Blog post -

It's all about people and their behaviour

A collaborative thought piece By Big River Solutions & Shoppercentric

Shoppercentric and Big River Solutions have been collaborating for over 5 years, bringing together their expertise in Category Management / Shopper Marketing Solutions and Retail/Shopper Insight.

The retail sector is undergoing huge change, with significant implications on retailers, brands and service suppliers such as design and marketing agencies. The nature of retailing has changed, with the stellar growth in online shopping, and the opportunities that digital developments are opening up. To re-invigorate bricks & mortar stores traditional retailers are branching into new ventures, as well as reinventing themselves as disruptors challenge the established way of doing things.

Never has it been more important to understand the emerging needs of consumers, the evolving demands of retail channels and customers, the changing behaviours of shoppers.In these times of change, we need to be very clear about what we do and the best way to engage our valuable and potentially limited resources, in order to adapt our approach to our market.

As the context shifts around our categories and products, it is important to be continually thinking about the opportunities to maximise sales:

  • How can we effect behaviour change at point of purchase?
  • How should we adapt our range to better meet shopper needs?
  • What is the right range for different channels based on the shopper and mission profiles?
  • What activation will deliver behaviour change?
  • How do we trigger purchasing?

We can only find the answers to these questions through a real grasp of what consumers/shoppers are looking for from the retail channels and environments they choose to visit, and the categories they shop. Sales data is an obvious and hugely important start point, but when everyone has sales data, we better help our retail partners by accessing bespoke data that has been collected in direct response to our key business questions.

If we want to create a successful shopper marketing campaign that changes behaviour; a planogram that makes it easier to find the right product; or merchandising that connects the category to the emotional consumption connections, then we need a fully rounded picture of the consumer/shopper perspective on which to base those plans. So there is tremendous value in spending time with consumers and shoppers, exploring the contexts, the belief systems and the goals that drive behaviour.

It’s one thing to know the ‘what’ of purchasing, but quite another to appreciate ‘why’. A real understanding of ‘why’ can provide those positive steps toward changing consumer / shopper behaviour in your favour.

If you would like to hear more about how we can help you understand your shoppers or help you develop action plans to deliver against evolving shopper needs instore and on line, please get in touch at:

info@shoppercentric.com /info@bigriversolutions.com

Topics

  • Retail