A look at IRI's information powerhouse

Drug Store News, Oct 14, 1991

InfoScan is designed to provide solutions to the marketing and sales challenges of the '90s. It collects and integrates four major streams of data into a powerful single information source that can be referenced and cross-referenced in a variety of ways.

Here's a closer look at the components of InfoScan:

* Retail store sales

InfoScan gathers and constantly updates scanner-based movement data from thousands of retail sites, including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers, deep-discounters and convenience stores in a total of 66 markets nationwide. Data is available for every UPC scanned, and IRI's UPC dictionary currently tracks more than two million separate codes.

The UPC data--including item, price, consumer takeaway and weekly time period of purchase--are sent from store to chain, and on to IRI via telecommunication systems.

* Consumer purchases

Day-to-day purchasing patterns of roughly 60,000 households are measured through the presentation of panel-member ID cards at checkout. The cards are scanned for recording and integration of data on all purchases and factors influencing that purchase, including coupons and other promotional efforts.

This passive scan card method for data collection makes for higher participation rates by panelists, and allows tracking and customized analysis of purchase dynamics within and across categories in a fashion never before possible. It was first pioneered by IRI as BehaviorScan in 1979 to track ad responses.

* Trade and consumer

promotion

IRI's own field staff visually surveys stores and all print media to record retailers' merchandising efforts, displays and ad features. Field personnel also track average number of units per display, space allocated to specific sections, number of facings and other custom conditions. Results are electronically communicated to IRI's central computers.

This component of InfoScan allows users to match in-store conditions with other causal data affecting sales.

* Television viewing

Household panel members are selected for TV monitoring via onset meters. TV ads can then be monitored for effectiveness against actual consumer purchasing of the advertised brand.

The integration of these four data streams gives InfoScan clients an in-depth, multi-dimensional view of their product performance, their markets, their promotional mix and their consumer base.