Certified Professional Category Analyst (CPCA) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The Category Development Index (CDI) is a metric used to examine the performance of a specific product category within a particular market relative to its performance nationally. It helps companies understand how well a category is selling in a specific market compared to its sales potential based on the population.

The formula is defined as the percentage of category sales in a specific market divided by the percentage of the total population in that market. This approach allows for a more accurate assessment of whether a category is underperforming or overperforming compared to the demographic size of the market.

By using the correct formula, businesses can identify target markets where a particular category is doing well or poorly, guiding marketing and business strategies. For example, if the CDI is above 100, it indicates that the category is performing better than average in that market; if it’s below 100, it suggests that the category could be underperforming.

The other options fail to accurately represent the CDI framework, as the focus is incorrectly placed on total market sales or revenue rather than the specific category proportion relative to market demographics.