Nielsen and Trax Launch Shelf Intelligence Suite

In the US, Nielsen has partnered with retail vision technology specialist Trax to jointly create a new tool called the Shelf Intelligence Suite. The firms aim to help FMCG companies better understand how shelf performance directly impacts product sales.

Headquartered in Singapore, Trax has developed technology using retail shelf photographs to generate insights and improve in-store execution strategies. The new Shelf Intelligence Suite includes a syndicated offering that digitizes the shelf to enable brands to measure how their products are represented in-store and how this influences their sales.

The suite comprises two tools: Shelf Pulse, which provides FMCG firms with ongoing digitized measurement of in-store shelving conditions; and Shelf Blueprint, which provides predictive analytics to help FMCG manufacturers establish the best strategy for store merchandising - including facings, adjacencies, shelf placement and so on. A new category benchmark called the Shelf Quality Index will also be introduced, enabling brands to measure their own shelf performance relative to shelf share, observed promotions, observed shelf pricing, and other KPIs against a category.

The new service taps in to Nielsen's FMCG point-of-sale database, which includes purchase data and offers information on market shares, competitive sales and volumes, plus insights into distribution, pricing, merchandising and promotion. Doug Bennett (pictured), EVP of US Buy, comments: 'The powerful visualization of sales and detailed store conditions will enable faster activation that yields greater financial outcomes for manufacturer and retail clients. This alliance is a natural fit - we are thrilled to bring our clients a holistic solution with greater analytical depth and measurement frequency for local action'.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.traxretail.com .