Data collected from retailers has become a lifeline for CPG manufacturers. Aggregated point-of-sale (POS) data from various retailer channels is available for purchase from the three major data providers: Circana (formerly IRI), NielsenIQ, and SPINS. It is imperative that brands arrive at buyer meetings with retailers equipped with a solid foundation of data.
Historically, CPG manufacturers had limited access to comprehensive market data. About a decade ago, the most extensive national market data available aggregated sales from grocery, drug, and mass merchandiser stores, excluding Walmart and Internet/e-commerce sales. To understand consumer sales, trends, and market share in channels like Walmart, Club Stores, and Dollar Stores, manufacturers had to turn to other sources.
Walmart re-entered the world of syndicated data in 2012, sharing its point-of-sale data as it had done since the mid-1990s. Circana and NielsenIQ increased the amount of POS scanner data they offered as a result, along with better scanner data quality from other sources. Amazon, Instacart, and other online retailers have been sharing their online data for the past five years with the same data providers.
Today, the most commonly used national, cross-outlet markets are called xAOC (NielsenIQ) and MULO (Circana and SPINS). NielsenIQ’s xAOC stands for eXtended All Outlet Combined, while Circana’s MULO stands for MULti Outlet (pronounced “moo-loh”). You may also encounter MULO C, which is Circana’s Multi Outlet plus Convenience Stores. FDMx stands for Food, Drug, and Mass, excluding Walmart, and is still used by Circana. NielsenIQ now uses the term AOC for what used to be FDMx.
The following chart shows the channels included in the various multi-outlet markets available from the three syndicated data vendors. Below that, you’ll find notes on what is included in each channel.
