“I want to understand my shopper better, but I do not know how to do it.” Scenarios are rapidly changing, habits are becoming more complex and competition is fierce. No matter the size of your business or what products you sell, you know that assumptions are not enough. Let us go through some ideas that may contribute to getting to know you customer’s point of view better. As we often discuss, loyalty towards a brand [...]

Consumers are eager to support brands and companies that show an authentic intention to promote sustainable activities. In this article we will go through different micro trends that are attached to the big “sustainability trend” among companies and consumers and we will provide examples to demonstrate the current scenario. Greenwashing According to the Greenwashing Index, the term is used when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising [...]

Retail is a large industry and it covers a long process from chain of suppliers to the moment of checkout. As shopper behavior keeps changing, the whole category tries to keep up. When considering innovations that are gaining acceptance, what may link them is the intent to make shopping experiences more enjoyable. Nowadays, e-commerce has created the need to counteract any factor that could make a shopping trip unpleasant. The innovations we have chosen were [...]

Even though the latest research carried out by Shikhar Ghosh at Harvard Business School shows that 75% of all start-ups fail, some of the most successful and revolutionary companies (Twitter) today were once start-ups. Launching a new enterprise is always risky whether we assess a small business or initiatives within larger corporations. In this context, a new methodology is gaining force: the Lean Startup. Dealing with uncertainty What does it mean that they fail? The [...]

Crowdfunding platforms are enjoying an accelerated growth. This unprecedented scenario has created a powerful impact on enterprise innovation, financial institutions and government policies. But mostly, it has changed the way people discover new products. As we discussed in our last post, most new products fail and huge companies have become quite conservative in implementing innovation in their product line. One of the reasons for slow invention is that collecting meaningful feedback from consumers from traditional [...]

It is quite difficult for a new product to succeed in the market for more than a year. Changing consumer needs, shorter product life cycles, new technologies and increased competition from domestic and global companies demand the creation of new products to stay in the game. The problem is that more than half of all products launched will not sustain their first-year sales performance during their second year. This is a global dilemma with some [...]

Last year, J.C. Penney new CEO, Ron Johnson, decided to put an end to “fake prices,” those that consumers see in tags but seldom pay because they are used to coupons and sales. Johnson’s plan was to sell products at cheaper everyday prices and his statements had to do with the company making an effort to “stop playing games” with customers. The problem was that shoppers love the idea of markdowns and Johnson’s strategy was [...]

You enter a store, spot something that interests you, you examine it and buy it. You were not planning to buy it, but you ended up going home with it. This is called impulse buying and almost 40% of all purchases are done this way. This buying behavior is characterized as unplanned, immediate, unconscious and emotional. Logic comes AFTER the purchase is done. Marketers and Retailers know that a huge part of their revenues depend [...]

      Although some people feel ecstatic to purchase almost anything, many consumers feel most of their shopping trips are a waste of time or too stressful, particularly in supermarkets. On the other hand, customers who enjoy their grocery trip are more satisfied, tend to spend more and remain loyal to the store. A new European Shopper survey ‘Shopping in Tough Times’ from IRI suggests that shopping experience, price offer and availability of promotions [...]

  We are emotional animals. This implies that we do not want to offend people. If people tell each other what they believe they want to hear, then relying on questionnaires leaves out cherished unconscious preferences. Thus, traditional market research has its limitations. Marketers need to understand the difference between what consumers say as opposed to what they do. In this quest, other sciences come to the rescue. Neuroscience is the study of the human [...]