NIELSEN RE-THINKING GROCERY PRODUCTS RESEARCH
By Adnews Staff
A.C. Nielsen says it will have a new, broader-based system in place by May 31 for providing marketers with data on products sold at Canadian supermarkets. For one thing, it will start using numbers from its panel of consumers who scan purchases in their homes, says Nielsen group vice-president Steve Churchill. He adds that Nielsen is hoping to expand the number of Home Scan households in Canada from 7,200 to 10,000 "in the near future." The research company was nudged into re-thinking its measurement methods when Quebec-based grocery retailer Provigo Inc. gave notice that it would stop providing data to Nielsen because it is adopting a policy of keeping the numbers secret. Provigo will stop providing key account data, which is specific to Provigo, on Mar. 2. It will cease giving other data, which is used for total market measurement, on May 31.