Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth 2026 Forecast Planning: Board vs Budget vs Bonus Explained
Nov 11, 2025
In this discussion, hosts highlight the importance of a three-forecast model for eCommerce planning: Board, Budget, and Bonus. They delve into balancing urgent tasks like Black Friday with long-term goals. Key forecasting inputs, such as percentage-over-model and event effect modeling, are explained for more accurate predictions. Listeners learn to define their goals for team performance and how new marketing events can influence forecasts. Overall, it's a smart guide to navigating future challenges while ensuring team alignment.
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Three Forecasts For Clear Decision-Making
- High-performing brands should build three forecasts: Board, Budget, and Bonus to capture different likelihoods and aims.
- Each forecast serves distinct stakeholders and guides decisions from capital planning to team incentives.
Match Forecasts To Stakeholders
- Use the Board forecast as the conservative "most likely" outcome for banks or boards to set expectations.
- Use the Budget forecast to resource operations and purchasing, and the Bonus forecast to set ambitious team goals.
Quantify Forecasts With Two Core Inputs
- Two core inputs for scenario planning are percentage-over-model (spending power) and the event-effect model for marketing days.
- These inputs let you quantify how actions change acquisition efficiency and scale ad spend at target efficiency.