Big FMCG flags market data as new-age channels gain share

KOLKATA: Top consumer goods companies have flagged gaps in India's consumption data, saying industry benchmarks such as NielsenIQ do not fully track what shoppers are buying from all the large supermarket chains and quick-commerce platforms that are increasingly driving sales in urban centres.

Companies including Tata Consumer Products, ITC, AWL Agri Business and DS Group said this lack of complete coverage is distorting consumption trends. Some have even started commissioning their own research. NielsenIQ, though, said it is investing to expand retailer partnerships, strengthen methodologies and enhance ecommerce measurement to reflect the changing structure of retail.

"For staples, the alternate channel which includes quick commerce and modern retail is almost 60% of sales in cities like Pune, the National Capital Region and Bengaluru. Hence, Nielsen data often does not match our own sales data," said Angshu Mallick, executive deputy chairman at AWL Agri Business. "With dynamics changing, extrapolation is becoming difficult," he told ET.


Mallick said the company has started tracking its own data for market intelligence in 22 towns, which will be expanded in both urban and rural areas to get a full picture of consumption trends, apart from relying on data from market researchers.

Tata Consumer Products chief executive Sunil D'Souza recently told analysts that a significant portion of new and emerging channels is not captured by Nielsen as it measures only general trade and a portion of modern trade.

He said one significant player in modern retail doesn't share revenue and Nielsen does not consolidate ecommerce and quick commerce numbers into this. This is when 37% of the sales are from these channels in the December quarter, D'Souza added.

To be sure, the new age-channel contribution has been growing since Covid for most FMCG companies led by quick commerce surge. There has been a 10-12 percentage point increase in contribution to overall sales in last two years.

A DS Group spokesperson said the Indian ethnic confectionery segment, which is around 40% of their confectionery sales, is not covered by NielsenIQ whereby the researcher data captures only 60% of their business. The Indian ethnic confectionery market is valued at around Rs 1,650 crore, as per its estimates.

In response to an email, NielsenIQ India's customer success leader Sharang Pant said India being one of the most dynamic and fragmented consumer markets globally, there are rapid shifts across traditional trade, modern trade, ecommerce, and emerging quick-commerce.

"Measuring consumption in such a rapidly evolving environment requires both methodological rigor and continuous evolution," he said.

Pant said as with measurement providers globally, no single dataset captures 100% of commerce across every channel, particularly in markets where data sharing practices vary by retailer and platform. "What matters is consistency, comparability, and clarity on what the data represents," he said.

ITC has also recently told ET that panel-led syndicated surveys are not accurate in picking up new launches or changes in pricing or grammage and take a lot of time to stabilise. This is when alternate channels contribute almost 30% of their FMCG sales.