02_Elements/Icons/ArrowLeft

Select your preferred language

English 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Español 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Deutsch 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Français 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Italiano 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected 普通话 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Português 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected Pусский 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Unselected 02_Elements/Icons/Radio/Active/Selected
Education

Why traditional shopper research isn’t enough to compete in-store

[x] mins read
Education

Why traditional shopper research isn’t enough to compete in-store

[x] mins read
Manufacturing
02_Elements/Icons/Print Print
Global Manufacturing Manufacturing CPG & FMCG In-store Shopper Shopper Marketing

Consumer circumstances, existing brand loyalties, shifts in attitudes due to COVID-19, and other economic pressures all influence shoppers’ decision-making processes. Understanding how these variables influence shopper behavior is vital to winning in-store.

Of particular concern is the pace of change brought on by COVID-19. For example, a recent NielsenIQ analysis found that the number of consumers who report their spending has been “newly constrained” doubled between September and December 2020. That means nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) have altered their buying and consumption habits to be more cost-conscious.

Marketers would prefer that their product be the only thing customers see on the shelf. The truth is, your product is only one small piece of an overwhelming puzzle that includes your competitors’ products, promotional materials, and other shoppers. Do you have the capability to break through the noise and gain shopper attention?

The rapid evolution of shopper behavior

Traditional shopper research can no longer keep pace with the accelerated evolution of in-store behavior. Luckily, tools powered by advanced technology can give you current insight, at the moment of truth, to help you adapt.

Your research has to take you the extra mile in order for you to differentiate your brand and products from competitors’, and earn the loyalty of your shoppers.

To be effective today, brands must be able to conduct research faster and employ in-the-moment testing and shopper feedback. This can provide actionable insights that allow companies to adapt quickly, delight shoppers in-store, and stay one step ahead of rapidly changing shopper behavior. 

Continuing to design merchandising concepts in isolation, without access to in-the-moment audience insights on actual shopper behavior, severely inhibits your ability to make timely decisions that grow your revenue.

Where traditional shopper research misses the mark

Historically, manufacturers have relied on research with as much as a four-month delay to stay in tune with shopper behavior. While this method may have worked in the past, it’s simply far too slow to be effective today. 

We’ve found it’s not a predictability problem. It’s an immediacy problem, which creates an accuracy problem.

In-store research was the old answer to this quandary. However, this has always been an expensive and tough-to-execute method, and it’s become nearly impossible since the onset of the pandemic.

You need the ability to quickly simulate a range of scenarios in a virtual-/immersive-reality setting to act nimbly and implement in-store growth plans, at the speed at which shopper behavior changes.

Smart Store provides a direct line to your shoppers

Our Smart Store solution delivers the shopper insights, data, and confidence they need to build in-store plans that bring manufacturers, retailers, and shoppers together.

Based on the results from Smart Store, one of our clients implemented a winning merchandising scheme, with signage across an entire chain of stores, ultimately growing their share of category by four percentage points and their dollar sales by seven percentage points, compared with the same period in the previous year. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to improve business intelligence by meeting shoppers where they are; deliver unbiased, mutually beneficial recommendations to retailers; and continue to optimize your brand with marketing-behavior data validation, we invite you to join us for our webinar:

How to Use Actual Shopper Behavior Data to Improve in-store Product Merchandising

Thursday, May 6, 2021 

  • 11–12 pm CDT (U.S., Canada)
  • 12–1 pm GST (EMEA, APAC)

You’ll learn how to:

  • Develop plans to grow revenue where your shoppers are
  • Deliver unbiased, mutually beneficial recommendations to retailers
  • Optimize your product marketing to set your brand on a growth trajectory

Space is limited, so reserve your seat today

REGISTER HERE
Related content