Petfood and pet product retailer Petco named Nielsen as its provider of census-level sales information from Petco stores.

Petco will be among the first pet specialty retailers to join the consumer product goods industry’s information sharing model, adding to existing market information provided by many US food, drug, mass, convenience and dollar store retailers.

By sharing sales data with Nielsen, Petco will be able to gain a better understanding of consumer purchasing behavior, the company's competitive position in the marketplace, and new marketing and pricing strategies. For petfood manufacturers, Petco's cooperation with Nielsen will improve the level of available data and analytics in the growing pet specialty product market. Once available, manufacturers will have access to several levels of market intelligence and insight on both a regional and national level.

“We’re delighted to be working side-by-side with Petco as they enter the industry’s cooperative information-sharing model,” said John Lewis, president and CEO, Consumer North America, Nielsen. “With information from Petco stores, Nielsen is better able to meet the needs of our clients in the pet business and help them and Petco grow their businesses through better analytics and deeper insights into their core consumers.”