MegaPanel – First Stage Away

ACNielsen has completed the first phase of its US Homescan MegaPanel initiative, expanding the panel by thirty thousand households to a total of 91,500 and launching the 'Shopper Trends' segmentation service and other new features. Nearly fifty companies have signed up as MegaPanel clients and the first results are due next month.

The Homescan panel was launched in 1989 with 15,000 households using in-home scanners to record purchases of UPC-coded products, then downloading the information to ACNielsen for analysis. It covers purchase of specific CPG categories or brands by household, purchase frequency and location, use of coupons and other promotions, and other data including attitudinal and product usage information.

The second phase of the current expansion should increase panel size to 125,000 households by the end of 2005, allowing for the development of sub-panels for three groups: households with babies, households with teens, and others; and for improved sales measurement within fast-growing retail channels such as mass merchandisers, dollar stores, warehouse clubs stores, and pet specialty stores.

Shopper Trends is a retailer equity segmentation service that quantifies the impact of shoppers' attitudes on their loyalty to specific chains and stores. It applies Winning Brands, ACNielsen's globally recognized brand-equity segmentation service, to retailer equity and links it to the Homescan panel, allowing segmentation by region, local market, or retailer-defined trade area.

Other new Homescan services made possible by the MegaPanel include New Product Alert, giving an early indication of a brand's potential for success, and the Shopper Optimizer model which helps determine the best product assortment. It will also mean better integrated solutions with other VNU-owned companies, including Spectra, BASES and Nielsen//NetRatings.

Homescan's General Manager and Executive VP Robert Tomei says the MegaPanel will offer unparalleled new insights into consumer attitudes and behavior, 'and a better understanding of the effectiveness of their marketing and sales programs on that behavior'.

The company's web site is at www.acnielsen.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.