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

Large scale eye tracking capturing entire store visits
Shopper interviews before and after the store visit
Receipt data from participants
Shopping list documentation

Results

Increased understanding of the grocery store’s playing field and its strategic implications throughout the retail industry
Influence on category plans, layouts and promotion guidelines
The results were integrated as a data-centered support in the central negociations with retail chains and individual stores
"Educational" material for the companies and lectures at sales conferences

Category Development

Brand within dry foods

Product & concept testing

Product Development

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:

Sales data
Shopper interviews
Store personnel interviews

Results

Shoppers were found to have a very positive attitude toward the re-packaging
No negative sales effect – positive tendency
Store personnel was somewhat skeptical
- Led to a change in the placement of the SKU barcode on the packaging to make in-store handling easier
- New stocking guidelines were created for more efficient product handling at the shelf
Insights from the project assisted the implementation and distribution of the new packaging to all Swedish grocery chains
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

The segment’s category change was tested in Retail Academic’s cooperating stores through Latin Square Design
Shopper interviews were conducted to evaluate their perspective on the change
Store personnel interviews were conducted to capture the practical stocking implications of the change

Results

The moved segment increased its sales by 11% without negatively impacting the sales of the destination category
Positive effect on total margins in both segments
The shoppers found the new category to be a logical placement for the segment

Brand within fresh food

In-store testing

In-Store Testing

Online Insights

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.

Online panel with nationally representative sample of shoppers regarding age and gender
500 shoppers divided into several target groups

Results

Results revealed which sales channel was preferred for specific types of purchases
Price sensitivity was higher in the studied category than other online categories
43% spontaneous brand awareness, followed by 15% for the second largest brand
Our customer’s brand was the first choice for over 50% of online shoppers
The results led to a consensus about the way forward within the organisation
The study supported the brand in its dialogue with the retail chains
The study helped the brand to increase its visibility and searchability online

International grocery chain

Store development

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.

After the remodelling, we also measured its effects to ensure the initiatives achieved the desired effects.

Solution

Eye tracking to understand the shopper’s behavior in store
Observations to understand the store layout and shopper journey’s efficiency
Shopper interviews to get the shopper’s perspective on the development of the store
POS and store surface data to optimize category surface area and sales efficiency
Benchmarking against other stores with the same format

Results

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.
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.
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

Campaign development

Challenge

In the store enviroment, shoppers encounter an overwhelming amount of impressions from different sources: signs, screens, products, customers etc.

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:

Sales data: SKU, category, campaign, store
Shopper interviews
Shopper observations

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

Placement was crucial for the communication's effect
Clear Product-Price communication increases store traffic by 13%
Contrasting colors are often better than ambiance photos
Filmed video material increases sales by 16%
9 out of 10 shoppers prefer filmed material
Relevant messages generate conversion
Fewer number of communicated messages increase sales