Category Analyst

## Description - # DEEP DIVE | CATEGORY ANALYST ## About Deep Dive Deep Dive is a business intelligence and insights agency where data meets creativity — and retail ideas come to life. We partner with retailers as category captains and trusted advisors to shape category and channel strategies that grow sales, market share, and shopper love. Think of us as an extension of the merchant team — your go-to crew for turning insights into action at retail. From planograms and reporting to data analytics, insights, and strategy building, we do it all under one roof. What drives us? Curiosity, collaboration, and a passion for retail. We ask questions, dig deeper, and listen closely to uncover what really moves shoppers. By blending the art and science of retail, we build merchandising strategies designed to win — in every aisle, every store, every day. As part of Market Performance Group (MPG) — a national leader in omnichannel strategy, commercialization, and retail services — we bring the scale, relationships, and expertise of a proven industry powerhouse, paired with the agility and entrepreneurial energy of a local team that loves what we do. We’re growing fast, and we’re looking for people who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and impact. If you love working with retailers, solving problems, and seeing your work come to life in real stores and digital aisles — you’ll fit right in. ## Position Overview We're looking for a motivated and analytical **Category Analyst** to support the category management team in driving growth and insights across our retail partners. In this role, you’ll turn data into meaningful stories — helping the team understand performance drivers, market trends, and shopper behaviors. You’ll work closely with Category Managers, to provide data-driven recommendations that improve assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies. This position is required to be based near **Minneapolis, MN** and is a **hybrid role**. ## What You'll Do ### Analyze Category Performance: - Pull, organize, and interpret syndicated and retailer data (Nielsen, Circana, Numerator, Greenfield/VIQ) to evaluate category, brand, and item performance. ### Support Category Strategy: - Partner with Category Managers to assist in developing retailer-specific category strategies and business reviews. ### Build Reports & Dashboards: - Maintain and update regular reports, scorecards, and dashboards that track key sales and share metrics. ### Identify Insights: - Translate data into clear insights and visualizations that tell the story behind business trends and shopper behavior. ### Assortment & Merchandising Support: - Assist in SKU productivity analysis, assortment recommendations, and planogram updates. ### Promotional & Pricing Analysis: - Support post-promotion evaluations and provide insights on pricing strategy effectiveness. ## What You Bring - 1–3 years of experience in data analytics, or shopper insights — preferably in the **CPG industry**. - Familiarity with syndicated **data tools** (Nielsen, Circana, Numerator) and/or retailer data systems (Greenfield/VIQ etc.). - Strong Excel skills; experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other visualization tools is a plus. - Curiosity - Excellent analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities. - Strong communication skills and the ability to present data in a clear, compelling way. - A collaborative mindset and eagerness to learn within a fast-paced, team-oriented environment. **Compensation** The expected base salary range for this position is $50,000 - $85,000 annually, depending on experience, skills, and qualifications. In addition to base salary, this position may be eligible for performance-based bonuses and other compensation programs. ## Benefits MPG offers a generous package of health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, STD/LTD, paid maternity/paternity leave and life insurance. Our compensation program provides market industry base salary, bonuses, and 401K. In addi…