A REAL Validation to understand category placement and shopper behavior of competitor brands
The Challenge
A salty snack brand sought a greater understanding of shopper behavior surrounding two brands competing in the same product category, but merchandized separately outside of the primary product category. They turned to us to discover:
- Which category placement is more likely to drive incremental purchases and optimal total brand sales?
- Which categories do the shoppers look for this product and what will happen if the location changes?
Our Approach
The business objectives drove the need for a quantified understanding of sales across cells in addition to clarity about what is driving that behavior. Our REAL Validation method was the perfect fit because it gauges behavior and structured attitudinal responses and qualitative questions to rigorously measure KPIs to ensure we left with an unlock.
We spoke to 270 shoppers that included a mix of pre-recruited shoppers and intercepts naturally shopping the section.
We were able to quantitively answer key questions and utilize the qualitative to drive actionable and nuanced recommendations for specific brands.
REAL Validation
REAL Validation is our quali-quant approach to gathering the richest data on a larger scale. This methodology is done in-person, in-context. We talk to both pre-recruited and intercepted shoppers. Our expert moderators capture shoppers’ reactions to a key question and assess KPIs to determine the risk for our clients. With this larger-scale methodology, we talk to anywhere from 150-500 consumers.
Key Findings & Actionable Insights
Based on our research, we discovered that all shoppers had similar category expectations for products. When the products were placed in a different category than expected, shoppers did not purchase as often. Placement together in the primary category didn’t negatively impact sales of either brand. Package design was not optimized to compete in the new category as it did not accurately represent product or differentiated benefits. Brand and flavor imagery is not always immediately understood.
- Move brands into their expected category to increase at shelf discovery and maximize purchase frequency
- Opportunity to create a flavor- forward subcategory for each brand that better appeals to each brand’s target consumer
- Optimize packaging to better communicate category benefits and product expectations
How Can We Help?
REAL Insight is an in-context insights agency that empowers brands to win at-shelf. We leverage our Win At-Shelf Framework™ to help brands position themselves optimally and reap the benefits of excellent first moment of truth execution.
- Brand & Package Design
- Shopper Insights & Empathy
- Innovation exploration
- Consumer Intuition Building