A convenience store posted the following figures for gasoline sales in gallons over the past 4 days, compared to sales forecasts created using two different methods:
DAY ACTUAL SALES FORECAST 1 FORECAST 2
1 580 640 590
2 620 650 635
3 540 600 560
4 640 610 635
Using MAPE as the accuracy measure, which forecast is "best"? State your answer in a one-sentence explanation of the results of your calculations.
Hint 1: Absolute values are important to this solution. Without them, your answer could go haywire.
Hint 2: The data presented creates two sets of errors. Both are needed to compare the forecasts.
Hint 3: Each error is calculated by:
((|Actual - Forecast|/Actual) * 100) (multiplying by 100 states the result in whole number percents).