Pulling the Right Levers
Effectively Measuring Performance
Store-Level Enabled Retail Tracking: How BodyGuardz Proved its Growth Potential and Won More Distribution
With shelf space in a large wireless retailer and strong direct-to-consumer sales results, BodyGuardz set its sights on increasing in-store distribution to reach additional consumers and continue to grow brand awareness. To prepare for discussions with retailers, the company wanted a more in-depth view of the competitive cell phone accessories category and partnered with us to make its case.
In-Store Display Compliance Analysis: How The NPD Group and Mobee Identified a $40+ MM Revenue Opportunity for GoPro
GoPro, a leading consumer electronics brand and maker of world-class cameras, invests heavily in merchandising its products through specialized in-store displays across thousands of retailer locations. Unfortunately, broken and incomplete displays are a fact of life in retail. In order to generate buy-in from retail partners, GoPro needed a credible, trustworthy estimate of sales dollars lost as a result of incomplete compliance.
Sales Territory Management Tool: How a Beauty Brand’s Sales Team Improved Their ROI (and Got Bigger Bonuses)
A strong Sales function is critical to success – particularly when distribution spans multiple retailers and markets. Our client, a leading beauty manufacturer and licensor, was experiencing a sales slowdown despite healthy category growth. The Sales team knew what had to be done, but wanted fact-based confirmation before requesting the additional resources necessary to help turn things around.
Store-Level Enabled Retail Tracking: How a Beverageware Maker Found the Most Productive Products To Optimize its Portfolio
Which items in my portfolio deserve more attention and investment next year? It’s a question asked time and again by businesses of all sizes, across all industries. Recently a leading manufacturer of beverageware wanted to know which of its glassware products were most likely to drive growth, and which merited expanded distribution and marketing/promotional dollars
Store-Level Enabled Retail Tracking: How a Headphone Manufacturer Grew Sales by Expanding Distribution
Recently, a consumer electronics manufacturer approached us in its effort to grow its headphone business. It needed a retailer to carry its latest headphone model, but there was just one problem: the item’s overall sales and market share were lower than that of competing brands. Even so, our client knew it had a winner. This client asked us, “How can we convince the retailer to carry our headphones in its stores?”
Store-Level Enabled Retail: How a Retailer Grew Sales by Merchandising Different Products by Market
Consumers in different markets have different preferences. While that may seem obvious, knowing what will sell best market by market isn’t always apparent. A retailer recently turned to us for help in its effort to ramp up sales in the fan category. With a number of options to choose from, our client needed to know how to merchandise and promote stand fans, box fans, and tower fans—in each market.
Analytic Reporting: How a Leading Apparel Manufacturer Expanded a $49 Million Business
Retail success demands that manufacturers be at the forefront of what’s new, cool, and exciting to shoppers. If a retail buyer decides a particular product or brand is unlikely to fly off the shelves, the decision can cost an unsuspecting manufacturer significant business. Sometimes, it can cost the entire business . . .
Analytic Reporting: How a Global Beauty Brand Amped Up Sales
A strong sales team can be a critical cog in a resilient brand, especially one that spans multiple, diverse regions. When sales and market share are down, for instance, the C-suite often looks to its sales team—the front-line personnel—to figure out why. But feedback from the front line isn’t always sufficient. The picture painted can be incomplete, lacking crucial colors . . .
Customers, Competitors and Opportunities
How a Juice Manufacturer Got The Information Needed To Regain Lost Sales
After years of leading the fruit-juice category in the lodging segment, a particular manufacturer slipped to second place in the market. In fact, a competitor was outpacing our client’s sales by 10 points each month.
Checkout: How a Computer Manufacturer Found a Way To Win Broader Distribution
Manufacturers must convince retailers that their version of the hot, new thing should be on store shelves. See how our client proved tablet/laptop buyers spend twice as much on electronics overall compared to other buyers.
How One Foodservice Manufacturer Found Growth Opportunities
A 30 percent market share didn't stop a foodservice manufacturer from looking for growth opportunities. Comparing their product mix to their competitors, along with a segment analysis led to a surprising growth opportunity.
Store-Level Enabled Retail Tracking: How a Mobile Brand Defended Itself Against Competitors' High-Performing Products
As a brand, it’s hard to stand out in the noisy mobile power space. A leading mobile power manufacturer approached us to determine how to more meaningfully track their competitors’ performance, seeking out greater indicators than sales alone. See how they identified “silent” threats with a new measure.
Checkout: How a Manufacturer Sold an Exclusive Product to a Major Retailer
Our client, a footwear manufacturer, wanted to win floor space for a premium product designed exclusively for a major retailer. The manufacturer needed to prove to the retailer that the return on the new product would be worth the incremental spend. Our client turned to us to build a compelling case.
Checkout: How a Home-Textiles Manufacturer Averted Delisting and Built a Better Partnership With a Key Retailer
A home-textiles manufacturer found itself facing an increasingly common, and dangerous, problem with distribution. The manufacturer learned one of its key retail partners was rethinking its strategy and looking to reduce the number of items it carried in its bedding department. Buyers at the retailer hinted that the manufacturer’s linen brand might be delisted in the process. The manufacturer turned to Checkout for help.
Checkout: How a Restaurant Chain Recognized the Powerful Life of Limited-Time Offers
Unfortunately, the actual power of LTOs can remain hidden in the bulk of a company’s own point-of-sale (POS) information. Recently an 800+ unit fast casual restaurant chain asked us, “Do you have a way to measure the real-world performance of our fried green tomatoes limited time offer?” Because the chain didn’t have any idea what kind of customers the promotion attracted, there wasn’t a clear way to evaluate the offer and target those buyers with other similar promotions throughout the year.
Store-Level Enabled Retail Tracking: How an Office Supplies Manufacturer Improved Its Pencil Assortment With Account-Level Reporting
An office supplies manufacturer wanted to sell more pencils, a category which recently had been making a comeback. With adult coloring and creative expression fueling U.S. office and school supplies sales, it was a great time to be in the pencil business. But the manufacturer faced a conundrum: it had a low share in its category and was losing volume by double digits. And this made it difficult to win more shelf space from its retailers.
Checkout: How a Specialty Retailer Won the Back-To-School Season with Marketing and Assortment
A retailer, let’s call it Client X, had seen revenue drop for several consecutive back-to-school seasons but was unclear what was causing the downturn. Was the retailer losing customers to rivals? Were existing customers spending less? Were the items the retailer sold simply not resonating with today’s consumers?
Checkout: How a Restaurant Chain Learned Not To Worry About Competitors’ New Pricing
Recently a major restaurant chain came to us after seeing that a number of their rivals had all adopted a new, lower price “value meal” approach to menu pricing. The chain was inclined to follow suit, but first wanted to know if the data indicated the new approach was actually working for their competitors, and whether the absence of such an approach was hurting them.
Checkout: How Item-Level Data Uncovered a Retailer’s True Competitive Disadvantage
This year, a top retailer came to us as after realizing they’d lost a significant portion of their core customers over recent years. Our client needed to understand the difference between their assortment and the competition. They needed to know which items were selling well, which they should consider adding to their assortment, and which they should avoid.
New Product Forecasting: How a Manufacturer Launched a New Bra
Our client, a lingerie manufacturer, wanted to launch a new bra to stay ahead of trends, but its new product success rate was in decline. Our client started planning a new bra – comfortable and feminine. But . . . what would set the new bra apart from its many competitors? How could the client determine its likelihood of success in this category? The client wanted to be more analytical in its concept testing and turned to NPD for help.
Segmentation: How a Food Manufacturer Sold More Deli Meats
Turkey, ham, salami, liverwurst, bologna—they’ve been staples of the American diet for decades. And while typically associated with the “lunch” occasion, one person’s deli meat lunch can differ drastically from another’s. A Black Forest ham sandwich might be eaten over a work desk to ward off hunger until dinnertime, while a low-sodium turkey breast wrap may be . . .
Segmentation: Bridging Customer Segments to Surface New Insights and Optimize Performance
A foodservice brand in Canada had limited segmentation information about its customers' attitudes about life and food. That information focused on the in-home side of food consumption. But to really understand its customers (and its customers' customers), the brand also needed the away-from-home perspective.
Market Forecasting: How a Retailer Improved Its Assortment
If you’re a retailer, how can you possibly predict retail’s future? How do you know what items might trend next season, which you should stock up on next quarter, and what real estate to give them on your shelves? Often, retailers rely on historical performance to inform future decisions. But the past doesn’t always account for other influencing sales factors, like manufacturer behavior or economic changes . . .
Market Mapping for Food: How a Manufacturer Reignited Sluggish Sauce Sales
These days, when it comes to grocery shopping, it’s all about the perimeter of the grocery store. Fresh food consumption is on the rise, and U.S. shoppers are more leery than ever of preservatives, processing, and all other unnatural food ingredients. So if you’re a manufacturer and your products live in the center aisles of the grocery store, we’re willing to bet you’ve . . .
Market Mapping for Foodservice: How a Pickle Maker Sold More Product
Pickle manufacturers know the pickle will never be the star of any meal. But pair it with a toasted sandwich, pile it high on a juicy burger, deep fry it, or dress it up as a market vegetable appetizer—and it becomes a killer sidekick. Over the past five years, the classic deli-style coleslaw and pickle accompaniment has fallen by the wayside as salads and new side dishes have stolen the spotlight . . .