Wal-Mart has reached a deal to provide U.S. store sales info to Nielsen’s Global Customer Insights/North America Consumer units. The agreement will provide sales data for Walmart big-box centers, neighborhood markets and Sam’s Club stores. Nielsen will use the info in what it provides to clients — retailers and consumer packaged goods makers. Nielsen said most U.S. mass retailers and food sellers provide the firm sales info and that the Wal-Mart agreement will allow “Nielsen to provide a better, more precise view of consumer purchase activity for the benefit of the industry.”
Nielsen will incorporate the retail sales info and define new views of U.S. industry numbers and sales info databases over the next several months. The agreement marks Walmart’s return to the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry’s information sharing model. Wal-Mart’s U.S. discount stores had not shared its data in more than a decade, which meant Nielsen’s widely used metrics were missing the country’s largest retailer.
The majority of U.S. food, drug, mass, convenience and dollar store retailers already provide Nielsen with sales info, 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.
As part of the agreement, Nielsen will be Walmart’s primary provider for information, tools and training.
“This expanded relationship with Nielsen will provide Walmart and Sam’s Club with deeper insights into customer purchasing — and unmet needs — both nationally and in key local markets,” according to Cindy Davis, EVPWalmart 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.”
