The Retail Tracker
The Retail Tracker is a New York-based retail intelligence firm founded in 2006 that delivers weekly in-store research, investor analysis on 75+ retail companies, and strategic consulting to institutional investors, retailers, brands, and private equity firms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Retail Tracker does
The Retail Tracker is a New York-based, privately held retail intelligence firm founded in 2006 by Mark Friedman. It provides subscription-based research and strategic consulting to institutional investors (long-only, hedge, credit, and private equity fund managers), retailers, brands, and PE firms, covering more than 75 public and private consumer and retail companies across verticals including apparel, beauty, home, luxury, active, off-price, and specialty retail.
The firm's core methodology is daily in-store field observation ("store walking") combined with online monitoring, codified in the weekly S.H.O.P. Report (Stores, Happenings, Opinions, Perspectives) and supplemented by thematic insights, company updates, mall field trips, and leadership roundtables for investor clients. It monetizes through three recurring revenue streams: the S.H.O.P. Report subscription (launched 2006), institutional Investor Research subscriptions, and bespoke Strategic Consulting engagements covering M&A due diligence, merchandising positioning, multi-channel best practices, and consumer research. The firm also operates the Snap Tracker companion blog (thesnaptracker.com) as a related content channel.
Go-to-market is direct, enterprise field sales targeting a deliberately small client base; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is founder-led, employs 1-10 people, has no external institutional funding, and operates without offices or formal headquarters disclosures beyond New York.
The Retail Tracker firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Retail Tracker
- Legal name
- The Retail Tracker
- Website
- https://theretailtracker.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Retail Tracker is a New York-based retail intelligence firm founded in 2006 that delivers weekly in-store research, investor analysis on 75+ retail companies, and strategic consulting to institutional investors, retailers, brands, and private equity firms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Retail Tracker industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Intelligence & Research
- akta.pro primary industry
- Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services (CRAOAOAI)
Keywords
Where The Retail Tracker is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
The Retail Tracker business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- S.H.O.P. Report Subscription: Weekly retail intelligence report covering stores, happenings, opinions and perspectives. Flagship product launched in 2006 providing insights on in-store and online developments for retail executives.
- Investor Research Subscriptions: Subscription-based independent research for institutional investors including weekly field reports, thematic insights, company updates, tailored research, mall field trips, and leadership roundtables.
- Strategic Consulting Services: Strategic advisory, situational assessment, and consulting services to retailers, brands and private equity firms for business evaluation, revitalization or growth.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
The Retail Tracker product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Retail Tracker is an independent research provider that delivers retail intelligence through daily in-store observations and online monitoring. Its core offerings are the weekly S.H.O.P. Report (Stores, Happenings, Opinions, Perspectives), subscription-based investor research for institutional fund managers, and strategic consulting engagements for retailers, brands, and private equity firms. The firm covers more than 75 public and private companies across Active, Apparel, Beauty, Home, Luxury, Specialty, and Off-Price verticals.
Product overview
The Retail Tracker is a retail intelligence firm offering a portfolio of research and advisory products. The core offerings include the S.H.O.P. Report (the flagship weekly retail intelligence report launched in 2006), Investor Research services providing in-depth market insights on consumer and retail sectors covering 75+ companies, and Strategic Consulting services for Retailers, Brands and Private Equity firms. The company also offers Snap Tracker as a related product. The firm differentiates through daily store walking and online monitoring to deliver opinionated views and proprietary analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- S.H.O.P. Report Weekly state of retail report (Stores, Happenings, Opinions, Perspectives) covering in-store and online developments. Delivers big picture themes, new ideas, competitive commentary, and market research to retail executives, merchants, marketers, brands, mall owners, and manufacturers.
- Investor Research Subscription-based independent research for institutional investors including long only, hedge, credit, and private equity fund managers. Provides weekly field reports, thematic insights, company updates, tailored research, mall field trips, and leadership roundtables on more than 75 public and private consumer and retail companies.
- Strategic Consulting Strategic advisory and consulting services for Retailers, Brands and Private Equity firms. Includes company and competitive analysis, consumer research on retailers, marketing and branding strategies, customer service engagement, merchandising positioning, M&A due diligence, multi-channel best practices, and strategic advisory and planning.
- Snap Tracker Companion blog and content platform at thesnaptracker.com offering additional retail and consumer trend content distribution.
Quantifiable outcome
- Helped PE firm successfully invest in national specialty apparel concept that continued to grow top line and store base
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Retail Tracker
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Retail Tracker technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
The Retail Tracker partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Retail Tracker competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Kantar: Global data, insights and consulting company with substantial retail and consumer practice areas including shopper insights, category management, and retail measurement — comparable buyer base of retailers, brands and investors.
- GlobalData Retail: Provides syndicated and bespoke retail research, including store-walking-based analyses and investor-focused sector reports, competing with The Retail Tracker for institutional research and consulting dollars.
- Euromonitor International: Global market research firm providing syndicated and custom consumer and retail research across categories and geographies — a much larger, established player in the broader retail intelligence space.
- Circana (formerly NPD Group): Large-scale consumer and retail intelligence provider offering syndicated point-of-sale data, consumer panels, and advisory services across apparel, beauty, footwear, and home — a scaled incumbent serving the same buyer personas.
Direct peers
- Coresight Research: Independent retail and consumer research firm publishing frequent store-walking based reports, thematic insights, and investor research — the closest direct competitor to The Retail Tracker's S.H.O.P. Report and Investor Research offerings.
- Retail Dive: Retail-industry news and analysis publication serving retail executives and investors with daily and weekly content on retail strategy, technology, and store operations — competes for the same executive audience.
- Retail Prophet: Boutique retail strategy advisory and thought-leadership firm offering consulting, research and keynote insights to retailers and brands — a similarly sized, opinion-led peer in retail strategy consulting.
Emerging players
- Edited: Retail analytics platform providing real-time competitor product, pricing and assortment data for apparel, beauty and home retailers — an emerging, technology-led alternative to manual store-walking intelligence.
- Placer.ai: Foot-traffic and location analytics platform used by retailers and investors to track store visits, trade areas, and competitive dynamics — increasingly a substitute layer for parts of The Retail Tracker's in-store observation work.
- Numerator: Consumer intelligence company combining purchase data, surveys and panels to deliver retail and consumer insights — an emerging data-driven alternative for shopper and category insights use cases.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Retail Tracker social profiles
Digital presenceThe Retail Tracker financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Retail Tracker leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Retail Tracker funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Retail Tracker M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Retail Tracker
What does The Retail Tracker do?
The Retail Tracker is an independent research provider that delivers retail intelligence through daily in-store observations and online monitoring. Its core offerings are the weekly S.H.O.P. Report (Stores, Happenings, Opinions, Perspectives), subscription-based investor research for institutional fund managers, and strategic consulting engagements for retailers, brands, and private equity firms. The firm covers more than 75 public and private companies across Active, Apparel, Beauty, Home, Luxury, Specialty, and Off-Price verticals.
Is The Retail Tracker a public or private company?
The Retail Tracker is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Retail Tracker founded?
The Retail Tracker was founded in 2006. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Retail Tracker based?
The Retail Tracker is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Retail Tracker make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. S.H.O.P. Report Subscription is the primary driver. The others are investor Research Subscriptions and strategic Consulting Services.
Who are The Retail Tracker's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Kantar, GlobalData Retail, Euromonitor International and Circana (formerly NPD Group). Direct peers are Coresight Research, Retail Dive and Retail Prophet. Emerging players are Edited, Placer.ai and Numerator.
Does The Retail Tracker have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Retail Tracker.
What industry is The Retail Tracker in?
The Retail Tracker's product category is Retail Intelligence & Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAALAJ, Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights), with a secondary code of CRAOAOAI, Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services.