“Using advanced analytics to drive pricing, promotion and shelf management strategies is table stakes for CPG companies who expect to lead their categories,” said Steve Matthesen, EVP, professional services, Nielsen. “The report bears this out: companies using analytics as a strategic tool enjoy top-line growth and share-price improvement, while their peers grapple with a flat to declining market.”

Also new to the study this year is a focus on the growing importance of the Hispanic market. “Hispanic consumers are a key growth segment, with buying power increasing 50 percent through 2015,” said Kris Licht, Partner, consumer practice, McKinsey & Company. “CPG companies that win with Hispanics focused on tailored products and marketing, created better in-store experiences with retailers, and increased Hispanic-focused resources and capabilities.”

Winning organizations are three times more likely to invest in high-growth channels, such as club, dollar stores, discount, and e-commerce, with significant payoff. “These emerging areas contributed more than 25 percent of total growth, with winning companies achieving as much as 16 percent more channel growth than their category peers,” said Kari Alldredge, Senior Expert, consumer practice, McKinsey.

Looking ahead, the survey highlights the increasing importance of sales technology, which encompasses traditional disciplines such as internal systems, the growing importance of data sharing with retail partners, and the high-growth area of shopper micro-targeting that includes smart-phone apps, mobile couponing and other interactive marketing strategies. This discipline was new to the survey as not quite 25 percent of respondents reported activity in this area, but almost 80 percent reported plans to build this capability in the next two years.