Mobile Entertainment Summit
Las Vegas, NV
NPD Research Director Mobile Content, Drew Hull, speaking
Event Web Site
May 9-10, 2006
National Hardware Show
Las Vegas, NV
NPD Director, Home Improvement, Mark Delaney, speaking
Event Web Site
NPD's Top Ten
Your top ten questions about NPD's products, services and capabilities
NPD Insights recently asked 10 NPD leaders to give us a run-down on the most frequently asked questions about NPD information and capabilities. The questions -- and our executives' and analysts' responses -- illuminate some of the important ways we're expanding our offerings to help you make better, fact-based decisions.
| 1. What industries does NPD track outside the U.S.? | |
 |
Because NPD is building global information systems for our clients, many of the industries we monitor in the U.S. also apply globally. For example, we track sports in ten European countries, toys in nine, foodservice in six, and prestige beauty – our newest European offering – in two European nations. Nine industries are served by NPD in Canada; in Mexico, NPD monitors consumer electronics, imaging and appliances. NPD tracks foodservice and casual wear in Japan, and through acquisitions and partnerships, now tracks consumer technology in China, Korea and Japan. Andy Tarshis Group President Europe |
| 2. How can I get a better understanding of the Hispanic market in the U.S.? | |
 |
Our broad-based consumer panel recruitment strategy ensures we represent the U.S. Census at large in our research. For this reason, our Hispanic penetration on the panel is consistent with Census targets, at 10% versus 12% for the Census. As all of our surveys are conducted in English, we have acculturated Hispanics on our panel. Special arrangements can be made to address unacculturated Hispanics. The large Hispanic panel population lets us identify areas of similarity, degrees of assimilation and acculturation with non-Hispanic segments, and highlight differences. Our surveys capture full representation of brands so we can identify purchase behavior differences. When we combine our general industry tracking surveys with our ability to follow-up with specific panelists on purchase behaviors, drivers and motivators, we get a much better understanding of the Hispanic consumer. Pamela Veraart Vice President, Panel Management & Operations |
| 3. Can NPD tell me what's happening at retail in local markets? | |
 |
NPD is developing a new POS-based product that does just that. Regional retail sales information will be available this summer for the consumer electronics and technology industries, followed by expansion into many of our other industries. This is an entirely new way to view NPD retail data, and builds upon our automotive and European beauty market-level experiences. It's designed to help our clients increase sales and enhance marketing and supply-chain management. It highlights what is selling, where, and at what price. More than 70 Retailer Partners in the consumer electronics and technology industries (representing more than 15,000 stores in the U.S.) will contribute information for these retail local market views. Soon, NPD clients will have access to local market retail information for more than 130 electronics and technology categories. Bruce Schnur Vice President, Corporate Products Group |
| 4. Does NPD have a tracker that can tell me who my heavy/light buyers are? | |
 |
AccuPanel helps measure consumer behavior, by allowing NPD to observe the same panelists over time. Because we’re often able to track consumers for several years, AccuPanel projects a clearer picture of how and why consumers do what they do. Some customers are heavily engaged with our clients and drive the bottom line, while others only “cherry pick” a few items on sale. In a recent study of customers of a major retailer, we found lower-income customers spent the most per person with that retailer, while higher-income customers were actually purchasing less per person than low-income customers. This information was vital to understanding which customers are driving the business today, and recognizing the best opportunities for growth tomorrow. NPD’s clients are often very surprised to discover who their loyal customers really are – and we’re always happy to help fill them in. Art Spar, Vice President Fashion |
| 5. Can NPD help me test new concepts my company is working on? | |
 |
Yes, we can. Most companies want to test new product ideas, new packaging options or new advertising creative ideas among an “interested universe,” such as category users, or more importantly, their current buyers of specific brands. NPD is uniquely positioned to offer clients a fast, focused and affordable way to show targeted consumers conceptual images or text descriptions and get feedback through surveys of NPD’s online consumer panel. Many of the industry sectors NPD covers have pre-screened samples, which saves on the cost of identifying qualified target consumers. It can be a simple “concept sort,” that provides reactions to early-stage ideas on between five to 15 ideas, or a more traditional “concept check” that gauges consumers’ purchase interest for specific new product concepts, packages or ads in the pipeline. Julie Stewart Director, NPD Custom Fashion & Beauty |
| 6. Can I get a list of upcoming topical reports and associated prices? | |
 |
Yes. We now offer a complete list of NPD topical reports. You can get a copy by contacting your NPD account representative or Charlie Camaroto at 866-444-1411(contactnpd@npd.com). The list contains key information on more than 100 publications across the extensive range of industry sectors NPD monitors – nearly one-third of which are scheduled to be released within the next six months. Topics include Gift Card Redemption, Understanding the Hispanic Automotive Shopper, Celebrity Report and Kids’ Leisure Time. Vicki Niems Vice President Corporate Products |
| 7. Since I’m an NPD client, can I add my own questions to NPD’s tracking surveys? | |
 |
NPD’s tracking questionnaires’ primary purpose is to support the ongoing measurement of market size, trend and share in the industries we serve. We have established a Questionnaire Change Protocol to ensure an uninterrupted, reliable flow of consumer purchase behavior data from our online consumer panel. Any changes to the questionnaire are rigorously tested, and must meet several criteria – including that any change must benefit all customers served. The questionnaires are syndicated, meaning the data collected is available to all customers. That said, we are always interested in ideas to improve the questionnaires and to enhance or expand the information collected and improve the value of our products and services. Proprietary client information needs are best addressed with custom surveys administered to the panel. Samples can be drawn from pre-identified category or brand purchasers or general representative populations. We offer one-time or continuous studies, tailored to meet individual clients’ needs. We’re eager to hear clients’ ideas about how we can improve the tracking studies. We must, however, balance our decisions to ensure we can maintain high-quality reporting of market size, trend and share over time. |
| 8. How can I determine what my customer is doing or spending in other categories? | |
 |
NPD tracks multiple industry sectors, including Automotive, Beauty, Consumer Technology, Entertainment (games, music, movies), Fashion, Food & Beverage, Foodservice, Home (appliances, housewares, home improvement, home textiles), Office Supplies, Software, Sports, Technology Distribution Channel, Toys and Wireless. This means it is possible for your company to purchase topical reports or subscription-based data for industries other than your primary industry of interest. NPD can help you understand the market size by demographic for most of the industries we cover, as well as what is driving their growth. We can also provide information on ownership, future purchase intent, key trends, usage, attitudes and awareness for these categories through our Fast Follow-Ups capability, which allows us to target your specific consumer of interest. Amy Hyland Vice President Toys |
| 9. What’s happening with online retailing? | |
 |
Consumers are growing more and more comfortable with shopping online. In some categories, year-over-year online sales growth has surpassed growth in other channels. For example, while apparel sales grew four percent across all channels in 2005, online sales outpaced that growth with a five percent increase in 2005. Looking more closely, NPD has noted among the 18-to-24 age segment, online apparel sales grew 30 percent in 2005. Fashion footwear, too, is seeing significant online growth: the direct mail/online business experienced 15 percent growth in 2005 over 2004. NPD's information and insights can help companies compete effectively in today's online marketplace by providing a clear view of what's happening in the online channel, comparisons to other channels, and thorough analysis. In every industry sector we cover, we have analysts with industry expertise and online retailing knowledge to help clients create strategies for growing online sales. Marshal Cohen Chief Industry Analyst |
| 10. How can I get a better understanding of the digital consumer? | |
 |
The consumer lifestyle is becoming increasingly digital. Music, once read from cassettes, is now decoded by a microprocessor. Letters people write and photos they take can be stored on solid-state memory. And tasks ranging from buying cars to filing taxes can be done expediently on the Web. Consumers value the flexibility of the experience at least as much as its quality. NPD’s rich client platform and content purchase data prepare clients to understand a world in which information, communication, and entertainment are delivered in new ways that adapt to how, when and where consumers want them. In addition, NPD's analyst services group is now preparing a major initiative squarely focused on the digital lifestyle. |
For more information about any of the NPD products and services mentioned here, please contact Charlie Camaroto at 1-866-444-1411 (contactnpd@npd.com) or your NPD account representative.
Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from The NPD Group, Inc.
TRADEMARKS NOTICE:
The following names and terms which may be used in this newsletter are registered trademarks or service marks of The NPD Group: Aftermarket Industry Monitor, BeautyTrends , CREST, FragranceTrack, National Eating Trends, NET, npd.com, NPD Insights, SalesTrac Weekly, Solution Folders, NPD Sports Tracking Europe.