“We believe that Wal-Mart’s participation in the information sharing model reinforces the importance of business information and analytics in today’s retail climate,” says Nielsen CEO.
Nielsen, a global provider of information and analytics around what consumers watch and buy, has signed a cooperation agreement with Wal-Mart to receive and analyze sales information from Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores.
The agreement marks Wal-Mart’s return to the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry’s information sharing model. The majority of U.S. food, drug, mass, convenience and dollar store retailers already provide Nielsen with sales information, and this will add to the existing market information, enabling Nielsen to provide a better, more precise view of consumer purchase activity for the benefit of the industry.
Nielsen will be working with Wal-Mart (including Neighborhood Market) and Sam’s Club to report their sales information and incorporate it into existing reads of the marketplace. This new base of information will have better and more accurate coverage for all participating retailers and manufacturers, providing improved insights into sales volumes, pricing, merchandising and promotions. As part of the agreement, Nielsen will be Wal-Mart’s primary provider for information, tools and training.
“Nielsen is thrilled to expand our relationship with Wal-Mart, adding to the momentum we’ve established with its sister company Sam’s Club,” said John Lewis, president and CEO, North America Consumer, Nielsen. “We believe that Wal-Mart’s participation in the information sharing model reinforces the importance of business information and analytics in today’s retail climate. Nielsen is confident that both retailers and consumer goods manufacturers will benefit significantly from greater accuracy of information on what consumers buy.”
“This expanded relationship with Nielsen will provide Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club with deeper insights into customer purchasing and unmet needs both nationally and in key local markets,” said Cindy Davis, executive vice president of Wal-Mart global customer insights. “We plan to share our point-of-sale information to help us identify category growth opportunities sooner and collaborate with our manufacturer partners to develop more impactful customer-driven programs going forward.”
Nielsen will incorporate Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club retail sales information and define new views of U.S. industry numbers and sales information databases over the next several months.