Shopper trends driving decision-making

Today’s shoppers have moved beyond brand loyalty to focus exclusively on their own needs. Our recent research found that they want to be as informed as possible when making purchase decisions (76%), nearly two-thirds say they ALWAYS do research before purchase, and many start the shopper journey in a category with no brand in mind (70%). This has created an environment that we call “Shopper Promiscuity.” Shoppers are willing to continuously try new products, brands and experiences to find the best fit. This is a new reality for brands and it demands a new methodology.

In truth, these high levels of shopper promiscuity have rendered traditional brand loyalty metrics useless. They can’t guide marketing strategies anymore. To succeed in this new landscape, brands must move into a state of constant acquisition, always providing shoppers with the information they actually want. The first step toward success is to change the way we think about market research, and start centering our insights on consumers rather than the brand itself (something we call Brand Narcissism).

This research is also featured in our new book Influencing Shopper Decisions, illustrating how we found that the brand with the values and identity that most closely match the shopper’s own values and identity will have the competitive edge. This session will cover how to change the mechanics of conducting market research to fit the way people shop today, using real-world examples to illustrate how brands can deeply understand audience values in order to find common ground and influence purchase decisions.

Key takeaways:

1. Explore the new in-depth study, based on a decade’s worth of shopper research, that examines how consumer behaviors are shifting across categories.
2. Discover how to find out where your audience members are going for information and how influential those information sources are on the purchase decision.
3. Take away practical recommendations for how market research approaches must shift in order to best serve your customer base.

Topics covered:

• Customer experience.
• COVID-19/new consumer.
• Industry trends – future of marketing research.
• New techniques – qualitative and quantitative.
• Hybrid/mixed methods (qual, quant, mobile, SM).

Best Practices Consumers Presentation by Supplier