Syndicated Data for CPGs

In this article, learn about:

• What syndicated data is

• How syndicated data is compiled and used

• The difference between brick-and-mortar data and e-commerce data

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How do you determine a product's performance in the consumer market? Syndicated data offers consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies detailed insights into sales trends, market performance, and customer behavior. It serves as a critical tool for understanding how products perform across various sales channels and provides actionable insights for improving strategies in both retail stores and e-commerce platforms.

By leveraging syndicated data, suppliers, distributors, and retailers can stay ahead of market trends, make informed decisions, and align with industry best practices to drive sales growth.

How Syndicated Data Is Compiled

Syndicated data is gathered from multiple sources, primarily:

• Point-of-Sale (POS) Data: Collected directly from retail stores and e-commerce platforms, POS data tracks sales transactions and helps analyze retail performance in real-time.

• Panel data: Captured from consumer surveys or household tracking, panel data reveals shopping habits and consumer-level insights.

• Product data: This includes detailed product information such as dimensions, categorization, and other measurable attributes that retailers use to structure and manage inventory.

These data types combine to provide a comprehensive view of consumer behavior, product performance, and sales trends across different markets.

Syndicated Data in Brick-and-Mortar Retail

Retailers and suppliers often rely on syndicated data to gain insights into product performance and category benchmarks. Data vendors like SPS Commerce, Nielsen, and Circana specialize in gathering and analyzing retail data, offering actionable insights.

However, not all retailers contribute data to these vendors. Additionally, some vendors focus on specific categories, leaving gaps in insights for others. For example, certain syndicated data providers may overlook grocery and home and garden categories.

Syndicated Data in E-Commerce

For e-commerce, syndicated data plays a pivotal role in optimizing the online shopping experience. Accurate, updated product information---including pricing, availability, and imagery---is critical to retaining customers.

Among the basic steps of selling your product online is keeping its price and related information updated. Data shows that consumers prefer to visit websites that have meaningful data and accurate information when looking for a product that meets their needs. Consumers quickly skip websites that do not display updated product details such as pricing, delivery, imaging, and availability. If the website does not provide important insights, it does not serve any purpose for the manufacturer or the client.

How Walmart Uses Syndicated Data 

Towards the end of 2023, Walmart announced the rollout of Luminate, which it described as "a suite of analytic tools that deliver actionable, customer-centric insights to drive better business decisions." Since then, Walmart has fully launched Luminate Charter and Basic and removed access to DSS.

Luminate Basic offers Walmart suppliers key insights into sales trends, product performance, and inventory levels. This foundational (and free) version of the tool equips suppliers with the data they need to make informed decisions about replenishment and sales strategies, helping them align more closely with Walmart's expectations.

Luminate Charter expands on these capabilities by offering deeper analytics like shopper behavior and customer perception. This advanced (and paid) tier allows suppliers to uncover growth opportunities and make strategic decisions to optimize their performance within Walmart's ecosystem.

In 2025, Luminate is expected to undergo a rebranding from "Luminate" to Scintilla.

Related Reading: Walmart Announces Luminate to Replace DSS in 2024

How Companies Can Use Syndicated Retail

For CPG companies, syndicated data is a valuable tool for monitoring product performance and influencing consumer shopping habits. It enables businesses to:

• Forecast sales with greater accuracy

• Monitor in-stock levels to reduce stockouts

• Advise buyers on when to replenish inventory or purchase new SKUs

• Evaluate the effects of product placement at the store level

By leveraging syndicated data, companies can make data-driven decisions that improve retail performance and enhance customer satisfaction.

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