With clarity around what insight is desired, a research manager is well placed to take the shopper research project forward. Many of the steps included here are common for any research process, but a number of significant differences exist between consumer research and shopper research that are worth special attention. The prime differences revolve around the role of the retailer in conducting the research and implementing the findings. The other consideration is to select the appropriate partner for research, which can make or break a research project.
The Role of the Retailer
The prime difference between consumer research and shopper research revolves around the role of the retailer in both conducting the research and implementation of the findings. Consumer research findings are primarily used to guide and support decision making within the manufacturer, while shopper research findings from research conducted by a manufacturer need to be used to persuade retailers to support their action. When trying to understand shoppers, interfacing with them as close to the actual shopping experience as possible is critical. For researchers, this may mean going to where people shop rather than bringing them to a central location, as is often the case with consumer research. To observe shoppers or question them as they are shopping will require permission from a retailer. In some cases, retailers simply refuse; others are happy to comply. Sometimes retailers want guarantees that they will be able to share the data; sometimes they insist on influencing how the research is conducted. In all cases, getting retail permission is important, and it can take time, so allow for that in the research process.
Partners for Research
Selecting the appropriate partner for research and briefing them fully can make or break a research project. In selecting the right partner, experience is paramount: the depth of experience in shopper marketing, the category, and desired methodologies. It is important to beware, in these formative years of shopper marketing and research, that while the agency itself may have conducted a particular type of research, the team in your country may not have, and therefore the quality and experience of that team should also be considered. As proposals are evaluated, consider whether the proposal actually responds to the brief or is largely generic. Finally do a sense-check–does the agency have credibility within your business and the market in general, including with retailers? Without credibility, using the outputs becomes that much harder.
Once the project is underway, the agency should drive much of the activity, but the shopper marketer cannot leave it in the agency’s hands entirely. It is her responsibility to keep the project on schedule and ensure that fieldwork can take place in stores. Rarely can the agency help much here.
This blog found in Course 15: Shopper Research.
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