Chapter 3:
How should you be thinking about the shopper?
Along the purchase path, these are essential factors that you should consider from a consumer and shopper perspective to influence purchases and sales.
The Shopper Decision Tree is essential to consider from a shopper behavior insight perspective because it is the thought process when buying a product. The product usage might influence this, it may be a price-based decision or something else depending on the category. With the Shopper Decision Tree, it is crucial to evaluate what shoppers say is important when they shop and how they actually shop.
Eye tracking data can also be used to help understand how they actually shop and how this may differ from the stated Shopper Decision Tree. When you look at the order of fixations it helps understand the order of decisions. The stated decision tree informs the importance of different decisions in the buying process.
Another critical aspect to observe from a shopper behavior perspective is the ease of navigation — how easily shoppers can find your product, both when they shop a physical shelf or find your product online. For either physical or digital shopping, eye tracking is an essential tool to identify what shoppers are looking at and how they navigate a section. You can make the shopping process more straightforward when you can ensure effective navigation.
You must also consider the Shopper Mode, also known as Shopper Mindset. By understanding the Shopper Mindset, you can effectively tailor solutions for your shopper. Whether the shopper is in more of a discovery mindset, exploring your category, or if it’s more of a grab-and-go type purchase. Understanding the predominant Shopper Mindset will help you tailor appropriate solutions to increase sales.
In Chapter 4 we will explain the Path To Purchase concept and the drivers at each of the stages: Pre-Store, In-Store, In-Aisle and In-Section.
