Interbrand Design Forum » Shopper Marketing

Shopper Sciences: The Deciding Moment: It’s Not That Simple.

Kris Medford — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:40:39 +0000

The "path to purchase" is the road often traveled. Manufacturers, retailers, and agencies have a variety of models that reflect how shoppers make decisions, and for good reason. Understanding the nature of decision making offers insight into how to influence decisions. However, the flaw in these models is the emphasis on decision — a decision — when the truth is that any decision-making process includes an incredible number of sub-decisions. In Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath shed light on the fatigue caused by decision making. Shopping is exhausting! Let's say you get a new job in a new town, which leads you to make a home purchase decision (not to mention the decision process that went with accepting the job offer). You may start by asking for suggestions about which neighborhood is best for you, or maybe you will ask for recommendations about realtors. You will then narrow your search to one or more areas, while taking into consideration the local amenities, school system, and of course your specific criteria for the house, which may or may not be in flux. You are constantly making micro decisions as you approach your goal. Granted, relocating is a big decision, so big the smaller choices within it are obvious. However, even though we tend to think of the small day-to-day decisions as automatic, they too contain a complex of sub-decisions. They are far from automatic. In fact, if we had to consider each and every micro-decision we make, we would be too exhausted to get out of the house each day!

The Store of the Future is an Ingenious Retrofit

Don Rethman — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:30:04 +0000

When you ask an architect to envision the Store of the Future, their mind races with the opportunities of the clean sheet of paper, unlimited budgets and unlimited resources! The reality of the store of the future is altogether different. The Great Recession has left us with smaller budgets, dwindling resources and consumers who shop less. And according to the 2007 Economic Census, there were 1,122,703 retail establishments in the United States and a total of 14.2 billion square feet of retail spaces. With such an abundance of existing shopping space, the question to solve is: How will the existing retail environment of today be transformed into the Store of the Future, enticing the shopper and energizing the store personnel to provide a greater return on investment for the retailer? Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers an exciting platform for renovating retail space, when it is appropriately used by design, construction and executive teams. Building models are constructed from digital representations of parts and components used in construction, complete with quantities and physical properties of the materials used. These information-rich models allow simulation of things like heating or cooling loads, or physical weight loads. They allow an owner to tap into a robust database of information for use in identifying maintenance needs or merchandising opportunities over the life cycle of a building. In the future, BIM will drive a shift in construction towards premanufacturing or panelization of building components, reducing construction time and waste to provide tighter and more accurate bids.

The Martial Art of Shopper Insights

Bill Chidley — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:02:55 +0000

For consumer brands, distribution is king when it comes to growth. But if you’re a manufacturer with good distribution, how do you pave the way for continued success, especially with upstream innovation plans? Several years ago, I was working with a leading restaurant client, talking about how they were driving traffic to their locations. This chain was (and is) a generalist in a marketplace with a lot of specialty competition. Every year their marketing plans included “featured cuisine,” promotions such as Italian or seafood, to celebrate their menu variety. The problem was their brand did not transcend their advertising message of “doesn’t Italian food sound great right now?” As a result, the appetized marinara-seeking public drove right past the generalist to their favorite Italian eatery. The generalist picked the fight, but the specialists won the occasion because they had the “judo” advantage of the consumer’s current cuisine-driven preferences. The idea of judo, using naturally occurring momentum in growth, is not new; in fact, it has propelled Procter & Gamble’s marketing efforts for decades, with brand extensions as well as brand marriages such as “Swiffer with Febreze” that ride the coattails of consumer habit and trust. Where judo is underleveraged is in the aisle and at the shelf. Upstream product innovations that consumer research show to have great potential often fail to get trial and build momentum because the company neglects the consumer’s existing shopping habits. For that same reason, go-to-market plans that focus on communicating the same benefits with both out-of-store and in-store messaging risk being out of step with the shopper right at the moment they are ready to buy.

Kohl’s and Best Buy Provide Relief from Holiday-deal Monotony

Bill Chidley — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:13:57 +0000

It will be interesting to see if Kohl’s will have a better holiday season than their competitors this year. Their chosen message is not great price. They are making their liberal return policy a point of difference. In a world of deals, low price guarantees, extended hours, layaway and other value claims, is it risky making return policy your trump card? Likewise, Best Buy is making "product support available Christmas Day" its headline. Both of these brands seek to humanize themselves by showing a more empathetic side to retail.

I’m sure I will still be bombarded with deals from these guys via direct mail and Sunday inserts, but I find it interesting that they are investing national media dollars in non-price messages. Like four-wheel drive in New York City, both retailers are touting benefits we hope we don’t have to use, but will make us feel more empowered when we do have to make a return or call tech support to help us with our gift giving when we stumble.

Who’s in Charge of Brand Experience? or Why CEO’s Need a Title Change

Justin Wartell — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:55:26 +0000

Our work as consultants who delve into the inner workings of brands and businesses allows us insight into many different organizations. Despite our diverse clients, their varied industries and the unique customer groups that they serve, we’re frequently asked the same question: how can we improve the overall customer experience so that we satisfy the customers we have and can confidently go get new ones? For most clients, the definition of customer experience has included everything from retail interactions and call center activities, to social media and internal corporate culture initiatives. The concept is a broad one that touches many disciplines and departments within an organization. But, it leaves organizations ultimately asking who, ultimately, is responsible for the customer experience?

The most likely place to assign responsibility is at the highest level, the chief executive officer. CEOs define the vision, lead those responsible for functional areas, identify strategies to grow, and make the tough decisions that directly impact the organization and the customers it serves. While a CEO answers to a Board of Directors, the definitive stakeholder of interest is the customer. In a world where putting customers first is becoming the expectation, does the CEO need to deliver a higher level of advocacy and experience creation to truly deliver a delightful experience? Because of our increasingly complicated lives, our access to technology, more choices, and less time, we as customers are choosing the brands that strive to deliver a great experience. Across industries and categories, I believe the CEO should be the strongest advocate for bringing this notion to life.

Like Dove Chocolate and Gallo Wine, Brands Can Join Forces to Delight Shoppers

Rhonda Hiatt — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:51:28 +0000

In the world of shopper sciences and retail design, we enjoy many in-depth discussions about strategic adjacencies, cross promotion opportunities, complimentarity studies and the like. We spend our time pouring through data and observing how shoppers are pairing items together in store. Our aim, of course, is to simplify the shopper’s experience--and drive sales, obviously! Today, I saw the mother of all product pairings in one fixture. That’s right, Dove chocolates has paired up with Gallo wines to produce the ultimate in-store one-stop shop. I am salivating just looking at the picture! For those of you who have never experienced the glory of a good wine and chocolate pairing, you are in for a treat. This program is a fantastic example of two brands coming together to compliment the other’s product portfolio. Knowing that today’s busy shopper is looking for solutions in-store, a program of this nature helps her quickly and easily supplement dinner (or after-dinner) plans.

Why Shoppers Ignore Your Brand

Kris Medford — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:16:01 +0000

At this summer’s annual IIR Shopper Insights in Action conference, there was a surprising focus on biology and chemistry, and how all of these subconscious human processes relate to decision making. This year, the conference had a slight feeling of Bill Nye the Science Guy meets shopper insights. We heard some intriguing facts about how our senses of smell and sight, for example, work in relation to branded scents, and—of special interest to me—why we humans tend to look beyond what is right in front of our faces. In Shopper Sciences, we are often called upon to create disruptive solutions in store, putting brands in the shopper’s line of sight. One of our constant challenges, especially in mass retail, is that it’s not just our client that wants to be disruptive. It’s every brand in that category, and every category in every aisle. We’re working in any extremely noisy environment.

Pay Attention CPG Friends, Pantene Does it Right!

Rhonda Hiatt — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:26:50 +0000

While I spend my days understanding shopper behavior and applying rigorous research and analysis methods to help companies “grow categories,” I spend my weekends shopping like crazy. With my bank account being the victim of all of these great growth strategies! As you know, retailers and manufacturers are always finding new ways to create incremental growth or, simply put, make shoppers spend more. One of my favorite places to shop is Target. Before I even make it into the store I have generally blown $20 on the dollar spot. After piling my cart with a bunch of stuff I really have no use for, my second stop is always the shampoo aisle. Regardless of need, I always stop. Something about the colors and the arrangement of the shampoo aisle just makes me feel so clean and orderly and I generally end up picking up something guaranteed to fix frizzy hair or give me more volume. Well, much to my surprise, my venture into the shampoo aisle a few weeks ago yielded a fantastic new surprise! The new Pantene display! Aisle violators grabbed my attention as they organized the offering by color and hair solution. That’s right, hair solutions--easily found! And not only did the aisle violators frame up the offering, but the bottle packaging was new and perfectly coordinated with the signs. You can image my excitement as I quickly zeroed in on the “fine” solutions area. I left the aisle with a whole new system of hair care.

Gender Disruption: Boys Like the New Kotex Packaging

Kris Medford — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:15:22 +0000

As I was finishing up payment at the pharmacy, a young male employee strolled into the area and struck up a conversation with the staff by saying, “That new Kotex packaging is sharp!” Silence. Then, apparently mistaking the silence as a request for clarification, he continued, “You know, the black packages? They are really cool looking!” More silence. Based on a quick survey of their expressions, everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing, What is an 18 year old guy doing talking about feminine hygiene products?! Even as I grabbed my purchase and escaped the awkwardness, I began to contemplate what transpired. Given that I spend my days knee-deep in shopper sciences, I found the situation quite compelling. Good packaging should be, in part, disruptive, and the new U by Kotex packaging is definitely that. The sub-brand is unique in the category, both in shelf presentation and in the “get real” tone of the advertising. A+ on disruption.

Why Shopper Marketing is Too Aspirational for Most Brands

Bill Chidley — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:19:34 +0000

Companies under pressure to stem margin erosion may jump headfirst into shopper marketing before they are ready. In doing so, they could overlook the need to solve fundamental problems in the shopping experience and end up with unpredictable results in the store. The urge to dive in is understandably tempting. Brands that invest in shopper marketing are seeing three times the return as compared to traditional marketing disciplines. But the discussion revolves around a very small percentage of brands, such as CVS/pharmacy and Mars Snackfoods, ShopRite and Kellogg’s, Walgreens which just announced it will engage in a shopper marketing pilot with The Hershey Company, and of course the eminence of shopper marketing, Procter & Gamble. All have been working on shopper marketing for years and have an extremely high level of expertise.

How Brands Build Digital Bonds with their Shoppers

Lynn Gonsior — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:23:05 +0000

Retailers looking for great examples of wirelessly connecting with their shoppers have three great brands to look to: American Eagle Outfitters, Netflix and Amazon.com. The continue to differentiate their shopping experiences with intimacy, responsiveness and relevance. Even with millions of items for sale, Amazon connects intimately with customers, from its one-click ordering to its ability to become more relevant with each visit. The result is a “barrier to exit” that other brands envy. American Eagle excels at aggressively integrating multi-channel marketing tactics into both its traditional and digital campaigns. It connects at all the right touchpoints, which goes a long way towards achieving brand loyalty. This year, AE included a mobile filed in its loyalty program, and used mobile as a point of entry into sweepstakes as well as an alerts program. Calls to action were posted on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter in the form of banner ads, status updates and tweets.

It Takes a Strong Brand is to Inspire Shopper Confidence

Justin Wartell — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:23:33 +0000

While we can all agree that price matters more to the consumer than ever, it’s not the be-all, end-all of shopping. At some point, the hunt for best price has to stop. And why it stops is up to the retail brand. Shoppers attach to brand, not price. Brand—the distinct way you do business—needs to provide a reason to activate the purchase, a reason beyond price. It can be trust, convenience, fun, effortlessness, time savings, fashion or many other factors a brand makes itself known for. Many retailers have learned the hard way that price-based competition is simply not sustainable. To survive, they need a balanced value proposition unique to the brand that makes the shopper confident she has found the right choice among similar offerings of the product or solution she seeks. This year, retailers have made headway in the battle against “sameness” by negotiating exclusive famous name brands, making sure their private labels stand for something besides “cheaper” and by infusing the shopping experience with emotional appeal. One brand that renewed its value-plus-reason image is Old Navy. After veering off into fast fashion inspired by the designer runway, it has returned to bright basic family apparel surrounded and supported by its kitschy sense of humor. Shoppers are returning to the store and business is on the upswing.

Don’t Chase Shoppers, Engage Them with Creativity

Scott Jeffrey — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:22:24 +0000

Copying the latest “hot” retailer is an easy way to stay current, to level the playing field. But imitation doesn’t keep you at the top of the shopper’s mind. When a retail brand displays a unique, creative energy—the J. Crew Liquor Store comes to mind—I get a dose of inspiration like an electric charge. I’m not just browsing now, I’m fully engaged because a particular creative spirit permeates every touchpoint for an unmistakable experience. That’s when the brand stops chasing and starts engaging. Maybe it’s my emotions, my ego, or my sense of fun which is always looking to come out and play.

Shopper Marketing Strategies

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:10:07 +0000

The past year has seen an explosion of interest in shopper marketing. Reportedly 60 percent of brands and retailers are investing in shopper marketing efforts, up from six percent previously. Most, however, admit to being in the learning stages of the emerging practice. Finding a common language is the first challenge. The term encompasses in-store media,