PC Data
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Market research, data tracking |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Ann Stephens |
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Market research, point of sale data tracking, Internet traffic analytics |
PC Data was a privately held American company specializing in market research and point of sale data tracking, established in 1991 by Ann Stephens, who previously served as lead researcher for the Software Publishers Association. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the firm originally concentrated on the U.S. computer software sector before broadening its scope to include hardware sales and, by 1999, Internet traffic analytics. By 1996, The Washington Post identified PC Data as the foremost source for monthly consumer software sales statistics in the United States, with its retail software sales monitoring covering 80% of the market as of September 1998.
In March 2001, PC Data's point-of-sale research segment was purchased by The NPD Group, which merged it into its Intelect Market Tracking division. After resolving a patent infringement dispute with rival Jupiter Media Matrix, PC Data discontinued its Internet traffic analysis operations and shut down later that same month. The company’s remaining Internet research assets were obtained by NetValue and ComScore.