[jvm]

Sorry if old...

For Immediate Release The NPD Group Signs Point-of-Sale Cooperation Agreement With Walmart NPD will be primary provider of sales tracking data for wide range of general merchandise categories Bentonville, AR, February 3, 2011 -- The NPD Group, Inc., a global leader in consumer and retail market research for a wide range of industries, has reached an agreement with Walmart to receive and analyze its point-of-sale information. NPD currently receives information from over 900 retailers representing 150,000 retail doors worldwide. The addition of Walmart data will enhance this information and allow NPD to continue to expand its portfolio of solution-oriented products and services. Under the agreement, NPD will receive sales data from Walmart U.S. stores and walmart.com. The agreement covers a broad set of general merchandise categories spanning the following Walmart merchandise units: Entertainment, Apparel, Home, Hardlines, and Toys. NPD and Walmart are working together to integrate Walmart information into NPD products, which are used by thousands of decision makers at manufacturers and retailers to identify high value market opportunities and monitor business performance. “This agreement is truly a game changer for NPD and for the industry,” said NPD President and Chief Operating Officer Karyn Schoenbart. “With Walmart data, we will be able to provide our clients with world class information and solidify our leadership position as the premier source of market insight in our industries. We look forward to offering our clients the best information ever for understanding their customers in order to drive better decisions and grow their businesses.” “Our agreement with NPD will provide Walmart with deeper insights into what consumers are buying and what they are looking to buy,” said Cindy Davis, executive vice president of Walmart global customer insights. “We are sharing our point-of-sale information so that we’re able to identify opportunities sooner and work with our manufacturer partners to develop more impactful customer-driven programs in the future.” Walmart will be using NPD as the primary provider of data for the general merchandise categories tracked by NPD and NPD DisplaySearch as a new supplier of forecasting analysis for the electronics team. NPD recently signed an agreement with Sam’s Club to receive point-of-sale information from Sam’s Club and samsclub.com. About The NPD Group, Inc. The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 2,000 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food, home and office, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit www.npd.com.

[chubigans]

Callin it: Jimmie Johnson's Anything With An Engine to be in top 10 for Feb.

[Dynopia]

I hope we see some magical adjustments to Decembers NPD and it was all just one big nightmare afterall .... one can hope.

This is great news though!

[jvm]

Analysts expected that NPD covered 60-65% of the video game retail market before, with direct data. In terms of games, this should add another 10-25%. So we're moving up to 80-90% coverage...

[mclem]

Clearly this will finally prove that despite what the misleading original figures stated, the Gamecube will in fact turn out to have sold more than the PS2, Xbox, Game Boy, DS and *milk*.

[RurouniZel]

This is great! The additional information should be extremely useful in making more accurate sales conversation. :D

[Celine]

Clearly this will finally prove that despite what the misleading original figures stated, the Gamecube will in fact turn out to have sold more than the PS2, Xbox, Game Boy, DS and *milk*.

With 212 million unit sold GC is indeed the best selling system ever ;-)

[sixteen-bit]

Clearly this will finally prove that despite what the misleading original figures stated, the Gamecube will in fact turn out to have sold more than the PS2, Xbox, Game Boy, DS and *milk*.

Gamecube Hut will need to work with NPD for that to happen.

[matmanx1]

More accuracy is always a good thing. I await the information that we won't be be getting with baited breath.

[Penguin]

While this is good on some levels, its not like they are really sending out numbers to us.

[JacksUsername]

Yeah, the ban Wal-Mart had previously had on video game sales numbers had been lifted back in July of last year :
http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/22/wa...rket-analysts/
But we were only given a vague "few months" before it would take effect. I'm guessing there were some issues in finalizing a deal, and now with this new press release, I'm assuming it shouldn't be much longer until we see a boost in numbers.

[mclaren777]

I just want NPD to give us detailed sales numbers again.

[szaromir]

Good for National Purchase Diary, I guess.

[Tobor]

Proper reporting of digital sales is more important at this point. We'll never get an accurate view of the market otherwise.

[Dynopia]

Yeah, the ban Wal-Mart had previously had on video game sales numbers had been lifted back in July of last year : http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/22/wa...rket-analysts/ But we were only given a vague "few months" before it would take effect. I'm guessing there were some issues in finalizing a deal, and now with this new press release, I'm assuming it shouldn't be much longer until we see a boost in numbers.

Don't think we're going to see a boost. If that was the case it suggests they've been undertracking for years, but I'm sure the big 3 kept them on the level with how much HW they've sold.

Some bizzare software might start charting though ...

[Victrix]

Proper reporting of digital sales is more important at this point. We'll never get an accurate view of the market otherwise.

This

NPD is mildly interesting, but it leaves an entire chunk of the market out of the picture, which is wildly distorting

[Power Glove]

Are deals like this retroactive? Will NPD release data dating back to 2000?

[Hiro_Kunimi_80]

Analysts expected that NPD covered 60-65% of the video game retail market before, with direct data. In terms of games, this should add another 10-25%. So we're moving up to 80-90% coverage...

so... we need to revise our NPD prediction for Jan 2012 ?

[jvm]

so... we need to revise our NPD prediction for Jan 2012 ?

Only if you think the NPD Group did an extremely poor job estimating sales before. Their public estimates have always included an estimation of Wal-mart's sales, so if they've done a good job the trendlines shouldn't change (much).

[lunchwithyuzo]

Proper reporting of digital sales is more important at this point. We'll never get an accurate view of the market otherwise.

With the platform holders also being the vendors, I have trouble ever really seeing this happen. It's just not in Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft/Apple/Google's best interests.

[Grinchy]

Next month's NPD will show a Cabela's hunting game as number 1 for software sales.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Only if you think the NPD Group did an extremely poor job estimating sales before. Their public estimates have always included an estimation of Wal-mart's sales, so if they've done a good job the trendlines shouldn't change (much).

I remember some issue being brought up with their estimation models for Walmart involving a single multiplier. No clue how truthful that is, but it should be interesting to see if there's any ltd changes that trickle down to the public. Will probably only happen if they show improvement for the platform holders.

[JacksUsername]

Don't think we're going to see a boost. If that was the case it suggests they've been undertracking for years, but I'm sure the big 3 kept them on the level with how much HW they've sold. Some bizzare software might start charting though ...

True, I guess the only time we have seen larger discrepancies would have been through holidays, since Wal-Mart sells a massive amount of hardware during that time and I would think that would very difficult to estimate, but as you noted, the manufacturers tend to be more transparent about hardware sales numbers, and that's especially true during the holidays since there is usually plenty to boast about.

[jvm]

With the platform holders also being the vendors, I have trouble ever really seeing this happen. It's just not in Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft/Apple/Google's best interests.

Some day, I think this kind of statement is going to seem profoundly misguided. Even today, it strikes me as misguided.

"Hey, we have this high-margin side business that's growing tremendously. Sorry, can't tell you more."

[Tobor]

Some day, I think this kind of statement is going to seem profoundly misguided. Even today, it strikes me as misguided. "Hey, we have this high-margin side business that's growing tremendously. Sorry, can't tell you more."

Sure, but at best we'll get "how awesome is our platform" total revenue figures, like Apple gives us now.

Will we ever see an actual breakdown by individual game from each service? I'm not holding my breath.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Some day, I think this kind of statement is going to seem profoundly misguided. Even today, it strikes me as misguided. "Hey, we have this high-margin side business that's growing tremendously. Sorry, can't tell you more."

They're always at liberty to release the specific figures they want, and I expect they will moreso going forward. What they won't do is full disclosure for a tracking service like NPD, and there's no pressure really for them to either. Again, that's the issue with the manufacturer also being the vendor.