Retail & Shopper

Our retail and shopping team is passionate about shopping.

Our business is to understand the motivation and behaviour of shoppers around the world, helping retailers and manufacturers improve performance. A large number of high street names and manufacturers use our research at point of purchase to optimise elements such as channel and category management, store layout, displays and assortment and promotions.

We provide clear, concise answers to strategic or tactical issues. Recently we have helped:

• high street retailers increase footfall by improving their understanding of retailer choice and what attracts customers
• on-line retailers increase sales by making websites, services and fulfilment more customer-centric
• FMCG manufacturers optimise multi-channel strategies by researching how sites, ranging reviews, displays, shelf layouts and promotions affect shoppers' decisions in different retail environments
• grocery retailers maximise shopper satisfaction and loyalty by identifying which aspects influence shoppers most and which areas to improve
• Store-planning teams maximise the ROI of refurbishments by providing shoppers' perspectives to inform and optimise plans and minimise disruption during refurbishment.

How do we do this?

We combine quantitative and qualitative research with in-store observation and sales data, to provide you with a complete picture. Our techniques include:

• multi-faceted in-store investigations: comprising observation and photography, accompanied shopping, in-situ intercept interviews, decision hierarchies, in-store groups and staff interviews
• bespoke market studies: combining excellent research design and rigorous implementation, in the UK and around the world
• segmentation analyses: establishing distinct and actionable shopping missions and shopper types
• ethnographic studies: providing fly-on-the-wall insights into how shoppers behave, bringing manufacturers and retailers closer to their customers
• data fusion: combining survey and sales data and/or predicative modelling to assess the financial impact of initiatives.

We have been retail specialists for more than 25 years and know the industry inside out. We therefore understand its pressures and pace: we are fast, flexible and we deliver actionable findings in an appropriate way. To find out how we could help you contact Sharon Hodgson on 020 8861 8089 sharon.hodgson@ipsos-mori.com or Susanne Goller on 020 88618150 susanne.goller@ipsos-mori.com 

Case studies

Tailoring retail formats to shoppers' motivations
A major blue chip client came to us with a concern that their one-size fits all approach to developing planograms for their retail partners was not benefiting the client company as well as it should do. Using qualitative exploration techniques (including ethnography), and following it up with a detailed shopper diary study plus in-store observation and interviewing, we were able to identify the key shopping missions in selected retail channels and formats. The client is now successfully tailoring propositions for their retail partners by store format, aligning in-store activation strategies with shoppers' motivations and behaviour.

Web-based panel helps optimise online offering
One of the UK's leading grocers was seeking to optimise their website to improve usability and shopper satisfaction. Their chief concern was to ensure that they could get direct customer feedback on proposed improvements to the website and other initiatives. To address this we developed a web-based consumer panel where the client could interact with customers directly, getting them to respond to regular topical questions and providing speedy feedback to test business hypotheses. Through our bespoke panel, the client was able to enhance their page payouts and improve usability, target promotional activity online more successfully & maximise customers' satisfaction with order fulfilment.

Benchmarking to improve performance
A leading DIY chain was aiming to cement their place as the leading retailer in all home improvement categories. In order to do this they wished to measure purchasing behaviour and attitudes within 17 home improvement categories. Using a monthly online tracker, we collated customers' opinions of the client and their competitors, allowing the client to benchmark their performance and identify priorities for improvement.