Nielsen diagnostics refer to a suite of retail data analysis tools used to evaluate the in-market performance of brands and products. These tools measure sales movement, consumer behavior, and distribution trends across retail channels – giving businesses a detailed look at how their products are performing within key sales metrics. For new product launches, these diagnostics are especially valuable, offering real-time feedback that can guide strategy decisions early in the product’s life cycle.

When a brand launches a new product, timing is everything. Stakeholders look early and often at retail data to gauge initial performance. Nielsen tools, including the Nielsen Retail Measurement Services (RMS), provide metrics such as:

• Trial rate – Are enough people trying your product?
• ACV build – Are you expanding your distribution in all-commodity volume (ACV) terms?
• Incrementality – Is your product adding new sales or just shifting volume from other SKUs?
• Source of volume – Where are your sales coming from?

These insights help teams make fact-based decisions around pricing, marketing, retail support, and promotional spend. However, even with access to robust Nielsen diagnostics platforms, many brands face challenges with interpretation and application – especially when relying on internal teams using DIY tools without dedicated retail specialists.

DIY dashboards promise quick access and easy visualization, but without deep understanding of how these metrics are calculated (and what they actually mean), teams may fall into common traps. For example, misinterpreting a dip in trial rate as poor product performance, when distribution delays are the real culprit. Or assuming a spike in sales is truly incremental, without identifying whether the increase is simply cannibalizing other portfolio items.

That’s where consumer insights experts come into play. With flexible support models like SIVO’s On Demand Talent, businesses can access qualified professionals who are experienced in retail data analytics, helping to decode the metrics and build strategy from the insights. Rather than hiring or pulling resources from other priorities, you get the right level of expertise exactly when needed.

At the end of the day, Nielsen diagnostics are only as powerful as the people using them. When aligned with strategic goals and interpreted through expert eyes, these tools become catalysts for smarter launches and stronger in-market performance.

Understanding what to measure is the first step in assessing product performance – especially during a new product launch. Nielsen diagnostics offer a wide set of retail data tools, but four core metrics tend to stand out when evaluating early performance: trial rate, ACV build, incrementality, and source of volume. Let’s break each one down and explore how to use them effectively.

Trial Rate

Trial rate measures how many households or consumers are trying your product for the first time. It’s one of the clearest early indicators of whether your launch efforts (packaging, pricing, advertising, etc.) are making an impact. A low trial rate may suggest that your product isn’t getting noticed – or that something is preventing shoppers from picking it up.

Common mistake: Some DIY dashboards only display topline sales numbers – not who’s buying or how often. Brands may overestimate success if repeat customers are driving the sales, masking a lack of new triers.

Better approach: Dive deeper with diagnostics tools that segment new vs. repeat buyers. If needed, bring in an insights expert who can help analyze shopper behavior in context.

ACV Build

ACV (All Commodity Volume) is a way to understand your product’s availability across retail outlets. A strong ACV build means your product is gaining more shelf space and becoming widely distributed. But early ACV numbers can be deceptive if not paired with sales velocity or trial data.

Problem to avoid: Teams often struggle to monitor ACV build accurately over time, especially in DIY tools that don’t flag availability gaps across regions or formats.

Solution: Track ACV weekly post-launch to spot distribution momentum and identify where support is needed. On Demand Talent with retail data fluency can audit this progress and spot voids or delays early.

Incrementality

Is your product growing your category – or just shifting volume within your own lineup? Incrementality measures how many of your sales are truly “new” versus coming from other products you already sell. This metric is critical for proving that your innovation adds value.

Common pitfall: Many brands assume initial velocity equals success, but ignore that they may be cannibalizing existing SKUs. DIY tools might show the numbers, but not the context.

Graduating to insights: Professionals who understand the subtleties of incrementality can help you validate category growth, identify net gains, and adjust your assortment or marketing accordingly.

Source of Volume

This metric shows where your product’s purchases are coming from – is your growth pulling from competitors, existing buyers, new customers, or outside the category altogether?

Why it matters: If your growth is entirely from current brand buyers, you may be missing the bigger picture for long-term scalability.

Expert support tip: On Demand Talent can build category frameworks and tap into Nielsen’s deeper diagnostics to craft a clear source of volume readout tailored to your business questions.

Collectively, these metrics tell the story of early launch momentum. But each one must be interpreted carefully – and in context. Using Nielsen diagnostics correctly means going beyond the dashboard. It’s about answering bigger questions like 'What’s working?', 'What's driving success?', and 'Where do we go next?'

If your team is struggling with how to monitor ACV build in a new product launch, or you need help interpreting early signals from Nielsen diagnostics, bringing in seasoned professionals on a flexible basis can make all the difference. SIVO’s On Demand Talent can step in quickly to guide your in-house team, ensuring your data work informs smart decisions and keeps your product launch moving forward.

Modern consumer insights teams are increasingly relying on DIY platforms to access Nielsen diagnostics. These tools provide direct access to powerful retail data and early signals on new product performance – but interpreting that data without the right expertise can lead to missed opportunities or flawed decisions. While the dashboards and filters may make the data look simple to navigate, meaningful analysis is rarely plug-and-play.

Lack of Context Behind the Numbers

DIY analytics can show metrics like trial rate, ACV build, and incrementality, but numbers never tell the full story on their own. For example, if a product is seeing a low trial rate, is it due to pricing, low awareness, or distribution challenges? DIY tools show current data, but they don't explain why trends are occurring or how to fix them.

Difficulty Identifying True Performance vs. Retail Noise

Nielsen data is robust, but it can be difficult to isolate clean signals from launch activity, especially during a promotional period or when multiple products enter the market at once. Users often struggle to distinguish true incrementality (bringing new buyers into the category) from cannibalization or temporary lifts driven by short-term promo tactics.

Misreading Metrics Like Source of Volume

Understanding source of volume requires interpreting what portion of new sales are new to brand vs. switching from competitors vs. new to category. These insights are essential for shaping marketing and supply chain strategy – and easy to misread without proper expertise.

Common user challenges with DIY retail data tools:

• Incorrect filter selections that skew the results (e.g., wrong time window, channel, or geography)
• Over-indexing on sales volume without checking if it was incremental
• Missing context due to lack of competitive benchmarks or category dynamics
• Failure to track how ACV build is evolving post-launch

Ultimately, DIY tools empower insights teams, but they also put more responsibility on users to analyze data correctly. Without guidance or experience, it's easy to misinterpret the signals – especially in fast-moving early launch windows.

When you're tracking the performance of a newly launched product, the most critical period is the first few weeks. This is when early signals begin to emerge from your Nielsen diagnostics – letting you see how trial, distribution, and volume are starting to materialize across your retail footprint. But capturing those signals is only part of the equation. Interpreting them correctly is what truly sets successful launches apart.

The Risk of Acting on Incomplete or Misleading Data

New product launch data can be noisy, and DIY data platforms often encourage quick conclusions. It's tempting to respond immediately to a dip in volume or a slow ACV build, but without understanding the “why” behind the numbers, teams risk correcting the wrong problem – or missing the opportunity altogether.

For instance, let’s say a product shows low trial rate in its first month. A hasty assumption might point to poor marketing execution. But a deeper analysis could reveal that ACV distribution was slower than planned, limiting the product's exposure. In this case, the solution lies in retail operations, not brand messaging.

Experts Bring Layered Understanding

This is where interpretation by skilled professionals makes a difference. Experienced consumer insights experts know how to:

• Apply external benchmarks to understand what’s “good” or “expected” for your category
• Distinguish between short-lived promotional spikes and sustainable trends
• Use diagnostics like source of volume and incrementality to inform pricing and media strategies
• Spot gaps in the data that may require supplementary research

We’ve seen too many brands pivot or pull back prematurely based on surface-level reading of retail data. The early stages of launch often require nuanced decisions grounded in context – and that means going beyond the dashboard.

With the rise of DIY insights tools, the role of human expertise is more essential than ever. An overreliance on software analytics without interpretation can misguide teams and cost valuable time and investment. Whether it's refining your product strategy or course-correcting on distribution, the insights are only as strong as the interpretation behind them.

As DIY research and retail analytics platforms continue to grow in popularity, many teams find themselves with powerful diagnostic tools – but limited time or experience to use them to their full potential. That’s where SIVO’s On Demand Talent comes in: to fill knowledge gaps, strengthen analysis, and unlock the true value of your Nielsen diagnostics.

Flexible, Expert Support – When and How You Need It

Our On Demand Talent solution connects you with seasoned consumer insights professionals who specialize in tools like Nielsen, IRI, and other syndicated data platforms. Whether you’re launching a single SKU or managing a large portfolio, these professionals can provide targeted support that fits your team’s needs and timelines.

For example, an On Demand talent expert can help you:

• Audit your ACV build and identify underperforming retail channels
• Interpret trial rate and incrementality with added context from category trends
• Uncover underlying factors in product launch data that might not be visible through surface-level dashboards
• Train your internal team on how to effectively leverage your existing consumer insights tools

Unlike freelancers or consultants, our On Demand Talent professionals become an extension of your team – quickly ramping up without the need for onboarding or long-term employment commitments. You gain flexible capacity without sacrificing quality or continuity.

Build Long-Term Capability, Not Just Short-Term Answers

Our experts don’t just deliver one-off insights. They act as partners – showing your team how to use the tools more effectively, improve internal workflows, and gain confidence in product performance tracking. This leaves your team stronger and better prepared for future launches and diagnostics efforts.

Whether you’re a startup looking for early direction or a Fortune 500 brand facing bandwidth crunches, On Demand Talent offers an efficient, expert-led path to make the most of your investment in diagnostics platforms.