Shopper insights are sometimes fascinating but in practice the best shopper insights need to be actionable and focused on specific business objectives.
There is a difference between observation and interpretation. An insight is not an explanation of what is going on, but an explanation of why it is going on. People often think some interesting discussion about what they have observed in-store equates to shopper insights. It does not – those observations are the raw material from which the insights need to be deduced.
Once key behavioral insights have been uncovered, it is important to test different nudges to measure what will then shape behavior going forward. This test and learn approach is key to understand how to best understand and change shopper behavior.
Leading organizations that leverage shopper behavior research can develop principles that work for signage, shelving, planograms, merchandising, placement, assortment etc. A principle-based approach helps to manage the complexity of different executions across the multitude of retailers and store formats.