In-store research: Shelf and selection process

Measure how shoppers really choose with Eye Tracking
More accurate than traditional research: each fixation is classified
Improve your shelf layout through insights about the unconscious choice process

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Applications

One of the most important questions in retail research is how the shopper makes choices from the shelf. Which product features weigh the most in the selection process? And what does this mean for the most effective shelf layout?

The shopper is intuitive and emotional

Traditional marketing research provides only limited insight into how customers arrive at their choices. Conscious questioning does indeed yield a rational customer decision tree, but this subsequently appears not to correspond with the actual choice behavior in the store.

In-store research with eye tracking makes it possible for the first time to measure the customer's attention and choice processes directly on the shop floor.

What does the customer consider in order to make a choice?

Eye tracking measures exactly to the millisecond what information is processed by your customer while shopping. In a shelf and selection research, we use this data to determine which product factors are used to make a choice, and at what point they play a role in the selection process. This provides practical support for effective shelf layout.

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Or discuss the possibilities with Denise, our Solutions Manager
Check availability, and schedule an online appointment

"Very nice to see up close how eye tracking research works. Impressed about how well it is arranged and about the team."

Margreet Houthoff - Category Manager Riedel

How it works

Classical market research into the consumer decision tree attempts to dissect the structure and choice factors of a category by consciously questioning them. However, this completely ignores the lightning-fast and intuitive way in which choices are made from the shelf.

Neuromarketing research into the shelf and choice process uses eye tracking to map exactly how consumer choices are made.

In-store Eye Tracking

Neuromarketing research into shelf choice takes place on the real shop floor. Customers are fitted with mobile Eye Tracking glasses, after which they can make purchases in the category in question according to their preference.

Unravel works with Tobii Glasses 3 Eye Tracking glasses. These are known as the gold standard for in-store eye tracking research. They are accurate, lightweight and indistinguishable from normal glasses for fellow customers. In this way we ensure an extremely realistic selection process.

From raw Eye Tracking data to choice factors

Based on the raw data, we are able to classify each fixation and product comparison. Based on this, we gain insight into the most dominant choice factors, as well as the position of this factor in the choice process (across time). You gain insight into the role of factors such as:

Taste
Color
Brand
Format
Packing type
Product name
Claims
Health information
Promotion
etc

Each factor is displayed in a selection grid. On the y-axis we show dominance (% of customers using the choice factor) and on the x-axis timing (early or late in the choice process). This grid offers a solid basis for shelf layout: it is often effective to divide the shelf on the basis of factors that many people use early in the selection process.

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Or discuss the possibilities with Denise, our Solutions Manager
Check availability, and schedule an online appointment

Timeline of shelf and choice research

In neuromarketing research on shelf and choice, Unravel Research takes a proven approach so you can count on reliable results and a fast timeline. This enables us to offer unparalleled project lead times of 10 working days.

Day 1-2: Kick-off & preparation

In the first week, the products, the choice factors to be measured and the desired target group of respondents are determined in consultation with the client. A test panel is then recruited and the respondent instruction is being prepared.
Day 3-5: Fieldwork

During the field work days, 30 respondents (per sub-target group) visit the physical store location. Here they are fitted with the Eye Tracker, after which they are allowed to make a number of purchases in the category. The measurement is comfortable and realistic, so that we guarantee the most natural data possible.
Day 6-10: Data analysis and reporting

The data of each respondent is processed from fixation to fixation into a database containing all fixations and comparisons. This way we can perform numerous analyses according to the dominance and order of choice factors, as well as cluster analyses of which factors are often used jointly.

Request A Proposal

Or discuss the possibilities with Denise, our Solutions Manager
Check availability, and schedule an online appointment

Output example

Below you will find an example of the output of an in-store neuromarketing research into shelf and choice processes. The data provides a complete overview of shelf factors (left), hypothesis tests (middle) and a heat map of the shelf (right).