NIQ (previously Nielsen), the global leader in consumer intelligence, celebrates its 100th anniversary. Founded by Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr. in 1923, the company that created the concept of market share has evolved into the world’s leading authority on consumer buying behavior and actionable, data-driven insights — measuring more channels, consumers, and countries than any other provider.
Earlier this year, NIQ announced the successful completion of its strategic combination with GfK. With the leading consumer intelligence providers for FMCG, technology, and durables together, the global company is uniquely able to offer the Full View™, the world’s most complete and clear view of consumer buying behavior. The combined company has over $4 billion in sales and over 30,000 clients covering more than 100 countries. This was just the latest development in decades of successful investments in coverage and technology innovation designed to prepare customers for the future via omnichannel coverage, business intelligence tools, and predictive analytics.
“This is an exciting and transformative year for NIQ, as we celebrate our long history as an industry leader while advancing our vision to lead the next chapter in consumer intelligence,” said Jim Peck, CEO of NIQ. “We are so proud of how far we have come and confident in our position as the best and only choice for companies who understand how tremendously powerful omnichannel data and insights are in navigating an increasingly complex consumer landscape.”
For the next 100 years and beyond, NIQ will continue to move measurement forward and uncover new pathways for growth by helping retailers and brands:
- Track sales and share across brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and omnichannel to identify trends and understand competitive and category performance.
- Understand consumer and shopper behavior, demographics and loyalty through consumer panels and custom survey capabilities.
- Maximize profitability, eliminate wasteful trade spend, and ensure the right price and promotion strategy with more granular data and precise recommendations.
- Create sustainable growth by improving assortments and merchandizing.
- Evaluate opportunities to increase sales and quantify the impact of potential outputs, media, and in-store actions based on geographies and demographics.
- Create the best shopping experiences for consumers through personalization and digitization.
- Maintain sales by quickly identifying out-of-stock risks and reducing supply chain disruptions.
- Fuel growth and accelerate time-to-market by testing, refining, and reinventing product lines with highly predictive, market-tested consumer insights.
“As we step into the next century, we are more committed than ever to leveraging cutting-edge technology to empower businesses with the insights they need to succeed – and I firmly believe that the best is yet to come,” added Peck.
This milestone is also an opportunity to take a look back to this century of innovations, thanks to the timeline and pictures below, highlighting some ways the company transformed markets and industries in the last 100 years.
