Getting Your Arms Around POS Data

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After working with several small CPG brands over the last few years, one common question is about point of sale (POS) data. Brands usually have some modicum of information about sales to the consumer, otherwise known as sell-thru data. Yet they all admit to feeling somewhat blind. Most of their sell-thru POS data is available through big retailers' data platforms such as 84.51 (Kroger), Retail Link (Walmart), or Vendor Central (Amazon), or Whole Foods (Quicksight). When your distribution is through a smaller regional chain, brands may only get an Excel spreadsheet through an accommodating buyer at the retailer.

These big retailer's data platforms provide a brand's shipments to the retailer, sales to the consumers, average selling price, promotional sales, and sometimes the inventory located at the retailer. It's undoubtedly valuable data, and if analyzed correctly, it can provide a comprehensive picture of your brand's performance across inventory, distribution, velocity, and average price (Muth et al., 2016). However, it can be technically difficult to extract the data across all of the platforms and consolidate it for your brand. Of course, there are POS data aggregators like Circana (a 2023 merger of IRI and NPD), Nielsen (yes, the track grocery sales too), and Spins, the natural and organic data company. These data companies aggregate your brand (as well as all your competitors) POS data across the entire market. However, these companies' offerings are often expensive, require a learning curve, and usually require a longer-term contract. In addition to POS data, these data companies also provide panels of consumers, who report their purchases, and attitudes and feedback about brands.

Your brand's POS data is essential to your viability and long-term success. Your decisions on promotions, pricing, and distribution require a sober and judicious examination of your performance. The sales and marketing buzz may help with retailers in the very beginning, but in the end, it is all about velocity at the register. And as you know, the retailers are carefully examining your performance and will unapologetically delist your SKU when it's not selling. You are only as good as your brand's current performance; you get no points for prior success. For instance, if you are delisted, Li and Wan's (2023) research show that a delisted brand's primary competitor will capture a significant portion of those lost sales. That is the brutal reality of the grocery channel.

The good news is that AnalyzeBrand.com can help brands navigate the complex data. Whether it is integrating data across all the data platforms and providing actionable analytics, or help deciding on a data aggregator's (i.e., Nielsen) product offerings -- we can help! There is no need to be blind to what is happening in the market, you can be confident and fact-based when talking to your investors, suppliers, customers, and consumers about your brand's performance.

Send me a note today!

JimSwallow@AnalyzeBrand.com

References:

Li, H. A., & Wan, X. (2023). Impact of conflict delisting and relisting on remaining products in retail stores: Sales gains across products categories and spillovers to nearby stores. Production and Operations Management.

Muth, M. , Sweitzer, M., Brown, D., Capogrossi, K., Karns, S. , Levin, D., ... & Zhen, C. (2016). Understanding IRI household-based and store-based scanner data (No. 1488-2016-123204).