New NPD CEO Schoenbart Pushing 'Checkout Tracking' Service For Evolving Market

Consumers are in the “drivers’ seat” today, said 30-plus-year NPD veteran and newly tapped CEO Karyn Schoenbart in an email Thursday. Schoenbart, most recently chief operating officer, was named CEO Wednesday (see the personals section of the March 23 issue of this publication), succeeding Tod Johnson, who became executive chairman. With consumer priorities and shopping behavior evolving, NPD will continue to meet market needs, Schoenbart said. She cited the developing consumer preference for “experiences over things,” that’s leading to a proliferation of shopping alternatives. “The good news is that there is also a wealth of data available to help marketers understand and anticipate trends,” she said. On how NPD will adjust its tracking methodology to keep up with changing consumer buying habits, Schoenbart pointed to the NPD’s "Checkout Tracking" service that monitors the same consumers over time based on information from “millions of receipts” from both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. Checkout Tracking shows how shopping habits are changing over time and also allows NPD clients to “dig into how habits differ by demographic,” she said. That’s allowing NPD to understand the differences in shopping behavior between millennials and baby boomers, for instance. “It’s also key to understanding the shopping cadence, particularly during key times of year, like holiday,” she said. The tracking service complements NPD’s core data, she said. On possible acquisitions ahead in an industry that’s seen several mergers and acquisitions in recent years, Schoenbart said NPD is generally focused on organic growth but will look to acquisitions “when there is an opportunity to fill in gaps and strengthen our existing portfolio.” She gave as an example NPD’s recent purchase of Nielsen’s U.S. book business and videogames research provider Eedar to “broaden and deepen our expertise.” NPD provides sales tracking and analytics for more than 20 industries in addition to consumer electronics.