Nielsen CGA Launches 'CLIP' Alcohol Sales Insights

Drinks sector joint venture Nielsen CGA has launched a service called CLIP (Check-Level Insights Pool), providing transaction-level data on sales performance in both chain and independent bars and restaurants across the US beverage alcohol market.

Nielsen CGA, a JV of Nielsen and UK-based marketing intelligence firm CGA Strategy - offers market data for retailers in pubs and bars, as well as for drinks brand owners. This includes access to an on-premise measurement service for alcohol beverage clients, called Brand Index.

CLIP builds on Nielsen's on-premise and off-premise measurement services and allows marketers to analyse on-premise sales of alcohol beverages down to check (ie receipt) level. It also identifies when brands are purchased, their relationship to other brands, and how they perform on special occasions such as Happy Hour or St Patrick's Day. Combined with the capabilities of Nielsen's Advanced Analytics and Consulting practice, the data can help clients assess the best promotion strategy, assortment optimization and impacts of specific in-outlet activities.

The first phase of the launch will cover alcohol-based drink sales, while coverage for non-alcoholic offerings such as soft drinks and food are planned in the future. Currently composed of 4,000 locations with a commitment to expand this to 8,000 outlets by the end of the year, the partners claim the CLIP dataset is the only commercially available source of this type of on-premise data.

Scott Elliott (pictured), SVP of Nielsen CGA, comments: 'For marketers, knowing what is bought alongside their brands, what time of day their brand/category is purchased, how their brands perform on key events and key day parts are all crucial insights to navigating today's marketplace. With this unrivaled market intelligence, and with a broader, total consumer mindset, brand marketers will be better positioned to make data-fueled decisions to know what the best next step forward could be'.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.cga.co.uk .