A couple of weeks back, I listed my favorite five shopper research methodologies. Needless to say a number of research methodologies didn’t make my list and of course a lot of readers offered additional suggestions. So this week I want to think about my pick of the shopper research methodologies that I didn’t include.

Focus groups

Being in Asia, where some marketers often struggle to access more technically sophisticated shopper research methodologies, I often come across the use of focus groups to understand shopping behavior. Focus groups do provide valuable insights into what people perceive they do when they shop and perhaps more critically why they do it. This qualitative understanding of motivation is tremendously useful in configuring programs. Focus groups also create valuable directional insights into where more focused research might be conducted. For me though focus groups are best used in the configuration of research hypotheses. In this case directional insight can be converted into potentially more focused and indeed quantifiable outcomes.

In-store observation

One correspondent was amazed that I hadn’t included in-store observation in my initial article. I guess my omission is a little surprising following the step-change in understanding of shopper behavior that pioneers like Paco Underhill spearheaded in the nineties. Of course there is a huge amount to be gained from all the modes of observation that now exist today. Observing actual behavior has an inherent advantage over learning about claimed behavior and it can create a very clear narrative around what people actually do. The data collected through observation allows shopper marketers to pinpoint potential issues in-store for further exploration using say eye-tracking work or virtual simulation. A caveat though is that observational work should not be the start-point of any research unless you first fully understand the target consumers and shoppers and the channels you need to prioritize.

Neuro-science and bio-metric based approaches

Thanks to my ex-colleague Sean Raw for asking about neuro-science and particularly combining it with other approaches like eye-tracking. The cool thing about these methods is they allow us to image shopper’s subconscious engagement with their environment. As yet portable brain-scanning tech is only available in limited markets but bio-scanning technology is rapidly becoming more accessible. Highly portable units are now available commercially which, like lie detectors, allow us to measure a subject’s response to environmental stimuli. Whilst neuro-science purists might discount bio-metric approaches, they are telling us a lot about shopper behavior. A pioneer in this area is Ken Hughes in Ireland who often delights audiences with demonstrations of the lack of engagement shoppers have with grocery environments. Combining brain scanning or bio-metric scanning with eye tracking and in-depth interviews can bring fabulous richness to shopper research programs, especially when they are used to really get to grips with understanding a specific target shopper’s behavior in a priority space (note also that these methods work fantastically in both offline and online environments).

Combining shopper research methodologies

The truth behind shopper research is that no one methodology is perfect and each methodology plays a quite specific role. As a result, we never suggest an approach which depends purely on one method alone. We are therefore always wary to advise marketers as to which shopper research methodology they should use without first determining the hypotheses they actually want to test. I know that this sounds like I’m teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but in the last six months I’ve seen more than 20 pieces of shopper research that were conducted without this key stage.

With so many marketers entering the market for shopper research at the moment, its easy to be swayed by agencies proposing sexy new methodologies, if you need help navigating this feel free to reach out to me for advice.

Over the last few months I’ve often been asked what shopper research approaches are essential to help build effective programs . Here’s a summary of my top 5 and why I think they are useful to shopper marketers

Shopper Research Approach 1: The Usage & Attitude Surveys

It might seem odd that I start with an approach that is often more closely associated with consumer behavior than shopper behavior. Usage and attitude surveys however are essential for shopper marketers because they help identify which consumer priorities shopper activities need to address. All shopper marketing activities should be aimed at changing shopper behavior in order to drive greater consumption. As Mike Anthony and I wrote in our book “The Shopper Marketing Revolution”, “Without an increase in consumption, any increase in sales is likely to be short-lived”.

U&A studies help identify potentially valuable consumer segments; they enable marketers to benchmark consumption behavior and identify growth opportunities. As such they help shopper marketers begin to establish which shoppers they need to target. Often such studies inform shopper marketers who buys and which channels are used. In all, a good U&A is a great starting resource.

Shopper Research Approach 2: Household Panel data

Household panel data, such as Kantar’s World Panel is my second key research approach for shopper marketers. Panel data describes purchase behavior in terms of penetration, frequency and average weight of purchase. This data can be cut and diced to identify how product does and does not enter the home. This helps understand where to focus more detailed investigation of shopper behavior, define hypotheses for deeper research and to potentially scale the size of opportunities at retail.

Shopper Research Approach 3: Exit interviews

Whilst exit interviews may not always provide the most meaningful insights into why shoppers behave in a certain way, as a resource they do have a place on my list. When exit polls are targeted at the right groups of shoppers, in the right channels, they help to understand the levels of influence a store has on a shopper’s behavior. Well-constructed surveys force shoppers to recall how a retail environment has affected their plans. This helps us identify the degree to which one might be able to change a shopper’s behavior in certain store types, and this helps us prioritize channels.

Shopper Research Approach 4: Eye tracking

Eye-tracking is often tacked on to shopper research proposals as an afterthought. But when it’s used to follow target shoppers in a potentially important channel it serves to highlight key touch points in the store and perhaps more importantly, what your shoppers miss. Valuable insights can be gained into why people behave in the way they do when eye-tracking work is supported by well managed in-depth interviews. This can be invaluable in developing subsequent activities.

Shopper Research Approach 5: Virtual store simulation

For me virtual store simulations provide ultimate closure on which activities are likely to deliver the best results. All the previous approaches create the potential for teams to develop hypotheses about what might work in-store. Virtual store testing helps teams validate these hypotheses. More importantly virtual store tests help teams calculate the potential impact an in-store activity might have on the sales of their products and the products around them. This is not only great insight into the potential R.O.I. for your company but it’s also great insight to support a business case for a retailer.

If you are stuck trying to work out which shopper research approach is best for you, why not read our “Guide to GREAT shopper research” available free here?