Nielsen Launches Comprehensive U.S. Wine Measurement Solution with Connected Partners Wines Vines Analytics and Sovos Shipcompliant

New York, NY – April 23, 2020 – Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) Global Connect today announced a joint solution that will deliver a much more comprehensive view of the U.S. off-premise wine category. This product will enable suppliers, importers, distributors and retailers to view Nielsen U.S. retail wine sales alongside or in aggregate with direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine shipments, provided by Nielsen Connect Partner Network members Wines Vines Analytics and Sovos ShipCompliant.

Reflecting the importance of robust, trusted measurement of channel shifts impacted by and extending beyond the global COVID-19 pandemic, this collaboration will provide industry-first, synchronized reporting of two critical channels: the $17 billion U.S. retail off-premise channels tracked by Nielsen, and the more than $3 billion DtC wine shipment market reported by Wines Vines Analytics in collaboration with Sovos ShipCompliant. The latter is produced using a proprietary model driven by millions of anonymized shipment transactions filtered through the Sovos ShipCompliant system, then stratified and extrapolated to the Wines Vines Analytics database of more than 10,000 wineries.

Wine retailers and manufacturers will have access to a broader read of the wine category and segment size and trends via quarterly reporting that meticulously matches Nielsen’s retail measurement data to DtC shipment data—by price tier, origin, varietal and destination market. Users will have the ability to access category and segment data for Nielsen and the DtC shipment data either in isolation or in aggregate. 

Joint measurement by Sovos ShipCompliant and Wines Vines Analytics yields the most robust projection of the U.S. DtC shipment channel available today, particularly reflective of premium price tiers. Reporting of DtC shipments includes online orders placed at winery websites, winery wine club shipments to their members and tasting room purchases shipped to consumers. The model tracks sales by winery region, annual winery production, destination of shipment, wine type (varietal) and price points.

During March 2020, combined U.S. dollar sales of wine from Nielsen’s retail measurement and the DtC shipment measurement from Wines Vines Analytics and Sovos ShipCompliant were almost $2.5 billion, an increase of nearly 30% versus one year prior, reflecting the pervasive impacts of COVID-19.

“Wine suppliers, importers, distributors and retailers are grappling with a shifting paradigm of consumer preferences and purchasing methods for their favorite wines,” said Danny Brager, Senior Vice President, Beverage Alcohol, Nielsen. “Our collaboration with our Connected Partners Wines Vines Analytics and Sovos ShipCompliant will provide our clients with a stronger representation of wines from wineries of all sizes—many of which use the rapidly growing DtC channel as a primary avenue for getting their products to consumers. It will also enable all wineries to leverage our leading measurement of the U.S. retail wine market distributed through the three-tier system. With rising sales through various off-premise channels including DtC shipping—accentuated even more as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—it is more critical than ever to understand these channel shifts.”

“The U.S. wine industry is more competitive now than at any other point in its history, and accurate market data is invaluable to make the best business decisions possible,” said Andrew Adams, editor of the Wine Analytics Report, which is published by Wines Vines Analytics. “Finding pockets of growth is more critical than ever, which is why we’re excited to connect the dots for the wine industry via our growing collaboration with Nielsen and Sovos ShipCompliant.”

“For nearly a century, Nielsen has defined the measurement of the U.S. retail off premise space,” said Larry Cormier, Vice President and General Manager, Sovos ShipCompliant. “Now with our joint offering alongside Wines Vines Analytics, we can better help U.S. wineries and retailers keep pace with category trends at a broader level, incorporating both retail and DtC shipment channels.”

Available through Nielsen’s Global Connect Business, the Nielsen Connect Partner Network is the industry’s largest open ecosystem of tech-driven solution providers for retailers and manufacturers in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Since launching in 2016, this ecosystem has been instrumental in simplifying industry collaboration for more than 150 unique Nielsen clients, with an open framework that enables them to work with trusted, innovative partners matching their specific needs. Click here for additional information.

ABOUT NIELSEN

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media, the arbiter of truth for media markets, provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.

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