Retailer Intelligence

CHICAGO -- The Nielsen Company business unit Decisions Made Easy, a provider of analytical software and services for business users at CPG companies, introduced a new solution yesterday called Nielsen Complete Coverage. The online reporting and analytic application provides a more robust and reliable analysis of a CPG company's market or category.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- Nielsen Homescan & Spectra this week rolled out a beefed-up Consumer & Shopper Insights Suite which, according to The Nielsen Company global business unit, offers the most comprehensive view of actual consumer purchasing behavior available in a syndicated deliverable.

WILTON, Conn. -- Sales managers, researchers, product analysts, marketing executives and strategic planners have an updated source for supermarket market share, with the 2007 Market Scope: The Desktop Guide to Supermarket Share.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has appointed Springdale, Ark.-based Saatchi & Saatchi X as its Agency of Record (AOR) for shopper, in-store, and associate communications. The retailer has worked with Saatchi & Saatchi for the last seven years.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores here said Saturday that it estimated U.S. same-store sales growth for July was at 4.4, falling solidly within its earlier guidance of 3 to 5 percent.

CINCINNATI ¿ Kroger Co.'s stock price was whipped about by the market yesterday, after a financial analyst from J.P. Morgan said the chain's reported gains for the first quarter could not be sustained, and its strong outlook on the rest of the year was probably too ambitious.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. and SAN FRANCISCO -- ACNielsen U.S. and SPINS yesterday said they would jointly expand SPINSscan Conventional, an information service tracking sales of natural and organic products across grocery, drug, and mass merchandise retail outlets.

CHICAGO -- Spectra and ACNielsen U.S., both part of the VNU Marketing Information group, yesterday announced the launch of Category ShareCast, a Spectra service powered by the ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel that provides consumer packaged goods retailers with a "new approach" to measuring and building shopper loyalty. The service is designed to provide retailers with a better understanding of their share of each shopper's total category-specific spending while identifying opportunities to capture more of that spending.