Market Force Goes Shopping Again

US customer insights firm Market Force Information, which bought mystery shopping provider Shop'n Chek in 2006, has acquired marketing agency Certified Marketing Services (CMS), and aims to create an integrated suite of mystery shopping, direct customer feedback, and analytics services.

Established in 1956, CMS gathers data in the entertainment, retail and CPG (consumer packaged goods) industries.

Through its Certified Marketing Research Services (CMRS) business unit, the company offers mystery shopping, store profiling and ad compliance evaluation. Its Certified Reports Inc (CRI) division provides intelligence at theatre level for cinema distributors and trade associations, while its Certified Merchandising Services (CMS) department delivers data on new package conversion, retail coverage, inventory control and signage conversions.

Since its purchase almost two years ago (www.mrweb.com/drno/news5239.htm ), Shop'n Chek (www.shopnchek.com) has remained independently branded, as has mystery shopping and in-store audit firm Speedmark (www.speedmarkweb.com), which Market Force acquired in March of 2007.

'Traditionally, retailers are forced to obtain all of the on-site customer experience services they need through multiple vendors requiring multiple data delivery platforms,' said Karl Maier, CEO of Market Force. 'Now retailers will have one reliable partner for all of these services integrated with robust analytics, giving customers a single, more complete and actionable view of their customer experience.'

Colorado-based Market Force, which provides store-level, customer experience information for retailers, restaurants, CPG companies and the financial and hospitality communities, is online at www.marketforceinfo.com , while CMS is on the net at www.certifiedmarketingservices.com.

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

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