CPG & FMCG Data Providers — Glossary of Terms and Use Cases
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ACV vs TDP (Total Distribution Points)
Summary: ACV = distribution breadth; TDP combines distribution with number of facings/SKUs to reflect presence depth.
Use Cases:
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Prioritize items with low TDP but high velocity
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Forecast gains from adding SKUs or facings
Assortment Optimization
Summary: Selecting SKUs by store or cluster to maximize sales and profit under space and supply constraints.
Use Cases:
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Localize sets by demographics and price tier
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Balance depth vs. breadth to lift category profit
Baseline vs. Incremental Sales
Summary: Decomposition of total sales into baseline (non-promoted) and incremental (promo-driven).
Use Cases:
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Quantify promo lift vs. stockpiling
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Optimize promo calendars against base erosion
Basket Size & Spend
Summary: Average items and spend per trip/basket; key for trip economics.
Use Cases:
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Target baskets with cross-sell offers
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Measure impact of display on basket size
Buy Rate & Purchase Frequency
Summary: Average spend per buying household and how often they buy within a period.
Use Cases:
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Set growth plans by raising buy rate
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Detect churn with dropping frequency
Cannibalization & Cross-Elasticity
Summary: Sales shifts from one SKU/brand to another due to price, promo, or assortment changes.
Use Cases:
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Model portfolio changes before delists
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Choose promo SKUs that minimize cannibalization
Category Captaincy
Summary: Lead supplier role that partners with the retailer to shape category strategies, planograms, and analytics.
Use Cases:
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Co-develop fair planograms and promotion plans
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Provide category insights and shopper research
Clean Rooms (Retail/CPG)
Summary: Privacy-safe environments for brands and retailers to match and analyze data without sharing raw PII.
Use Cases:
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Run closed-loop media measurement with retailers
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Plan audiences using retailer loyalty data safely
Display/Feature Support
Summary: In-store merchandising and circular/feature support recorded alongside sales for promo analysis.
Use Cases:
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Measure lift from endcaps, shippers, and features
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Negotiate future promos based on proven ROI
Distribution (ACV)
Summary: Percent of stores carrying a product, weighted by each store’s share of total category sales (All Commodity Volume).
Use Cases:
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Track distribution gains/losses by market
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Target high-ACV accounts for faster velocity
E-commerce: Click & Collect vs. Delivery
Summary: Key order fulfillment modes with distinct shopper behaviors and promo sensitivities.
Use Cases:
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Tailor offers to pickup vs. delivery missions
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Attribute media to fulfillment preference
Elasticity / Price Pack Architecture
Summary: Demand sensitivity to price and package size; structuring sizes/price tiers to meet consumer needs and margin goals.
Use Cases:
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Design good/better/best packs by channel
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Optimize price points to maximize revenue/profit
Fair Share (Display/Feature/Space)
Summary: Comparison of a brand’s share of merchandising/space to its category share to spot under/over-support.
Use Cases:
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Argue for more endcaps when under-indexed
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Balance space allocation vs. contribution
GTIN / UPC / EAN
Summary: Global product identifiers used to uniquely identify SKUs across retailers and systems.
Use Cases:
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Normalize product catalogs across data sources
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Avoid double-counting in POS and panel joins
Household Penetration
Summary: Percent of households purchasing a brand/category within a period.
Use Cases:
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Set penetration-led growth targets
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Track trial penetration for launches
Loyalty Card & Receipt Data
Summary: Household-level purchase data from retailer programs and receipt-capture networks.
Use Cases:
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Build targeted retention and cross-sell
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Measure media using verified purchases
Market Basket Analysis
Summary: Identifies items commonly purchased together and sequence of category purchases.
Use Cases:
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Design bundles and adjacency displays
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Trigger next-best-offer based on co-buy patterns
Market Share (Dollar/Unit)
Summary: Share of total category sales captured by a brand in revenue or units.
Use Cases:
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Benchmark competitive position by channel
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Track private label impact on share
MMM (Marketing Mix Modeling) — CPG
Summary: Econometric modeling to estimate the incremental effect of media, price, promo, and distribution on sales.
Use Cases:
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Guide media and trade budgets across channels
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Quantify ROI of retail media vs. offsite
New Item Trial/Repeat
Summary: Post-launch metrics tracking first-time buyers (trial) and subsequent purchases (repeat rate).
Use Cases:
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Identify early adopters and repeat drivers
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Adjust promo and media to improve repeat
Omnichannel Panels
Summary: Panels capturing in-store and e-commerce purchases for a holistic view of household spend.
Use Cases:
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Measure shifting spend between store and online
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Calibrate media impact across channels
OOS / OSA (Out-of-Stock / On-Shelf Availability)
Summary: Availability measures capturing shelf voids, phantom inventory, and true OOS events.
Use Cases:
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Alert replenishment teams to chronic gaps
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Estimate lost sales and recovery potential
Panel-of-Record
Summary: Continuous household panel used as the primary measurement backbone for category/brand tracking.
Use Cases:
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Track penetration and buy rate consistently
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Benchmark share vs. competitors over time
Planogram Compliance
Summary: Adherence to the planned shelf layout, facings, and adjacency rules.
Use Cases:
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Audit stores with image recognition
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Link compliance to sales outcomes
POS (Point-of-Sale) Scanner Data
Summary: Retailer sales scans aggregated by store/week/UPC; often syndicated.
Use Cases:
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Track price, promo, and velocity by banner
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Diagnose performance by store cluster
Price Compliance & MAP
Summary: Monitoring adherence to list/MAP and promo price guidelines across retailers and e-commerce.
Use Cases:
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Enforce MAP in marketplaces
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Detect rogue pricing that erodes brand equity
Private Label / Store Brand Share
Summary: Share and growth of retailer-branded products in a category.
Use Cases:
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Plan defense vs. private label encroachment
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Position premium packs where private label is weak
Promo Depth & Mechanics (TPR/BOGO/Bundles)
Summary: Temporary price reductions and mechanics like BOGO, multibuys, and bundles.
Use Cases:
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Test price ladders to find optimal depth
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Pick mechanics that grow baskets not just stock-up
Retail Media Networks (RMN) — CPG
Summary: Retailers’ media platforms enabling audience targeting and closed-loop sales measurement.
Use Cases:
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Target verified category buyers onsite/offsite
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Prove incrementality via clean-room measurement
Share of Requirements
Summary: Share of a household’s category spend captured by a specific brand over a period.
Use Cases:
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Identify loyalty vs. repertoire buyers
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Upsell to increase brand’s share within the home
Source of Volume
Summary: Decomposition of sales growth into penetration, buy rate, price/mix, and distribution gains.
Use Cases:
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Align growth bets to penetration vs. buy-rate
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Explain lifts to retailers with SOV charts
Store Clustering & Micro-Markets
Summary: Grouping stores by shopper makeup, trip missions, and performance for tailored plans.
Use Cases:
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Localize assortments and pricing
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Sequence expansion by look-alike clusters
Syndicated Data (NIQ/Circana)
Summary: Market measurement from NielsenIQ/NIQ, Circana/IRI and others across POS, panel, and e-comm.
Use Cases:
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Use syndicated baselines for MMM inputs
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Benchmark category dynamics across channels
TDP (Total Distribution Points)
Summary: Aggregate distribution metric across SKUs reflecting breadth and depth of presence.
Use Cases:
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Track portfolio expansion impact
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Compare presence vs. competitors within banners
TPM/TPO (Trade Promotion Mgmt/Optimization)
Summary: Systems to plan, execute, and optimize trade promotions across retailers and channels.
Use Cases:
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Forecast promo ROI by banner/week
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Balance spend between feature, display, and TPR
Trade/Shopper Marketing
Summary: Brand-to-retailer funds and programs that drive in-store and digital promotions.
Use Cases:
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Co-fund TPRs, features, and displays
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Plan retail media to support in-aisle promos
Trip Mission & Occasion
Summary: Shopper purpose and context for the trip (e.g., top-up, stock-up, special occasion).
Use Cases:
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Tailor assortments and endcaps to mission
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Sequence creative and offers by occasion
Velocity (Sales Rate)
Summary: Sales per store per week (or per million ACV) indicating how fast items move when available.
Use Cases:
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Prioritize high-velocity SKUs for distribution gains
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Set fair share of space by velocity and margin