Shopper Research

Customer
orientated

POS
optimisation

Shopper research definition

Shopper research deals with the attitudes and behaviour of individuals before and during a purchase at the point of sale (POS). By understanding shoppers and their behaviour in real shopping situations, companies can generate a competitive advantage. An important realisation here is that the shopper who makes the purchase decision at the POS is not necessarily the same person who ultimately consumes the product.

Find out here how we use suitable methods to help you get to know your shoppers better.

As a large proportion of purchasing decisions are still influenced at the POS, this is of great importance for retail and industry. The basis for this is formed by shopper insights as a result of market research. These enable POS measures to be designed effectively and efficiently. Typical target and interest groups that utilise these insights are marketing, shopper marketing, trade marketing and category management.

Shopper Research

Questions

According to the definition given above, shopper research is concerned with the behaviour of shoppers at the point of sale. Typically related questions often deal with the following topics:

Shopper
Behaviour

How often does the shopper go shopping?
Which retailers and channels does the shopper use?
Which products and brands do they buy - and for whom?
What does the shopper journey or path to purchase look like?
What is the shopper's search and orientation behaviour?
Which purchase decision criteria are relevant for the shopper? What is the order of the purchase decision criteria?
Why or with what goal does the shopper buy a product (shopping mission)?
Are certain products bought for certain occasions (shopping occasions)?

Product

What does the ideal product look like from the shopper's point of view?
Which products promise the greatest success at the point of sale?
Which product variants should be available from the shopper's point of view?
Which product variants form the best product mix?

Assortment

What individual wishes and needs do shoppers have with regard to the product range?
What does the ideal product range look like from the shopper's perspective?
How should the product range ideally be organised in terms of dependency and channel?
Why are certain products bought from certain retailers or in certain channels?
Which products are bought together (group purchases)?

Price

What is the right price for a product?
What are relevant price anchors and reference prices?
Where are the relevant price thresholds?
How should prices ideally be communicated, for example in leaflets?
Does it make more sense to indicate a percentage price reduction or an absolute price reduction?

Placement

Where should products ideally be placed in the market from a shopper's perspective?
What are relevant anchor brands in the respective categories?
Which brands should the shelf include from the shopper's point of view?
What is the ideal segment sequence?
How should the shelf ideally be organised from the shopper's point of view?
What are the placement values on the shelf?

[Translate to Englisch:] Zweitplatzierung

Secondary
placement

How relevant are secondary placements?
Where should displays and secondary placements ideally be positioned?
Which products are generally suitable for secondary placements?
Which products are suitable for displays?
Which combination of displays or secondary placements is ideal for converting purchases?
How should a display ideally be designed?

Promotion

Which promotional measures are favoured by shoppers?
Which promotions are suitable for a product or category?
Which promotions are suitable for achieving the respective objective (e.g. raising awareness, increasing brand awareness, generating additional sales, etc.)?

Visibility
and Packaging

How can the visibility of products on the shelf, in secondary placement, etc. be increased?
How can the visibility of the packaging be increased?
How should the packaging ideally be designed from the shopper's perspective?
What information should the packaging contain from the shopper's perspective?
How can the visibility of the packaging be increased overall?

Shopper Research

Methods

Shopper insights can be collected using a wide range of methods. The individual methods have different suitability depending on the question and objective and are the basis for reliable results.

In principle, both explicit and implicit methods are used here. Explicit methods capture the rational drivers of the purchase decision. These include, for example, opinions or verbalisable attitudes.

Implicit methods, on the other hand, measure associations, attitudes and behaviours that are based on implicit or unconscious knowledge, which is based on beliefs, experiences or memories. Implicit knowledge

Cannot be verbalised by the test subjects. This is why special methods are used here that provide an insight into the automated, spontaneous and unreflected processes.

Depending on the question and objective, a combination of explicit and implicit methods is recommended. Talk to us - we will be happy to advise you on which methods are best suited to your questions. On this basis, we will develop a customised research design for you.

Shopper studies

Basic studies
Insight studies on focal topics (e.g. product range, placement, displays, etc.)
Segmentation studies
Category Decision Tree (CDT studies)
Online-offline studies
Tracking studies

Tests

Store Tests
Studio Tests
Online Tests
Mystery Shopping

Category
Management

Realisation of category management projects
Strategic CM consulting
Transfer of insights to your category management
CM software tool for your own use

Multi
Client studies

Ongoing realisation of multi-client studies on current topics (please contact us)
Handout study
Display Monitor

Shopper
Marketing

g/d/p Shopper Marketing translates Insights in Action
www.gdp-shoppermarketing.com >>>

Monitoring

POS Tracking
E-Commerce Tracking
Leaflet-Monitor
Display Monitor
Promotion Monitor

Workshops

Seminars
In-house training
Workshops on your topics based on our insights (e.g. category management, trade marketing, shopper marketing, sales promotion)

Software Tools

Total Store Optimizer
Display Locator
Category Profiler
Neuro Viewer
Assortment Optimizer
Promotion Profiler

Qualitative
research

In-depth interviews
Focus groups
Warm up test focus groups
Accompanied shopping
In-home interviews
Online diaries
Interactive Shopper Journey
Creative workshops

Observations

Automated observation methods
- Shopper Research BoxEye Sensor
- Shopper Glasses
- Eye Sensor
- Traffic Scanner
Manual observations
- Interviewer-based observations
- Customer flow observations
- Frequency counts

Surveys

In-depth interviews
POS Interviews
CATI-Befragungen
Online-Befragungen
In-home interviews

Data analyses

Survey
Preparation
Analysis, matching
Reporting/ dashboards of internal and external data (scanner data, online panels, Nielsen, GfK panels, in-house data, etc.)

Shopper research solutions

Our market research solutions are as individual as you and your customers. They cover a broad spectrum ranging from standard approaches that can be implemented quickly to Shopper Insights solutions that are customised to you and your questions. Feel free to contact us - together we will find the best solution for you and your problem!

When realising, conducting and analysing research projects, we rely on our own tools and software solutions developed in-house. These enable us to optimise our response to your customer needs. The g/d/p research group is a pioneer in the development of innovative shopper research tools. By combining different methods, we provide you with insights with concrete, practical recommendations for action.

Shopper Research

Example

Shopper
Research Box

Example Shopper Research Box

The patented Shopper Research Box was developed by the Forschungsgruppe g/d/p and is the only automated observation method that can be used to track and evaluate real shopper behaviour at the point of sale.

All shopper interactions are recorded and analysed fully automatically while ensuring data protection. Very high case numbers enable the unadulterated mapping of natural orientation and purchasing behaviour at the point of sale. The insights provided support you in optimising your POS presence.