Pioneering in-store research: long live shopper marketing! (ECR Europe, part 2.)

For a long time, we have been waiting for a method to measure the effectiveness of POS marketing. We have seen a promising method at the annual ECR Europe conference in Beriln. The following is a summary of the presentation held jointly by Kraft and Nielsen titled their pioneering new method for measuring in-store shopper behaviour. According to Donna McCabe from Kraft Foods and George Wishart from Nielsen, shopper marketing has become the crucial method in POS activities, replacing trade marketing. The definition of shopper marketing given by the Grocery Manufacturers Association of the US: “ – it is based on in-depth knowledge of shopper behaviour; – it i intended to boost brand value, – it is linked to shopping, for example, to shopping habits; – and orients customers towards purchasing something“. As an increasing proportion of shopping decisions are made in front of the shelves, the need for measuring the effectiveness of in-store marketing is also growing. The P.R.I.S.M. method has been developed to exert the maximum influence on shopping decisions. Until know, there has been no generally accepted measure for comparing the effectiveness of instore tools with that of other forms of communication. Nielsen In-Store, 12 manufacturers and 18 retailers have established an alliance for developing such a method. The method is based on scanning data and instore measurements from retail units and on data from the household panel. Researchers have been able to identify the proportion of customers visiting specific shelves on specific days, or the time spent by customers in specific parts of the store. In-store activities are analysed in detail. The method can provide answers to questions like “How should displays be designed in order to maximise sales?” or “Are my instore activities more effective than those of my competitor?” In 2006, when P.R.I.S.M. was introduced, surveys were conducted in 10 stores of four retail chains in the US. In 2007, this number was 169. This year, the method is being launched at the international level.