What are shopper insights?

Shopper insights are a form of insight into the action and decision making of people considering or buying products or services.

How should you be thinking about the shopper?

Shopper decision tree which is the thought process when buying a product, navigation – how easily shoppers can find your product and shopper mindset - how you can more effectively tailor solutions for your shopper.

Shopper insight vs. consumer insight. What's the difference?

The shopper may not be the consumer. For example, a mother may make deodorant purchases for her teenage son. What drives the mother’s purchasing process as a shopper, like efficacy or value, may be different to what drives the son’s usage expectations as a consumer.

Who uses shopper marketing insights?

Not just CPG's anymore. Retailers are also able to use this technique but for their own purpose – to increase total spend, as well as improve the profitability of basket mix.

What are the 3 main elements of shopper insights?

The 3 main elements of shopper insights are Stopping Power (Reach), Shopability (Involvement & Ease) and Activation (Closing Power).

Executive Guide
to Shopper Insights

Executive Guide to Shopper Insights Research

Shopper insights have become increasingly essential due to the rapid changes in the retail environment and how people shop. So the million-dollar question is — how can you learn what matters to the customer and, ultimately, impact the shopper’s journey?

Introduction

First, it’s necessary to gain a solid understanding of what shopper insights are. Shopper insights provide knowledge into the action and decision-making process of those considering or buying products or services. Like other types of market research, it can help explain motivations, unravel meanings, and decode the elements of shopper behavior.

Unlike other types of market research, it applies specific methodologies to understand each element of the shopping experience. Spanning from packaging design to the point of sale configuration; immersive shopping experiences to eye tracking technology, shopper insights include an expert look at the path to purchase and beyond. The goal is to bring market research best practices, coupled with a deep understanding of behavioral science and the use of technology, to get the best picture of what is happening in the buyer’s mind both consciously and unconsciously and how that affects their buying behavior.

Essentially, insights can explain what is happening just as much as what isn’t happening. This secures their spot as a powerful aid in making strategic decisions within your business. When done right, it amplifies the shopper’s voice and delivers clear direction to multiple internal teams about how to adjust small or large changes based on shopper opinions and behaviors.

Second, you must know how to implement shopper insights. Shopper insight data can be applied to improve equity, sales, and profitability of a brand, category, or store through shopper-centric changes to the retail or online environment and messaging.

We’re all seeking to make shopper-centric decisions, but how is this implemented through shopper insights?

Knowing the difference between shopper insights and consumer insights

Understanding how shoppers plan to purchase products

Determining what shopping trips your products are typically purchased on or what needs trigger a purchase online

Understanding the typical shopper path for product location optimization (Stopping Power)

Verifying the engagement level of how shoppers shop your brand (Shopability)

Validating the speed at which your products are purchased (Activation)

When shopper insights are measured and implemented for in-store and online shopping, everyone wins — shoppers, retailers, and manufacturers. When shopper insights are understood, the data can be aligned with the big picture, including the company’s growth goals.

We’ve created this executive guide as an overview of shopper insights research to bring clarity to current technologies and methodologies and guide you on this journey toward obtaining deep shopper insights and applying them for strategic wins.