ACNielsen and PC Data join forces to offer the inside scoop on consumer computer software and hardware purchases.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 27, 1996--ACNielsen, the global leader in delivering market research information and analysis to the consumer products and service industries, today announced a strategic alliance with PC Data, the nation's leading source for information on computer software and hardware.

Together, the two companies are launching a new system designed to provide information about consumers who purchase computer software and hardware in the United States.

Through its agreement, ACNielsen and PC Data will offer software publishers, hardware manufacturers and retailers the most valuable kind of information imaginable -- detailed, demographic information about actual consumers and specific data about their computer-related purchases. Utilizing the data collected in 40,000 homes currently using ACNielsen's in-home scanner, PC Data and ACNielsen can now provide insight into specific buyers by answering critical questions such as:

-- How many households own a PC?

-- How many households purchased software last year? Last month?

-- How many software purchases did the average buyer make last

year? Last month?

-- What price did they pay and what promotions did they use?

-- Who are the people buying these products (consumer

demographics)?

-- How does an Egghead shopper differ from a Wal-Mart shopper?

-- Which factor is driving consumer choice -- brand loyalty,

subject matter or price/promotion?

-- How many households shop in various channels?

-- How many software buyers shop in these same outlets?

-- Do Wal-Mart's core shoppers purchase their software elsewhere?

If so, where?

PC Data's software reports are used by virtually every software publisher in business today. The company currently collects sales information from more than 40 U.S. retailers, distributors and resellers, and later this year will expand its services to focus on sales of software and hardware on a country-by-country basis in Europe and the Pacific Rim.

"By combining our expertise in data collection within the industry with ACNielsen's proven consumer methodology, we can deliver to manufacturers and retailers the kind of information that up until now they've only dreamed about," said Ann Stephens, president and founder of PC Data.

"Our alliance with PC Data will allow us to deliver totally new consumer insights to publishers, manufacturers and retailers, to help them build effective consumer marketing strategies," said John Lewis, executive vice president, marketing for ACNielsen in the United States.

Each family among ACNielsen's demographically and geographically balanced panel of 40,000 households is instructed to use a special hand-held, in-home scanner to scan the UPC code on every package they purchase. The purchase data for each family is then transmitted via telephone on a weekly basis.

PC Data, Inc., located in Reston, Va., is the recognized leader in providing retail sales and market share information to the personal computer software and hardware industries. Founded in 1991, PC Data is used by more than 500 software publishers and hardware manufacturers to stay on top of sales, trends, market strategies, and the successes and failures in the personal computer industry. The company's monthly data reports are consistently quoted in hundreds of leading newspapers and magazines and its monthly "Hits List" appears in more than 200 publications.

ACNielsen, operating in 88 countries and with 1995 revenues of $1.3 billion, is the global leader in delivering market research information and analysis to the consumer products and services industries. As a strategic partner with consumer packaged goods manufacturers, retailers and brokers around the globe, ACNielsen has been the primary supplier of information-based systems and analysis for nearly 70 years.

CONTACT: ACNielsen, Schaumburg

Elliot Bloom,

847/605-5120

or

PC Data, Reston

Ann Stephens,

703/435-1025