Retail Research Tip: In-store More Important Than Ever

At the same time research firms continue to lever phone surveys, build expansive web panels and focus energies online, the importance of sound in-store research for retailers is more crucial than ever.

Retail executives and product vendors are paying close attention to the overall store experience as core component of the brand and competitive strategy.  This includes staff interaction, messaging, merchandising and display...ultimately the rich, holistic customer experience. Is the point of contact not then the proper place to gather shopper opinion of this experience?

Research suppliers' are heavily invested in web development and call-centres. Brands and products are the focus of their major, non-retail research clients.  This
Unfortunately, cost differences between techniques combine with these factors to persuade some researchers to present to retailers inappropriate options. Yet the retailer must still dictate their need for timely, in situ feedback on the store experience, rather than general survey questions posed weeks or months after a store visit.

Onsite research can be quantitative (in person surveys via pen-and-paper or handheld devices) or qualitative (companion shopping with a trained interviewer, or ethnographic observation).  These are the best ways to deeply evaluate the store experience.

These techniques can also be the best means to reach certain segments (there are less optimal virtual reality models, but these are very costly and not as true to life). Consider hard-to-reach populations, such as shoppers of a particular niche specialty store.  For sufficient quantities for a survey sample, these can be impossible to reach through research firm web panels. Or at least they will require a massive starting sample to work down to qualified shoppers via web or phone. 

In these cases, an in-store approach can be a money-saver.  Granted, in-store otherwise is more expensive than other techniques on a per-complete or per-respondent basis and therefore is not a good substitute when a panel or phone approach can deliver the right findings.

However, there is one cost-effective hybrid approach often endorsed by DIG360. This is used when the subject matter allows for a response away from the store, after the store visit.  Survey participants are generated through an active, well-conceived in-store promotion. This is much more than tacking on a web address to a receipt. This will be the subject of a later post.

Retailers and researchers must continue to seek ways to include store-based feedback that suits the retail business need and budget.