NPD To Analyze Walmart P-O-P Info

TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 2/3/2012

Bentonville, Ark. - The NPD Group has reached an agreement with Walmart to receive and analyze its point-of-sale information.

NPD currently receives information from over 900 retailers representing 150,000 retail doors worldwide. The addition of Walmart data will enhance this information and allow NPD to continue to expand its portfolio of solution-oriented products and services.

Under the agreement, NPD will receive sales data from Walmart U.S. stores and walmart.com. The agreement covers a broad set of general merchandise categories spanning the following Walmart merchandise units: Entertainment, Apparel, Home, Hardlines, and Toys, the research firm said.

 NPD and Walmart are working together to integrate Walmart information into NPD products, which are used by thousands of decision makers at manufacturers and retailers to identify high value market opportunities and monitor business performance. 

"This agreement is truly a game changer for NPD and for the industry," said NPD president/COO Karyn Schoenbart.  "With Walmart data, we will be able to provide our clients with world class information and solidify our leadership position as the premier source of market insight in our industries.  We look forward to offering our clients the best information ever for understanding their customers in order to drive better decisions and grow their businesses."

"Our agreement with NPD will provide Walmart with deeper insights into what consumers are buying and what they are looking to buy," said Cindy Davis, executive vice president of Walmart global customer insights.  "We are sharing our point-of-sale information so that we're able to identify opportunities sooner and work with our manufacturer partners to develop more impactful customer-driven programs in the future."

Walmart will be using NPD as the primary provider of data for the general merchandise categories tracked by NPD and NPD DisplaySearch as a new supplier of forecasting analysis for the electronics team.  NPD recently signed an agreement with Sam's Club to receive point-of-sale information from Sam's Club and samsclub.com.