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- 70% Increase in Households and Individual Measured in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal
- 68,000 households and 12,000 individuals across Western Europe to report on spending and consumption patterns by end of 2006
Paris, FRANCE – ACNielsen, a leading provider of consumer and marketing information, today announced the major expansion of its European Consumer Panels business by 70% over the next 12 to 24 months in the key markets of the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal.
Frank Martell, President, ACNielsen Europe, said the company would be making “a multi-million Euro investment over the next several years into Consumer Panels across a number of key European markets as part of the company’s global consumer panel expansion strategy.”
The expansion takes the company’s total European panel coverage from approximately 45,000 to just under 70,000 households by the end of 2006.
Retailers and manufacturers of packaged foods, fresh foods, personal care and household products rely on consumer insights and data gathered from ACNielsen’s scanning-based Homescan® Consumer Panels to track purchasing patterns, consumption trends and changes in consumer behavior.
ACNielsen estimates the global Consumer Panel business to be worth around 400 million Euros, with about half of it contributed by Western Europe. In 2004, the company initiated a two year expansion of its Homescan® consumer panel in the US from 65,000 to over 120,000 households and is also expanding its panel foot print across Asia Pacific and Brazil.
“In today’s increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace, understanding today’s complex consumer has never been more challenging,” said Mr. Martell. “The integration of consumer insights from our Consumer Panels together with information from our Retail Measurement services - including scan data from major retailers - and proprietary customized products is the only effective way for manufacturers to obtain a complete 360 degree understanding of their consumers’ purchasing and consumption habits, and how they change over time.”
"We very much welcome ACNielsen's plans to expand their panel size in Europe, " said Alek Bielicki, Global Syndicated and Trade Research Director at Reckitt Benckiser. "Having retail and consumer panel data together in one place is simply more efficient and allows us to make better decisions more quickly."
The European Panel expansion will include the introduction of ACNielsen’s individual consumer panel, I-Scan™ Impulse, a scanner that captures consumers’ out of home consumption of convenience and ‘on the go’ purchases.
“Today’s fast moving lifestyle has placed a greater emphasis on convenience products and out of home consumption. An increasing number of soft drinks, confectionery, and fresh foods such as yogurt and fruit are now purchased ‘on impulse’ for immediate consumption. The convenience sector is one of the fastest growing sectors and it is important for us and our clients to track and understand this market,” added Mr. Martell.
This offering is being launched in the UK and several other markets in 2005 and 2006.
The latest expansion plan cements ACNielsen’s position as the leader in Consumer Panels globally.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen is the world’s largest Marketing Information company and is owned by VNU.VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media measurement and information (Nielsen Media Research) and business information (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair). VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total revenues amounted to EUR 3.8 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam (ASE: VNU) stock exchange.
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