• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 21, 2016

Consumer promotion and coupon transaction processor Inmar is diversifying deeper into consumer purchasing data, analytics and insights, announcing the acquisition of Chicago-based food retail data experts Willard Bishop.

Inmar has been diving deeper into consumer data and analytics ever since former Interpublic Mediabrands retail marketing and media expert John Ross joined Inmar in 2012. Ross, a former CMO of Home Depot, developed the Shopper Science practice at Mediabrands and left to join Inmar to develop better ways of leveraging its consumer data and insights to help retailers and brands improve their marketing ROI with consumers.

Inmar said the acquisition expands its coverage of the consumer retail journey, combining its real-time data in promotions, supply chain and healthcare with Willard Bishop’s consulting and strategy expertise in food retail marketing.

“Many companies have jumped on the big-data bandwagon. However, there is significant latency in a company’s ability to extract actionable insights from these massive datasets,” Willard Bishop Managing Partner Jim Hertel said in a statement. “Together we will bring a new level of insight and understanding to the extended value chain, while providing trading partners with a deeper understanding of shopper behavior -- all delivered in real-time or near-time.”