How does quantitative sales forecasting compare to qualitative sales forecasting?

Advantages of quantitative forecasting:-Numerical so easy to interpret and easy to analyse for example graphs can be made.-Data can be objectively interpreted and bias is often not an issue.Disadvantages of quantitative forecasting:-May lack detail.-Correlations do not show cause and effect, so may be hard to determine this.-Extrapolation may be reductionist – just because there has been a 5% increase in sales over the last few years, doesn’t mean this will continue. Many external factors.Advantages of qualitative forecasting:-Detail rich; lots of information to work with.-Open and unrestricted – for example brain storming discussions can allow for innovation.Disadvantages of qualitative forecasting:-May be issues of subjectivity in interpreting consumers’ answers.-Consumers may feel coerced into giving answers that the business wants to hear, so may lack validity (e.g. in test market, they may not like a product as much as they say).