TNS said the addition of Retail Forward to its newly established global practice, TNS Retail and Shopper Insights, will provide significant added momentum to the expansion of its retail and shopper research business.
The latest acquisition follows that of two other firms in the US Sorenson Associates, the in-store research company, and US marketing analytics company Cymfony, which were acquired in February.
Retail Forward specialises in innovative retail strategies, in-depth industry intelligence and actionable shopper insights. An important part of the business is the Retail Forward Intelligence System, which is a strategic planning and market research tool that monitors trends, analyses issues and projects the outlook for retailers and consumer products companies.
David Lowden, chief executive of TNS, said: "Retail Forward brings deep worldwide industry expertise and professional services to our retail strategy and shopper research offering and we look forward to partnering with the many large companies that are forming 'shopper insight' groups."
Tom Rubel, president and chief executive officer at Retail Forward, added: "We have provided management consultancy to retailers and merchandise suppliers for more than 40 years. In particular we have an intimate knowledge of the business processes that are critical to retailers' success."
Last week TNS reported a 30% fall in pre-tax profits, mainly because of its US custom research operation.