Worldpanel by Numerator facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Worldpanel by Numerator

Worldpanel by Numerator logo 2025
Type	Private
Industry	Market Research
Founded	1997; 28 years ago (1997) as part of TNS. Rebranded from TNS Worldpanel in 2010
Headquarters	Westgate, London, W5 1UA, GB [London]
Key people	Josep Monserrat, Guillaume Bacuvier, Karlene O'Hara, Chris Morley
Owner	Bain Capital Private Equity
Number of employees	3,600

Worldpanel by Numerator is a global company. It helps businesses understand what people buy. They do this by watching what many families purchase over time. This is called a 'consumer panel'. This company is now part of Numerator, a data and technology company based in Chicago, USA.

About 3,500 people work for Worldpanel by Numerator. They help businesses in over 60 countries around the world. They study many different products. These include everyday items like food and drinks, beauty products, fashion, baby items, and even things like phones and movies.

How Consumer Panels Started

Consumer panels are like big groups of families who share what they buy. This helps companies learn about shopping habits. The first panels began in the 1940s.

Early Panels in Europe

• In 1948, a company called Attwood Statistics Limited started a panel in the UK.
• Later, in 1969, Secodip began a panel in France.
• Secodip soon grew, adding panels in Spain in 1973 and Portugal in 1989.

Panels Grow in the 1970s and 1980s

More companies started their own panels during these years.

• In 1976, Taylor Nelson launched a panel in the UK. It focused on how people used food and drinks.
• In 1980, NFO created a panel in the United States. This one looked at what drinks people bought.
• In 1985, IBOPE started a consumer panel in Brazil.

Building a Global Network

The 1990s saw many consumer panel companies joining together. This helped them grow into a bigger network.

Mergers and New Brands

• In 1991, AGB and Taylor Nelson merged in the UK. They formed Taylor Nelson AGB. This brought different types of panels under one roof.
• In France, Sofres bought Secodip in 1992. Sofres then planned to start new panels in Asia and Latin America.
• These two big groups came together in 1997. Taylor Nelson AGB and Sofres merged to create Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS).
• All the consumer panels became a special part of TNS. By 2003, this part was known as TNS Worldpanel.

Expanding Across Asia

The network of panels grew a lot in Asia.

• Between 1997 and 2002, six new consumer panels opened. They used a network called Frank Small Associates, which Secodip had bought earlier.
• The first new panel in Asia started in Taiwan in 1997.
• In 1999, panels were added in Korea and Thailand.
• The Philippines and Malaysia joined in 2000.
• Vietnam followed in 2002.
• In China, TNS partnered with a local company called CVSC in 1999. CVSC had already started a panel two years before.
• In 2001, TNS and CVSC's parent company formed a new business called CTR. The consumer panel in China then became part of the Worldpanel network.

Growth in Latin America

Latin America also saw many new panels.

• After Secodip launched a panel in Argentina in 1996, IBOPE and NDP started one in Chile in 1998.
• In 2000, IBOPE, NPD, and TNS created LatinPanel. This included the panels in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
• The company acquired Samimp in 2002. This added panels in Peru and Bolivia to LatinPanel.
• In 2004, TNS bought two more companies. Data covered Central America, and CIMA covered Colombia and Venezuela. Their panels joined the regional network.
• Panels in Ecuador and Mexico were built and launched in 2004 and 2005. This made LatinPanel's business strong in the region.
• In 2007, TNS became the full owner of LatinPanel. This brought the Latin American network together with Worldpanel in other regions.

Presence in North America

• In 2003, Taylor Nelson Sofres bought NFO. This brought the beverages usage panel into the group.
• In 2006, TNS Worldpanel grew its presence in the US. They added a new panel focused on personal care products.

Becoming Worldpanel by Numerator

• In 2008, a company called WPP bought TNS. This led to a big decision.
• Worldpanel became a separate company, focusing only on consumer panels. It was later named Worldpanel by Numerator.

Expanding What They Study

• At first, the company mainly studied everyday items like food.
• Over time, they started looking at more things. These include fashion, telecommunications, entertainment, and even fuel.
• The ways they collect information also changed. They moved from paper surveys to using bar-code scanners, the internet, and text messages.
• In 2006, they created their first international panel, Worldpanel Comtech.
• In 2010, they launched Worldpanel Online, a tool to deliver information to clients.

Recent Expansions

• In 2011, a new panel was launched in Indonesia.
• In 2012, Worldpanel teamed up with IMRB. This brought their consumer panel in India into the Worldpanel network.
• Worldpanel by Numerator also expanded into Africa. They launched panels in Nigeria and Kenya in 2013.
• In 2014, they added a panel in Ghana through another partnership with TNS-RMS.

Joining Numerator

• In January 2025, Numerator and Worldpanel combined. Numerator is a data and technology company that works in North America.
• Together, they formed a new global company focused on consumer data.
• Eric Belcher, who was the CEO of Numerator, now leads this new combined company.
• The new company operates globally under the name Numerator.
• Even though they are under the Numerator umbrella, Worldpanel by Numerator and Numerator still help their clients separately.
• Numerator's main office is in Chicago, Illinois.