CafePress.com is an e-commerce platform for user-designed merchandise. Since November, CafePress has been tracking 2012 election presidential candidate support via The Meter graphs. With an average of over 137,000 new designs uploaded every week, it’s no surprise many of them are political in nature. As a result, CafePress is often seen as a Cultural Barometer®, making their political product sales relevant and interesting. The Meter graphs track merchandise sales trends for each presidential candidate, and through such trends, successfully predicted Barack Obama’s victory in 2008. So, what does the Meter say for tomorrow? Who is headed to a Super Tuesday win?
To identify the winner in each state, CafePress examined the most recent polls, as well as polling averages when available, to select the top 2 candidates in each state. The winner for the state was then determined by comparing product sales – i.e., support / popularity – for the 2 candidates in that state.
Per the Meter, CafePress has identified both Super Tuesday’s winners and losers:
OHIO:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Santorum wins w/ 54% compared to Romney’s 46% Ohio-based sales
ALASKA:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 53% compared to Santorum’s 47% Alaska-based sales
VERMONT:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 100% compared to Santorum’s 0% Vermont-based sales
MASSACHUSETTS:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 90% compared to Santorum’s 10% Massachusetts-based sales
GEORGIA:
Gingrich VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Gingrich w/ 67% compared to Santorum’s 33% Georgia-based sales
VIRGINIA:
Romney VS Paul
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Paul w/ 75% compared to Romney’s 25% Virginia-based sales
TENNESSEE:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 69% compared to Santorum’s 31% Tennessee-based sales
IDAHO:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 92% compared to Santorum’s 8% Idaho-based sales
OKLAHOMA:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Santorum w/ 100% compared to Romney’s 0% Oklahoma-based sales
NORTH DAKOTA:
Romney VS Santorum
Winner: Based on candidate-tagged sales, Romney w/ 76% compared to Santorum’s 24% North Dakota-based sales
What does this mean, exactly? According to Marc Cowlin, Director of Marketing for CafePress:
· “Mitt Romney is poised to maintain a hold on the GOP nomination, capturing Massachusetts, Alaska, Vermont, Tennessee, Idaho and North Dakota.â€
· “Rick Santorum, while a runner-up, will take a big prize with Ohio. He’ll also take Oklahoma, where he has polled well in recent weeks.â€
· “Georgia is a must-win for Newt Gingrich and, according to our sales data, it’s his on Tuesday.â€
· “Mitt Romney won’t be a match for the Ron Paul Revolution in Virginia.â€