What Retail Spotlight does

Retail Spotlight Ltd is a UK-based B2B data and insights platform purpose-built for the independent retail channel. Its core function is the ingestion, normalization, and analysis of electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) data drawn from 13,000+ convenience stores and 1,000+ vape and pharmacy stores, giving the company what it claims is a 30%+ share of the UK independent convenience market. The platform is monetized through a tiered product suite: Continuous Data (ongoing EPOS feed subscription), Insights (analytical and category reports), Bespoke (custom research and consulting), and Activations (in-store digital media delivered through a 4,500+ store screen network). Underpinning the offering is a 25-year historical product dataset, positioning the company as a longitudinal category intelligence provider rather than a transactional analytics tool.

The business is squarely B2B, selling to consumer goods manufacturers and brand owners who rely on independent retail data for category management, ranging, and trade activation. Named customers include PepsiCo, Mars, Nestlé, Philip Morris, CCEP, Sazerac, Suntory, Kellanova, and Magnum Ice Cream, with the company stating that 21 of the top 30 UK FMCG companies are on its books. Pricing is quote-based and enterprise-style, consistent with the custom data and consulting nature of the offering. Go-to-market combines direct sales with a channel partner network of eight-plus organizations (including Thumbprint, CPM/shopt, TWC Group, Newtrade Media, Inspire, Avidity, Advantage Smollen, and Clearbox), which extends retailer-side reach and advertiser monetization.

The company traces its origins to the In Touch Group (2019), was incorporated as Retail Spotlight Ltd in 2020, and announced a 2026 merger with In Touch Group — a consolidation move that brings retailer-facing and brand-facing capabilities under one roof. There is no public disclosure of funding history, revenue, or headcount, and no AI/ML capability is articulated in available materials; the value proposition rests on data depth, retailer coverage, and FMCG workflow embedding rather than algorithmic differentiation.

Name

Retail Spotlight

Legal name

Retail Spotlight Ltd

Website

https://retailspotlight.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Retail Spotlight is a UK B2B EPOS data and insights platform serving FMCG manufacturers with coverage of 14,000+ independent convenience, vape, and pharmacy stores. It sells subscription data feeds, bespoke research, and in-store digital activations to brands including PepsiCo, Mars, Nestlé, and Philip Morris.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Data Analytics

NAICS

Pharmacies and Drug Retailers (456110), Health and Personal Care Retailers (456)

SIC

Retail-Convenience Stores (5412), Retail-Drug Stores And Proprietary Stores (5912)

akta.pro primary industry

Kiosk & Micro-Format Convenience Retail (CRAHABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vape Kiosks & Mall Retail (CRANAEAD), Health & Pharmacy Omnichannel (CRAFAEAK)

Keywords

• EPOS data analytics
• Retail market intelligence
• Convenience store data
• FMCG category insights
• Data subscription feeds

Headquarters

HQ city

Holme Upon Spalding Moor

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Continuous Data Feed (Subscription): A live, ongoing feed of store-level EPOS data delivered on a weekly cadence (or custom schedule) into the customer's preferred environment (Azure, AWS, GCP, FTP, API, or file delivery). Provides full data access for the customer's own analytics teams. Revenue is recurring and subscription-based.
2. Insights Reports: Pre-built or curated analyst-delivered reports answering specific commercial questions. Can be delivered as one-off reports or on an ongoing basis. Analysts interpret the data, spot patterns, and provide contextual insight alongside raw data delivery.
3. Bespoke Analysis: Custom analysis and reporting for complex, cross-category, or one-off questions. Priced as project-based work, typically scoped by brief complexity and delivered as reports, dashboards, or custom visualisations.
4. Activations: Data-led retail activation campaigns encompassing store targeting, retailer incentive campaigns, consumer-facing screen ads (4,500+ locations), and EPOS-verified performance reporting. Full-service campaign management from targeting through reporting.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Retail Spotlight collects, enriches, and unifies granular EPOS data from 13,000+ independent convenience stores plus 1,000+ vape and pharmacy stores in the UK, and delivers it as actionable market intelligence to FMCG brands and field marketing agencies. The company sells four offerings: Continuous Data (live EPOS feeds), Insights (curated analyst reports), Bespoke (custom analysis), and Activations (data-led in-store campaigns including a 4,500+ screen advertising network and EPOS-verified retailer incentive programmes).

Product overview

Retail Spotlight operates as a four-product platform offering differentiated levels of data access and service. Insights provides pre-built analyst-delivered reports for specific commercial questions. Continuous Data offers a live EPOS data feed for clients who want in-house analytical access. Bespoke delivers custom analysis for complex, multi-layered or cross-category questions. Activations enables targeted in-store campaigns with EPOS-verified measurement. The four products work independently or in combination, allowing brands to choose between curated insights, raw data access, bespoke analysis, or activation execution based on their needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insights Ready-made, curated analyst-delivered reporting modules that answer specific commercial questions about category performance, competitor analysis, market share, and new product development tracking across UK independent convenience. Delivered by analysts who understand the convenience sector.
• Continuous Data A live EPOS data feed providing real-time store-level visibility of sales, pricing, distribution, and competitor performance across 13,000+ independent convenience stores, delivered weekly (or on a custom cadence) into the customer's environment via Azure, AWS, GCP, FTP, API, or file delivery.
• Bespoke Custom analysis and reporting built around specific commercial challenges, cross-category questions, or strategic hypotheses that fall outside standard reporting frameworks. Delivered as reports, dashboards, or custom visualisations, scoped by brief complexity.
• Activations Data-led retail campaign execution including consumer-facing screen advertising in 4,500+ stores, retailer incentive campaigns tied to EPOS-verified sales, store targeting using product-level EPOS data, and full before/during/after campaign measurement with in-flight EPOS attribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30%+ coverage of the entire independent convenience market
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ThumbprintcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2020Thumbprint is a field marketing agency and technology company. The partnership began in 2020 starting in symbol and independent retail, expanding to three sectors. Thumbprint uses RS/ITG data to help brands generate insight and direction, and has integrated the data into its 'shopt' convenience app to power gap-filling sales alerts for smarter targeted field action. Gordon Neil, Managing Director, describes the partnership as pivotal.
• TWC GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTWC Group is a field marketing and wholesale intelligence company. Nearly 3-year partnership enabled TWC Group to launch SmartView Convenience, a market read for the wholesaler-supplied / independent c-store market — often described as the 'harder to reach' part of small format retailing.
• CPM GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCPM Group is a field marketing agency. Their Head of Liquid Tim Smith describes RS data as 'a cornerstone of our convenience strategy' with coverage across more than 11,000 UK convenience stores. CPM integrates RS data into its proprietary convenience app 'shopt' for targeted field sales alerts.
• Newtrade MediasupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNewtrade Media is a retail media and publishing company serving independent convenience retailers. Nearly seven-year partnership has helped create exclusive content for independent convenience retail readers and provided insight into products that actually sell in stores. Head of Retail Engagement Stefan Appleby describes it as a true partnership.
• Inspire Field MarketingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInspire Field Marketing is a field marketing agency. Managing Director Paul Marsh says RS handles data requests knowledgeably, makes complex tasks feel simple, and is described as an easy and reliable partner for delivering quality insights to brand partners.
• AviditysupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAvidity is a field marketing agency. Listed as a partner on the Partners & Brands page with logo display.
• Advantage SmollensupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdvantage Smollen is a field marketing agency. Listed as a partner on the Partners & Brands page with logo display.
• ClearboxsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClearbox is a field marketing agency. Listed as a partner on the Partners & Brands page with logo display.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Circana: Circana, formed from the 2022 merger of IRI and NPD Group, is a leading provider of retail measurement and consumer insights for CPG/FMCG brands. Its Liquid Data™ platform and EPOS-based measurement offerings are directly comparable to Retail Spotlight's Continuous Data and Insights products, serving many of the same global FMCG accounts.
• NielsenIQ: NielsenIQ is the global leader in FMCG retail measurement, operating syndicated EPOS-based retail panels (Scantrack) and consumer panels (Homescan) that serve many of the same enterprise FMCG brands as Retail Spotlight with comparable category, brand, and shopper intelligence. It is the closest direct competitor at the enterprise tier.

Others

• IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution): IGD is a UK-based retail industry body providing research, training, and insight on grocery and convenience retail. While more of a research and publishing body than a data provider, IGD covers similar UK retail channels (convenience, grocery) and serves some of the same FMCG customers with market intelligence.
• CACI: CACI is a UK-based data and analytics consultancy providing demographic, location, and consumer data for retail, property, and public-sector clients. It is adjacent to Retail Spotlight in providing UK retail intelligence, although it focuses more on demographic and location data than till-level transactions.
• dunnhumby: dunnhumby is a data science and customer insight company spun out of Tesco that serves multiple retailers globally with shopper data, loyalty, and category management analytics. It is adjacent to Retail Spotlight in serving CPG/FMCG brands with retail data, but operates primarily on the retailer side rather than as an independent data consortium.

Emerging players

• HIM!: HIM! is a UK-based consumer goods marketing consultancy focused on shopper marketing and category development for FMCG brands. While not a direct EPOS data provider, HIM! works with similar FMCG customers on retail and category strategy and partners with data providers such as Retail Spotlight to deliver insights.
• Edge by Ascential: Edge by Ascential is a digital commerce data and analytics provider focused on e-commerce sales, pricing, and assortment intelligence. It overlaps with Retail Spotlight in providing data-driven retail insights to brand manufacturers, although its primary lens is online channels rather than physical EPOS data.
• Lumina Intelligence: Lumina Intelligence is a UK-based food and beverage market intelligence company providing insights on consumer trends, retail dynamics, and category performance. It is comparable to Retail Spotlight in its UK-specific focus on food and beverage retail categories, although it uses broader research methodologies rather than EPOS panels.
• Springboard: Springboard is a UK-based retail intelligence company providing footfall and customer behaviour data for retail destinations. It is comparable to Retail Spotlight in providing UK retail performance data, although its lens is physical footfall rather than till-level EPOS transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Kantar is a global insights company offering consumer panel research (Worldpanel), brand tracking, and shopper insights for FMCG brands. While broader than Retail Spotlight's independent convenience focus, Kantar serves many of the same FMCG customers with overlapping retail measurement and category insight capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retail-spotlight

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Retail Spotlight