Marketing Data Science: Modeling Techniques in Predictive Analytics with R and Python

13. Predicting Sales

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”

—PETER SELLERS AS PRESIDENT MERKIN MUFFLEY IN Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

We are nearing the end of our journey through marketing data science. Soon it will be time for the beach.

I do not fit into the muscle-beach scene at Venice or Malibu, and I find Santa Monica too pricey. Redondo would be fine, Manhattan as well. But between those two is my favorite beach in the world, Hermosa Beach.

I first visited Hermosa Beach in my late twenties. It was during a month-long winter-term break from teaching. I rented an apartment above a bar on Pier Avenue and listened to rock music late into every night. I played volleyball with ...