IRI, the global leader in innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail, media and over-the-counter health care companies, announced that it has reached a long-term agreement with The Kroger Co. to further enhance Kroger’s Customer 1st Strategy and strengthen the industry-leading solutions and services offered by IRI and Kroger.

IRI will be Kroger’s preferred partner for market measurement services, which provide Kroger and its supplier partners a common view of their business performance compared to the rest of the market. The IRI Liquid Data technology platform and extensive product movement and causal data -- which includes weather, gas and macroeconomic factors – will help both Kroger and its suppliers collaborate more easily and make better decisions to benefit customers.

“IRI and Kroger are at the forefront of the shifting landscape by providing better market measurement data and industry-leading technology to create highly personalized consumer marketing to drive growth,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI.

“In everything we do and every decision we make, we put our customers first. Our partnership with IRI is another step in this direction,” said Mike Donnelly, Kroger’s executive vice president of merchandising. “We believe IRI has the best tools and technology to allow both Kroger and our suppliers to share a comprehensive view of industry-wide product-movement data, which will lead to better insights and help us create even better experiences for every customer.