Focus Marketing Research

Name

Focus Marketing Research

Legal name

FOCUS Marketing Research GmbH

Website

https://focusmr.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Market Intelligence

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB), Shopper Insights & Path-to-Purchase Research (MPAAAJAL), Custom Market Research (Ad Hoc Studies, Segmentation, U&A) (MPAAALAC), Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services (CRAOAOAI)

Keywords

• Retail market research
• Price monitoring
• Promotion analytics
• Shelf price tracking
• Competitive intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Eschborn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Database Access Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to specialized market research databases including ActionFOCUS Online, InStoreFOCUS, eBusinessFOCUS, and other products. Customers pay for ongoing access to data and analytics tools.
2. Custom Research Solutions: Individual solutions through InnovationFOCUS for unique customer challenges, including conceptualizing new systems and complete customized solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Focus Marketing Research is a B2B market research firm that captures and analyzes retail promotions, shelf prices, and online prices across 31 European countries, offering subscription-based databases and custom research solutions for manufacturers and retailers. The company's core products combine automated web crawling with on-site in-store price scouts to deliver daily-updated European-wide market intelligence for sectors including FMCG, DIY, Electronics, Toys, Food, Non-Food, and Textile.

Product overview

FOCUS Marketing Research offers a modular portfolio of market research products focused on retail, pricing, and advertising research across 31 European countries. The core offering includes ActionFOCUS (promotion monitoring), InStoreFOCUS (shelf price monitoring), eBusinessFOCUS (online retail monitoring), ConsumerFOCUS (B2C/B2B market research), ContextFOCUS (media monitoring), LicenseFOCUS (certificate tracking), and SynergyFOCUS (trade promotion planning). These products share common data infrastructure and can be combined to provide comprehensive market intelligence. InnovationFOCUS provides custom solutions when existing products do not fully meet client needs. The company serves over 1,400 industrial and retail customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Innovation FOCUS: Individual solutions for unique customers - custom market research tools and systems developed in collaboration with clients.
• Action FOCUS
• InStore FOCUS
• eBusiness FOCUS
• Consumer FOCUS
• Synergy FOCUS
• Context FOCUS
• License FOCUS

Products and services

• ActionFOCUS The European standard for promotion observation and analysis. Provides a comprehensive database of retail promotions across DIY, Electronics, FMCG, Toys, Food, Non-Food, and Textile sectors. Used by more than 1,200 manufacturers and retailers to track and analyze promotional activities, with daily updates and 3 years of historical data.
• InStoreFOCUS Shelf price monitoring at the point of sale across Europe. Offers price monitoring, share-of-shelf tracking, and out-of-stock evaluations, with data collected by FOCUS Price Scouts on location at customizable collection rhythms.
• eBusinessFOCUS Online commerce price monitoring solution that acquires price data from online stores through continuously adjusted web crawling technologies. Provides price information, offer density, EAN codes, product attributes, out-of-stock data, and online placement analysis.
• ConsumerFOCUS B2C and B2B market research portal offering innovative interviewing and observation methods including interviews, creative groups, InHome tests, and surveys conducted on-site, online, or via phone to provide insights into markets, customers, clients, and competitors.
• ContextFOCUS Interactive media and brand monitoring tool that aggregates information from traditional media (newspapers, TV, magazines, leaflets) and social media (online news, forums) into a comprehensive database for communication and brand analysis.
• LicenseFOCUS Certificate and quality mark tracking solution that monitors usage of issued certificates, licenses, and seals of quality across all media channels including point of sale, printed materials, TV, and online stores.
• SynergyFOCUS Trade promotion planning and management solution providing automated comparison of planned promotions against realized promotions, with 24/7 availability and integration to SAP and Demand Planning systems for promotion plans and additional data transfer.
• InnovationFOCUS Custom market research solutions service that develops new systems and approaches in close collaboration with clients based on their specific challenges, combining existing product functionalities with innovative new solutions when existing products do not fully meet client needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,200 manufacturers and retailers rely on ActionFOCUS as European standard for promotion monitoring
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partnership where VU Amsterdam conducts research in various markets based on FOCUS data. Partnership fosters scientific understanding of promotion effects, promotion context, reach and price development. ActionFOCUS data serves as reliable basis for price and promotion research used by staff and students.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NielsenIQ: Global leader in retail measurement and consumer intelligence. Overlaps with FOCUS across retail pricing, promotion analytics, and shelf/assortment data, but operates at significantly larger multinational scale with broader coverage.
• Circana (formerly IRI): Major provider of retail and consumer market research, including point-of-sale data, pricing, and promotion analytics. Direct overlap with FOCUS in FMCG/retail intelligence with comparable syndicated datasets.
• GfK (now part of NIQ): German-headquartered market research giant historically strong in retail, consumer goods, and pricing intelligence. Shares FOCUS's European heritage and customer base in FMCG/retail, though at much larger scale.
• Kantar: Global market research and consulting firm offering consumer, retail, and media measurement. Competes with FOCUS on brand/communication effectiveness (ContextFOCUS overlap) and shopper insights for manufacturers.
• Ipsos: Global market research firm covering consumer, advertising, and retail research. Direct overlap with FOCUS on ad effectiveness and shopper insight offerings, with deeper multinational presence.
• Nielsen (legacy retail measurement): Legacy retail measurement and consumer insights provider; historic overlap with FOCUS on trade and promotion tracking. While NIQ separated Connect business, Nielsen's consumer/media research remains adjacent to ContextFOCUS and ConsumerFOCUS.

Direct peers

• Profitero: Specialist in e-commerce price intelligence, digital shelf analytics, and online retailer monitoring. Closest direct competitor to FOCUS's eBusinessFOCUS product, focused on online price tracking and assortment.
• Competera: AI-driven pricing platform for retailers and brands, covering price optimization, competitive monitoring, and promotion analytics. Competes head-on with InStoreFOCUS and eBusinessFOCUS on data-driven pricing.

Others

• Bundesverband der Marktforschung (BVM / ADM): German market research industry association. Not a direct competitor but represents the broader trade ecosystem (including FOCUS members) and provides industry standards/benchmarks relevant to FOCUS's positioning in the German market.

Emerging players

• BlackCurve: Pricing optimization software using competitive price monitoring and analytics. Emerging SaaS competitor relevant to FOCUS's pricing intelligence products, particularly for mid-market retailers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FOCUSmr_EU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/focus-marketing-research

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Focus Marketing Research