Whole Foods Market has selected Nielsen as its primary U.S. analytics provider for point-of-sale data, consumer insights and industry metrics. The companies are collaborating on a customized natural and organic product hierarchy that will provide a comprehensive view of Whole Foods Market’s product categories, including ingredient-level attributes.
In addition to allowing the company and its supplier partners to make faster and more informed data decisions to drive growth, the integrated hierarchical data is expected to yield a deeper understanding of customer preferences. Whole Foods Market said that will help it and its supplier partners with new product development.
The companies say Nielsen was chosen for its understanding of Whole Foods Market’s “retail universe” and its coverage across categories, channels and marketing media. In addition to developing the customized hierarchy, Nielsen will provide measurement and marketing analytics for all U.S. Whole Foods stores.
“Whole Foods Market has long been a great retail artist,” said Don Clark, Whole Foods Market global VP of procurement, non-perishables. “This partnership allows us to better blend the art and science of food retail, helping us compete more effectively in a very dynamic environment.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Whole Foods Market to bring the most comprehensive product hierarchy in the health & wellness space to the industry,” said Rob Hill, EVP of retail services at Nielsen. “This hierarchy that will be opened up to the supplier community for the first time is a foundation for an expanded analytics and consumer-centric engagement that we are proud to be working with Whole Foods Market and the industry on. In addition, our focus on health & wellness, advanced data reporting and vast suite of products and services will enable Whole Foods Market to stay on top of changing trends, emerging trends and consumer habits within the grocery space.”