cheapest = 100, so 130 means 30% dearer. Add per-category sub-indexes if they earn their place. Decide it deliberately — this definition is load-bearing.
B. Basket of goods
C. Store list & map
Span cheap to premium: discount chain, mid supermarket, produce specialist, premium/natural, bodega, national chain, and — if in scope — delivery.
If in scope, price the same basket and record fees, markups, and delivery minimums separately so they don't skew the in-store index.
D. Your collection protocol — decide the rules, then both follow them
How few days can you collect the whole basket across, and how will you record the date and time of every price?
When a shelf shows a regular price, a sale, a loyalty price, and a unit price — which is your primary basket number, and how do you log the others so they don't distort it?
Write it once, both follow it: when the exact spec isn't stocked, what exactly do you do? (e.g., cheapest comparable brand at the same size, clearly flagged — or mark N/A.)
How many photos per item and of what? What's the plan if a store won't allow photos?
What did the prior pieces trip on that you'll handle up front? (Per-lb weighing, one price row per item per store, etc.)
E. Roles, route & logistics
Buddy up for fieldwork where you can, plan routes, keep phones charged, upload photos the same day.
The Coordinator (who also edits) records the decision here. You don't start the next phase until this reads Approve.