Retail

‘It doesn’t happen if it doesn’t happen at Retail’. The best brand and marketing plans will all come to nothing if a product fails to get a listing, or is given a poor shelf allocation. Product and brand success are inextricably linked with Retail in so many cases.

The Retail environment is in constant evolution. The pace and scale of change is such that researchers need to keep a constant eye on these developments. Many agencies specialise in either product testing or Retail research. At Cambridge MR we see that as a false distinction and prefer a holistic view on how consumers are shopping, where they are shopping, what they are buying and why. If a product is not selling as well as expected, this could be due to poor product performance vs. competition, but it could also be because of the position it achieves on shelf, what it is near, whether there is heavy discounting of Own Label or branded products nearby, is it where people would expect to find it on their normal supermarket journey?

A great brand building above the line campaign can be undermined if the product features on end gondola with deep discounting the same week.

At CMR we will often combine both Retail and Product evaluation in developing research proposals to meet real marketplace issues. We are experts in category management and can help brands develop a joined up view of their products and the touch points they have with consumers. This may mean that we propose in store intercepts, accompanied shopping and ethnography, pantry or freezer audits, focus groups in store as well as more traditional approaches to understand the influences on a brand and category.