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Circana

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Circana, Inc.
Formerly
  • National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. (1966–1975)
  • NPD Research Inc. (1975–1988)
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryMarket research
FoundedSeptember 28, 1966; 58 years ago (1966-09-28) (as National Purchase Diary Panel Inc.)
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Kirk Perry (chief executive officer)
Products
OwnerHellman & Friedman
Websitewww.circana.com

Circana, Inc., formerly known as IRI Worldwide and The NPD Group (previously National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.), is an American market research and technology company. Its global headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois, USA. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest market research company in the world, according to the independent AMA Gold Report Top 50 report.[1] The NPD Group operates in 20 countries, across more than 20 industries. The current name, Circana, was adopted in 2023 after the company's merger with IRI.[2]

NPD helps retailers, manufacturers, financial analysts, and the public sector measure performance, predict future performance, improve marketing and product development, and identify business and consumer trends and market opportunities. NPD tracks spending and has dedicated advisers and analysts in more than 20 industries.[3]

In July 1999, the NPD Group and GfK co-purchased the entirety of market research firm Intelect ASW, a company focused according to The New York Times on "the consumer electronics, information technology and appliance industries."[4] In early 2001, the NPD Group purchased PC Data's core business and merged its operations into NPD Intelect; 60 members of the PC Data staff migrated to the company.[5] Intelect subsequently formed a subdivision dedicated to the console game market, NPDFunworld, in October 2001. NPDTechworld, a branch dedicated to the technology and software sector, followed in December.[6] NPD uses sales data, such as checkout tracking from retailers and distributors as well as consumer-reported purchasing behavior, and offers consumer panel and retail sales tracking services, special reports, analytic solutions, and advisory services.[3]

NPD began tracking the North American video game industry from 1995.[7] In the 1990s, NPD's Toy Retail Survey Tracking (TRST) system was the video game industry's standard source for video game sales figures. The TRST collected these figures from 17 North American retail chains, or 63% of the American market. Those who purchased TRST's data, which NPD repackaged without extrapolation, were discouraged from republishing the raw figures.[8]

NPD also provides a service called VIP Voice that allows consumers to complete surveys about the products and services that they use.[9]

In October 2021, NPD entered intro an agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.[10]

NPD serves industries in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom.[11]

BookScan, Pubtrack Digital, PubTrack Higher Education, PubTrack Christian, Books & Consumers, PubEasy and PubNet belong to NPD since January 2017.[12] NPD acquired these services from Nielsen's U.S. market information and research services for the book industry. In the U.S. these services are now part of NPD Book, a new U.S. practice area.[13] NIQ (formed from divestiture of consumer intelligence business of Nielsen Holdings in 2021) still operate their book services outside of the U.S., including BookScan in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico.[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bowers, Diane; Brereton, Michael. "The AMA Gold Report 2017 Top 50 Market Research Firms". AMA. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "IRI and NPD Rebrand as Circana, the Leading Advisor on the Complexity of Consumer Behavior". Circana (Press release). March 7, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "About NPD". The NPD Group. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Elliott, Stuart (July 27, 1999). "The Media Business: Advertising; Madison Avenue sees another spate of deals, including some acquisitions overseas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015.
  5. ^ Joshi, Pradnya; Harrington, Mark (March 16, 2001). "NPD Venture Buys Tracking Firm". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018.
  6. ^ LIBN Staff (December 14, 2001). "NPD Intelect unveils tech marketing info service". Long Island Business News. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018.
  7. ^ "New Games Industry Growth Record Set in October". NPD. October 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "TRST: The numbers you can trust?". Next Generation. Vol. 28. April 1997. p. 19.
  9. ^ "Make An Impact!". VIP Voice. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  10. ^ "The NPD Group To Be Acquired By Hellman & Friedman". npd.com. October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "The NPD Group – A Global Presence". The NPD Group. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "NPD Buys Nielsen's Book Services". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  13. ^ Milliot, Jim. "NPD Buys Nielsen's Book Services". PublishersWeekly.com.
  14. ^ "Measure". Nielsen Book UK. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
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