Cases
We summarise here a selection of projects that we have executed. We care about our clients' secrecy when it comes to particular studies – therefore, we don't always disclose much about the client or the project. However, we are very proud to work with some of the largest and most important actors in Nordic grocery retail, as well as many actors in fashion, convenience, fast-food, electronics, and e-commerce.
DLF and its member companies
Category development
Challenge
To be able to evaluate a category and its campaign displays, we first need to understand how the shopper behaves and approaches the category’s segments and products.
Together with DLF and its member brands, we conducted the world’s largest eye tracking study in the grocery chain ICA, in its hypermarket and supermarket formats. With the collected data, we can understand the store’s “playing field” – the challenges and opportunities within category aisles and secondary campaign displays.
Solution
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Large scale eye tracking capturing entire store visits
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Shopper interviews before and after the store visit
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Receipt data from participants
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Shopping list documentation
Results
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Increased understanding of the grocery store’s playing field and its strategic implications throughout the retail industry
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Influence on category plans, layouts and promotion guidelines
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The results were integrated as a data-centered support in the central negociations with retail chains and individual stores
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"Educational" material for the companies and lectures at sales conferences
Brand within dry foods
Product & concept testing
Challenge
Most product launches fail within a year. This is a substantial cost that most companies must incur. Bringing a new product to the market without first evaluating its in-store performance implies a greater risk for failure.
Hence, our client wanted to investigate how a new eco-friendly packaging solution for their products performs in the actual store environment, to ensure a successful launch.
Solution
The solution was a project where we tested and evaluated different aspects connected to the new product packaging. Data was gathered both in the store environment where the product is sold, and in the post-purchase stage, after it has been consumed. We used multiple data sources with complementing viewpoints, “triangulating them” to get the whole picture:
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Sales data
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Shopper interviews
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Store personnel interviews
Results
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Shoppers were found to have a very positive attitude toward the re-packaging
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No negative sales effect – positive tendency
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Store personnel was somewhat skeptical
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Led to a change in the placement of the SKU barcode on the packaging to make in-store handling easier
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New stocking guidelines were created for more efficient product handling at the shelf
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Insights from the project assisted the implementation and distribution of the new packaging to all Swedish grocery chains
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A new and more environmentally friendly packaging reached the market with a better prospect to succeed
Multiple brands within grocery retail
Online insights
Challenge
Our client operates in a grocery segment that has seen a large growth during the last 10 years – driven by increased environmental consciousness and product innovation.
The challenge was that the increase in sales was not followed by increased selling space in the store layouts. To obtain a larger selling space, the segment in question was moved to a closely positioned category answering the same shopper needs. Retail Academics tested the category change to provide a strong support in the central retail chain negotiations.
Solution
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The segment’s category change was tested in Retail Academic’s cooperating stores through Latin Square Design
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Shopper interviews were conducted to evaluate their perspective on the change
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Store personnel interviews were conducted to capture the practical stocking implications of the change
Results
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The moved segment increased its sales by 11% without negatively impacting the sales of the destination category
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Positive effect on total margins in both segments
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The shoppers found the new category to be a logical placement for the segment
Brand within fresh food
In-store testing
Challenge
Grocery e-commerce is the retail sector which has seen the fastest growth during the latest years – a trend that further increased during COVID-19.
Our client felt a need to better understand the shopper’s behavior online, the different purchase patterns, the brand’s role in the online category, and the behavior differences between retailers. This would help strengthen and develop our client’s online business.
Solution
The solution was a study investigating the behavior of 500 shoppers when shopping for groceries online.
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Online panel with nationally representative sample of shoppers regarding age and gender
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500 shoppers divided into several target groups
Results
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Results revealed which sales channel was preferred for specific types of purchases
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Price sensitivity was higher in the studied category than other online categories
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43% spontaneous brand awareness, followed by 15% for the second largest brand
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Our customer’s brand was the first choice for over 50% of online shoppers
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The results led to a consensus about the way forward within the organisation
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The study supported the brand in its dialogue with the retail chains
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The study helped the brand to increase its visibility and searchability online
International grocery chain
Store development
Challenge
A retail chain wanted to perform a major remodelling on one of its store formats. To understand how the shopper journey, the category aisles and the campaign displays should be developed and laid out, we analysed the shopper’s perspective on the store. The goal was to develop a prioritised set of development areas to generate sales and increase customer loyalty.
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After the remodelling, we also measured its effects to ensure the initiatives achieved the desired effects.
Solution
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Eye tracking to understand the shopper’s behavior in store
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Observations to understand the store layout and shopper journey’s efficiency
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Shopper interviews to get the shopper’s perspective on the development of the store
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POS and store surface data to optimize category surface area and sales efficiency
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Benchmarking against other stores with the same format
Results
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The study identified disengagement areas where the shopper exited the “shopping mode”. New engagement points were built in the main shopper path, which increased sales and slowed down the shopping pace.
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Initiatives were implemented to increase the traffic and time spent in the fresh produce category – as the initial study showed that category had a lower surface area efficiency than benchmark stores. Both the time spent in the category and its sales increased as a consequence.
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10 campaign product displays with high visibility but low conversion rate were updated to focus on both price and inspiration which increased their sales.
Campaign development
Challenge
In the store enviroment, shoppers encounter an overwhelming amount of impressions from different sources: signs, screens, products, customers etc.
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Our client wanted to understand how its different campaigns are received by the shopper and how their development can be pursued to optimise their effect. The goal was to steer their communication's development, increase the bargaining power and strengthen their knowledge.
Solution
A monthly analysis of the client's communications initiatives, with consideration for campaign cycles. We use multiple data types to evaluate and compare the campaigns:
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Sales data: SKU, category, campaign, store
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Shopper interviews
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Shopper observations
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Thanks to the continued analysis, we create a growing knowledge database to understand and contextualise a campaign/ad's effect and its potential for development.
Results
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Placement was crucial for the communication's effect
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Clear Product-Price communication increases store traffic by 13%
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Contrasting colors are often better than ambiance photos
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Filmed video material increases sales by 16%
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9 out of 10 shoppers prefer filmed material
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Relevant messages generate conversion
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Fewer number of communicated messages increase sales