Commerce Intelligence to Transform Retail Data
NielsenIQ (NIQ) has launched the NIQ Commerce Lab, a new initiative aimed at developing the data infrastructure for AI-driven commerce. Announced on April 23rd in Chicago, the lab focuses on enhancing how products are discovered, evaluated, and purchased in AI-mediated environments. This initiative will address the gaps in data consistency, purchasing behaviour analysis, and availability signals.
The lab will work on creating data platforms, APIs, and measurement systems that facilitate agentic, quick, and social commerce. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to ensure accurate and real-time decision-making in commerce, driven by artificial intelligence. AI is becoming a crucial layer in global commerce, transforming how consumers make choices.
Jim Peck, Chairman and CEO of NIQ, stated, “Enabled by AI, we are making a fundamental shift from measurement and analytics to reading signals in real time and acting on them with confidence.” The lab aims to bridge the gaps in existing data systems to improve AI’s effectiveness in commerce.
Building the Intelligence Layer
The NIQ Commerce Lab will advance NIQ’s AI strategy through its Commerce Intelligence approach, integrating product, consumer, and retailer data into a cohesive system. This integration aims to improve the accuracy, trust, and scalability of AI-driven commerce. The lab will address six key opportunities: Preference Intelligence, Product Intelligence, Availability Intelligence, Purchase Verification, Channel Measurement, and Optimization Intelligence.
Preference Intelligence focuses on understanding consumer desires, while Product Intelligence ensures products are accurately represented. Availability Intelligence connects recommendations to real-world inventory. Purchase Verification validates what was bought, and Channel Measurement establishes objective performance metrics. Optimization Intelligence enables continuous improvement in AI systems.
Lisa Lovallo Ceppos, recently appointed Head of AI Commerce, will lead the lab’s product strategy. Drawing from her experience at Google, she will oversee the development of NIQ’s AI commerce initiatives. Her leadership is expected to drive innovation and establish new industry standards.
The lab will also work on establishing emerging industry standards and running pilot programmes to better understand agentic purchasing behavior. By partnering across the AI and commerce ecosystem, NIQ aims to achieve these ambitious goals and ensure that AI systems move from approximation to precision.
For more information on NIQ’s new Commerce Lab, visit their website. The lab promises to reshape how products are marketed and sold globally, integrating AI into the commerce sector more effectively.
Last updated: 24 April 2026, 12:04 am
