A Whitepaper on Shopper Marketing in India

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2. CONTENTS
The New Marketing Mix puzzle 02 - 05
Is shopper marketing the missing piece? 06 - 07
Shopper Marketing at retail 08 - 13
The Indian retail scenario 14 - 15
Shopper Marketing in India 16 - 17
Our views on trends in India 18 - 22
Key insights 23 - 25
About us 26
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3. THE NEW MARKETING MIX PUZZLE
‘What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School’ is a best seller by Mark
McCormack that goes beyond the teachings of business school classrooms to a
playground where the rules of the game are learnt by rolling up your sleeves, getting
your hands grimy and sniffing the air Red Indian style, for cues. This could also well
describe the way marketing success is being achieved in the 21st century.
Twenty or so years ago, an ivy league business degree would often lead to the
hallowed portals of the blue chip marketers. A few years gaining cross category
marketing experience and the seasoned marketing manager would have a successful
blueprint. It was based on market research insights and leveraged radio, TV, print and
promotions to build the brand. Nothing wrong with that. It even worked in many cases.
Then they said ‘The World is Flat’. Thomas Friedman made a case for India and China.
Boundaries disappeared. Continents and countries shrank and a lot of people got
‘Bangalored’. Communication and the internet had already started shaping a new
world and a just few years ago, we stood at the beginning of a new age. An age of
easy consumer access to a diverse and global media environment with few boundaries.
Consumer access to plenty of information and numerous channels offering an
abundance of choices. An age of consumer control.
Recent economic developments if
anything have arguably made the
consumer even more powerful in the last
two years. In this time, the game of doing
business has changed quite a bit.
The game of advertising and marketing
has changed a lot.
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4. There is a lot of widely cited information pointing to the change
The average global citizen encounters around 5000 advertising messages a day
While watching TV, over 70% of people read and over 65% are also online at the
same time
The typical consumer is often flitting between ATL and BTL media, often
simultaneously exposed to two or more media
Market share of many top brands is reducing
Less than 10% of new products launched survive more than three years
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5. We are not the first to see this or say this. Companies like Nike, P&G, Johnson &
Johnson and Coca Cola saw this ‘Great Shift’ happening. Probably one of the few
things they couldn’t have probably seen was the acceleration of this great shift
because of unexpected economic factors. Their response? A steady realignment of
roles and spends in their marketing mix.
Here is one example of this farsightedness. While Nike’s total advertising budget
grew 20% from 2003 to 2006, in the in the same period their ATL budget reduced
from 40% to 33%. The result - a 20% spurt in sales in the same period.
These companies see that new driving forces have come into play in marketing. For
example, traditional TV, radio and print no longer suffice to shape preferences. The
demand for credible ROI is higher than ever before. These innovators in marketing
are therefore reinventing their thinking and their skills with a tremendous sense of
urgency.
Having said that, every innovation follows an ‘S’ curve and shopper marketing is
no exception. Companies who embark on this journey will have to go through the
three stages of Initiation, Growth and Integration. At each stage come the critical
points of inflection which determine whether the innovator moves on to the next
stage or stagnates or even falls completely off the path. There are key barriers, and
as with all innovation, these pioneers will also face the typical risks of integrating
the innovation and interdependence with the other players in the ecosystem.
(See Figure 1)
ROI metrics continue to challenge even the most analytically enabled of these
marketers. But responses to these challenges are evolving. Our own view is that
there is no single formula for success. The only constant factor is the need for
change!
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6. Fig.1
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7. SHOPPER MARKETING - IS IT THE MISSING PIECE?
Debates around marketing effectiveness will always continue and at times like now,
reach a crescendo too. Meanwhile brands continue to make large investments in the
traditional marketing practices of advertising and promotions. However in many
cases, success measured by sales and brand equity remains elusive.
In a recently concluded study of over 50 top marketers, we focused on those who
seem to have got it right, in an attempt to isolate a common game changing strategy.
The shift in thinking brought about by a shopper centric approach was what we found
common among these companies. As much as brand management and then category
management emerged as important paradigms in marketing, shopper marketing
seems to be the next step in the evolution of marketing towards an integrated 360
degree approach.
What is Shopper Marketing?
Many different definitions exist. To us,
shopper marketing is simply defined as a
deep understanding of how consumers
behave as shoppers in different channels
and formats and using this insight to
benefit the brands, the retailers and the
shoppers.(See Figure 2)
From this definition, clearly the core of
Shopper Marketing is Shopper Insight.
Shopper insight needs to be combined
seamlessly with consumer insight and
brand and category management to
deliver the ultimate goal of holistic 360
Fig.2 degree marketing.
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8. It is first important to understand that Shopper Marketing is not just an activity
inside the brick and mortar store. The in-store aspect of Shopper Marketing is only
one aspect of Shopper Marketing. The broader approach is one that is shopper
centric and believes simply that happy shoppers buy more.
So why do we think Shopper Marketing is the crucial missing piece of today’s
marketing success puzzle? A few pointers:
P&G’s 2007 financial reports restated 11 years of advertising expenditure to reflect
over $500 million current annual spend on shopper marketing alone.
A 2007 Deloitte GMA study had 6% of consumer product respondents and 0% of
retailers investing in shopper marketing. The 2008 study reflected 29% and 60%
for the two respectively! The same study showed that companies who have really
embraced Shopper Marketing were growing at 25-50% more than their next
competitor in the same category.
Percentage
CAGR
21%
Fig.3
Deloitte GMA study on media spends
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9. SHOPPER MARKETING AT RETAIL
Shopper Marketing at retail is using the insight into shopper behaviour of different
segments in different retail formats, to deliver the right marketing mix of product,
price and promotion (communication) in the right place (environment).
Narrowing this focus further, we find that there are broadly three main areas that
impact Shopper Marketing at retail. These are
1. MARKET SPECIFIC VARIABLES
2. SHOPPER CENTRIC VARIABLES &
3. DESIGN & EXECUTION CHALLENGES
1. MARKET SPECIFIC VARIABLES
Market variables mainly pertain to the channel and the format.
As much as channel variations significantly impact marketing strategy, we believe
that format variations (more so in a market like India) have a very strong relevance
to the shoppers. A shopper marketing strategy can therefore not afford a ‘one size
fits all’ approach. Marketers have till recently looked at modern and traditional
retail as two broad entities and devised solutions accordingly. However, this broad
division is not enough. Within modern and traditional retail, markets differ to a great
extent. There are geographical and cultural differences, urban and rural differences
and more.
Shopper behaviour in each channel and format needs to be understood well and the
different layers of marketing stimuli need to be synchronised to work towards the
objective of integrated 360 degree marketing. Ideally - different strategies for
different formats.
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10. 2. SHOPPER CENTRIC VARIABLES
Shopper centric variables include behaviour based on
demographic, psychographic and cultural factors. The
shopper’s mental make up is decided by his sex and
age, where he hails from, the sociocultural aspects that
have shaped his thinking and habits, the economic
strata of society he belongs to and his genetic traits
too! There are important differences in shopper
behaviour that stem from who the shopper is. These
factors strongly impact the outcome of in-home, out of
home and instore experiences and need to be far
better understood than they are today. While
consumer research provides these inputs through
consumer research, shopper research is key to gaining
this insight into these shopper centric variables since
shoppers follow a path to purchase. On this path,
shoppers may be predisposed to make a purchase not
only within the store, but probably on the way to the store or even at home, before
venturing out to make a purchase.
A second angle to the whole thing is how the same shopper can behave differently in
different formats. Segmenting the shoppers at each format or retail banner based on
shopping behaviour gives insight into the most profitable segments. Shoppers move from
one segment to another as they shop in different formats. When mapped with consumer
segmentation, the shopper marketing strategy can be aligned with the right segments.
In fact, there are a number of ways in which shopper behaviour is studied, right from the
use of technology to simple observation. But to an extent the methodology takes second
place to intent. There has to be a clear intent to understand shopper behaviour.
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11. We also believe that true shopper insight does not come only from interviewing
shoppers or observing them, but in also knowing what they think. And a non intrusive
way in which we do that is in researching trends and their implications on shoppers
and shopper segments. Human needs and thoughts are constantly changing with
time. Some core needs remain constant throughout, whereas others evolve in
alignment with external (sociocultural) and internal (demographic) variables. Seen
another way, some trends remain, only modifying themselves along the way whereas
others disappear making way for newer manifestations. Global events give rise to
global trends. Local cultures are impacted by local events that shape local trends. But
any which way one looks at it, trends are fluid in terms of their dynamics and most
certainly impact all humans. Thus ongoing trend research is an important part of any
shopper marketing strategy. An example below illustrates how Insight Instore used
findings from trend research in creating a strategic solution.
CASE STUDY
In a recent case during the recession, we were confronted with a very common
situation. The client was averse to spending on advertising (or anything else for that
matter). The shopper was averse to spending (purchasing). So the onus fell on us
as the consultants to break this impasse. We started with shopper interviews and
we then went on to shopper observations. It certainly told us a lot. But the solution
finally came from trend research. At the risk of stating the obvious, the most
powerful trend during a recession is a reduction in spending. Our shopper and
trend studies in this tough time however, showed us that consumers and shoppers
were greatly missing their earlier experiences in all the gloom. So we decided on a
model that would allow our client to offer ‘free trial’ of their product (the fact that
the client was in an appropriate sector unlike CPG helped!). We decided to
‘TRYVERTISE’ our client’s product. Potential customers were offered an opportunity
to try the product for a specific time period. If they liked it, they could buy.
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12. Otherwise there were no obligations. While drastically reducing the client’s spend,
if nothing, it would help build the brand for better times, we reasoned. The result
was a pleasantly significant improvement in sales and tremendous impact on brand
equity!
It is of importance to state here that trends are a valuable directional tool not only in
the case of understanding shopper behaviour, but also in constantly keeping track of
market conditions and other challenges faced both by brands and retailers.
3. DESIGN & EXECUTION CHALLENGES
Often brands approach retail formats without researching the implications of the format
for their category, or with only a broad understanding of the variables. We are of the
view that the design and execution-specific variables are key and can even take on
regional or cultural differences, specially in a market as diverse as India’s. The
challenges are spread out, very fuzzy and need a very different set of skills and tools to
tackle. Design has to thus stem from a deep understanding of format specific challenges
at retail, apart from taking into account the human-centred elements. Design should not
be restricted to only devising tangible products and services. It should extend to doing
background research and charting out a smooth flow of the strategic solution, from the
drawing table into the market place, through the various funnels of manufacturing,
marketing & advertising, organizational implications etc., depending on the case
maybe. In other words, organizations need to have design thinking in their culture itself.
Finally, no strategy is successful unless it is executed well. Well-executed rollout of the
activity and compliance often make the difference between an expense and an
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13. investment. An effective shopper marketing approach thus has to address each of
these aspects as the following case shows.
CASE STUDY
A client had a brief that was to devise a promotion strategy to deliver better
results with their key accounts - improving the results for the retailers as well as
the brand.
Shopper studies at the different accounts revealed insights into the gross visibility
impressions of an ongoing promotion. This was then compared with audience
conversion to determine the approach that should be used at each retailer to
drive improved performance. For example, at Retailers X and Y, the gross
impressions were low but conversions were high. Secondary stocking locations,
displays and signage was used to drive conversions higher
At Retailer Z on the other hand, gross impressions were high but conversions
were low. Aligning the product mix to the profitable segments of Retailer Z,
category adjacencies and in-aisle promotions were used to drive incremental
sales. The new strategy took into account all these to get the approach right
from day one!
The ultimate objective in any case is to convert shoppers to buyers. It is by
understanding the market variables, the shopper variables and the design and
execution challenges in the context of macro trends, that focused and successful
shopper marketing strategies are created. (See Figure 4)
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14. Fig.4
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15. THE INDIAN RETAIL SCENARIO TODAY
Retail has been one of the fastest growing industries in India over the past few
years. The country was also ranked 1 on the list of most attractive countries for FDI
in retail for two successive years. Global players waiting to enter, modern retail
growing at a scorching pace and the growth of organized retail beyond the metros
and Tier 1 cities – this was the picture.
The last 18 months have created a changing landscape and new emerging
challenges, as retailers have been forced to focus on profitable growth through
rationalizing operations, consolidation and innovation. Modern retail is grappling
with issues of rental renegotiations, store profitability, working capital management
and manpower resizing as they seek to deal with falling footfalls as well.
In all this, traditional retail has been quietly initiating a slow metamorphosis. While
maybe the change is still perceptible only in the top 20 cities, there is no denying
the movement that has been set in motion.
A 2009 KPMG report on Indian retail says that organized retail is not likely to
achieve the growth that was originally projected for it by 2012. (See Figure 5)
Fig.5
Source: KPMG Analysis & Retailer’s Association of India
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16. A recent Nielsen study also reports that the acceptance of Traditional Retail has
increased over its modern counterpart over the last year. “Traditional grocery
stores continue to dominate the Indian retail scene and are frequented more often
by Indian shoppers. While 39 percent of grocery buyers visited a
Supermarket/Hypermarket at least once in four weeks, 97 percent of them visited a
Traditional store over the same period” the report says.
Our own study of “Unplanned Buying at Traditional Retail in India’ has a number
of interesting insights into many aspects of traditional retail.
We think the change in traditional retail is more like a mutation that in many years
time, will end as a transformation. To start with, the sudden spurt in modern retail
certainly attracted the attention of traditional retail. And a country that has spread
its entrepreneurial creativity at retail all over the world could not but learn from the
awakening. Not for nothing is small retail in Dubai or London the prerogative of the
traditional Indian retailer. The ‘bhaiya’ as he is popularly known in India is well
known to be a very quick learner and though he often sits in a small corner of his
shop all day, is known to be very nimble on his feet in terms of strategy. Quick little
adaptations followed to compete with the modern stores. First, many stores were
cleaned up and in many cases the counter moved inside the store in an ‘L’ form to
allow the shopper more access to the products. The bhaiya’s skill at credit
assessment was also proven to be superior to that of many multinational banks, as
he seems to have leveraged this facility well for increased loyalty. And finally,
armed with a mobile phone, a bicycle with a large carrier and a skillful rider to
home deliver even large bags, the traditional retailer seems to have not just held
bastion, but even pushed back noticeably.
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17. SHOPPER MARKETING IN INDIA
Shopper Marketing in India is still in its early stages. Call it shopper marketing or
shopper insight or customer insight, only a clutch of blue chip marketers and a
couple of top retailers seem to have actually reached a stage where they have
integrated this function into the company’s way of working.
For brand manufacturers, the traditional approach to the marketing mix has long
been the main tool of marketing success and for modern retailers, growth seemed a
default option till recently. Even today, for many brands, shopper marketing might
seem synonymous with point-of-purchase advertising – in itself relegated to a line
item in the P&L and often, more of an afterthought in budgeting.
However, the good news is that we see more efforts in recent times to bring
shopper insights into strategy. Companies have created separate portfolios around
consumer marketing, shopper marketing and trade marketing. Shopper insight is an
area that is increasingly sought to be understood.
CASE STUDY
Grocery World is a chain of modern grocery stores in India. They have a presence
across three southern metros with a chain of 38 stores. A study of Grocery World’s
shoppers reveals the following 7 shopper segments for the banner.
Fine Food Shoppers 26%
Health Food Shoppers 20%
Convenience Shoppers 15%
Price Sensitive Shoppers 15%
Mainstream Shoppers 12%
Traditional Shoppers 7%
Social Shoppers 5%
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18. GROCERY WORLD’S POSITIONING STRATEGY
EXCLUSIVITY
New GW
Old GW
LOW CONVENIENCE HIGH CONVENIENCE
Fig.6 AFFORDABILITY
Mapping this traditional positioning map based on consumer insights with the
shopper segmentation revealed potential gaps. By moving the positioning towards
the exclusivity seeking shopper who was willing to pay more, GW better aligned
the positioning of the store with the most profitable segment that was shopping
there. (See Figure 6).
If GW decided to expand into different geographical markets, would the same
positioning work?
Interestingly, from a brand’s perspective, we found that a similar exercise would
also suggest the marketing mix that was best suited to the major shopper segment’s
behaviour at GW’s format - possibly more exclusive products, smaller pack sizes
and individual communication with shoppers.
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19. A FEW VIEWS
On retail in Rural India
While Indian retail is certainly going to learn and grow, we think that retail in rural
India will become increasingly more relevant. A few numbers set this in perspective.
70% of India’s and 12% of the world’s population lives in rural India. They
contribute 50% of the country’s GDP. At 750 million, their population is more than
that of USA, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Japan combined. This population also
accounts for 64% of the country’s total consumer base. McKinsey predicts that 63%
of this population will continue to live in rural areas even in 2025.
Size apart, the growth potential is impressive too. In 2008 the rural retail market
grew at 25% as compared to a 10% in urban areas. Rural GDP has also been
growing at 4%. Negligible tax liability and low credit offtake has meant rural
savings accounting for 33% of the country’s savings. Increasing exposure and
discretionary income make for a good combination as well. The Associated
Chamber of Commerce and Industry says rural India accounts for more than 40%
consumption of major FMCG categories like personal care, beverages and fabric
care. And it says this sector of rural consumption is growing at 40%. All this points
to one clear trend - rural retail is set to double in the next 4 years and this is not an
opportunity that can be ignored.
However, the sheer diversity of the nation and its multi lingual cross cultural
population spread across a large geography means that a strategy that holds good
for the goose may well not be good for the gander. If shopper behaviour in urban
retail in itself not understood well enough, venturing to ride the rural wave without
proper insights into shopper behaviour will be like driving a car blindfolded.
Thus understanding trends at rural retail is critical. Innovation has started raising its
head at rural retail too, not only as initiatives by brands and corporates but also
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20. as ideas borne from the heart and soul of the rural people themselves. For example
the rural farming community has devised a barter economy system in Raawal
village, Rajasthan, India. There are tiny shops owned by members of a close-knit
community where articles are exchanged, instead of the regular cash deals. Thus, a
big pack of beedis is exchanged for half a kilo of wheat. Many other similar
transactions make life easier for the villagers. Corporate initiatives that have
emerged successful include ITC’s E-Choupal and HLL’s Project Shakti. E-Choupal is
ITC’s business model to build a trading platform with rural India, and it already
touches more than 3 million farmers. HLL’s Project Shakti uses self-help groups to
directly cater to 1 million homes every month in villages where traditional
distribution systems cannot hope to enter.Other initiatives include include
Mahindra’s Shubhabh and Rural initiative, Godrej Agrovet-Adhaar and Tata Kisan
Sansar.
In essence, it is important to align strategies with all the elements that make up the
rustic rural landscape.
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21. On technology in shopper research
In both urban & rural scenarios, shopper marketing can take a few lessons from it’s
online cousin, internet marketing. Internet marketing places an emphasis on
marketing that appeals to a specific behaviour or interest, rather than reaching out
to a broadly-defined demographic. Marketers have the luxury of targeting by
activity and location with geolocation software, and delivering automated different
content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state,
city, metro code/zip code, organization, Internet Protocol (IP) address, ISP or other
criteria. Shopper marketing can draw parallels to this with the concept of shopper
segmentation, already mentioned earlier. Effective shopper segmentation helps to
streamline strategies to appeal to the shoppers mindset depending on various
extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including the retail format in which the shopper is in,
thus ensuring effective translation into higher sales and greater brand equity.
Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and
inexpensively. Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced,
measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per
impression, pay per click, pay per play or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can
determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. The
results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online
marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a
website, and perform a targeted action. Internet marketing thus offers a greater
sense of accountability for advertisers. The success of shopper marketing in future
will be decided mainly by its accountability, which in turn, will drive the learnings
back into the strategy design process. With technology advances being the main
factor for the success of online marketing, it will play a huge role in deciding the
future of many a shopper marketing strategy as well.
Instore research activities have embraced technology through the use of eye
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22. movement trackers, heat and footfall sensors,
video surveillance and RFID chips to
name a few. Results are arrived at by
correlating these data with other techniques
like shopper interviews, observations,
ethnographic studies, POS data etc. If these
are any indicators, shopper marketing is at
the threshold of a technology revolution.
Martin Lindstrom in his book, Buyology,
speaks of having used MRI scans of
shoppers to analyze their behaviour. One
cant but help think at this stage – ‘With such a huge influx of scientific
methodologies and technological processes to unravel the shopper’s mind, are we
encroaching into private territories in the human mind, bordering on the unethical?’
The issue of ethics in Lindstrom’s neuromarketing process, where the hot debate is
on using human mind studies for commercial gain, has been addressed to an extent
in his book. According to him, “neuromarketing is simply an instrument used to help
decode what consumers are already thinking about, when they are confronted with
a product or a brand — and sometimes even to help uncover the underhanded
methods marketers use to seduce and betray without the consumers even knowing
it.” He takes a route in which, according to him, the consumers are actually
benefited, as brands and retailers know more about their subconscious needs and
desires, and customise strategies to give them a meaningful and enjoyable
shopping experience. Our own view on this is that putting people under an MRI
and mapping their brainwaves may give a certain amount of insight but that is
again limited by the simulated and possibly rather stressful environment. After all,
lying inside an MRI scanner is not the most pleasant way of calling up responses to
marketing stimuli!
Photo courtesy : www.rfid-weblog.com
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23. All said and done, it really does depend on ethical use of all the information
though. And also in making the shopper feel comfortable in his shopping
environment, without the constant fear of being watched by cameras or sensed by
hidden chips or being questioned by robots. Technology has to be integrated
seamlessly into the entire instore strategy. With the benefits it can bring to shopper
marketing, technology is here to stay. While it helps in uncovering shopper
mindsets, it should do so with due consideration to the shopper. A technically
friendly face on the outside and ethically correct, effective processes behind the
scenes.
Photo courtesy : www.blogs.fayobserver.com
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24. KEY INSIGHTS
1. Shopper marketing is an approach that evolves at each step. There are no set rules.
While on the face of it, this might seem rather inappropriate for a strategy, given the
number of variables and unseen implications, this is the only way to go about the
approach. Of course, periodic measurements are important and there are the
signposts that need to be followed, but by and large, shopper marketing is not
something that can be defined by a given set of rules before the start.
This is specially true in diversity defined India. A strategy devised after having taken
all the key points into consideration, will undoubtedly see iterations along the path.
Brands and retailers need to understand this, and be flexible in their approach to any
shopper marketing activity.
This implies that research has to be a fairly ongoing activity built into each step. The
team in charge of the shopper marketing program needs to constantly keep asking
themselves how their strategies are driving growth. They need to review research
findings on a regular basis and think through the implications that arise from the
insights. Core strategies that address the objectives will need to be redefined
accordingly. Redefining could mean small incremental changes or sometimes a drastic
deviation in the path itself. For example, It could be something as easy as an extended
display period or as radical as changing the entire messaging for the target audience
in a specific format. To reiterate, shopper marketers have to monitor key performance
indicators throughout the course of
the program and not just at the
conclusion. To minimize major
changes in the process, Insight
Instore has test runs of the strategic
solution wherever possible. The
insights from this step are fed back
Fig.7 into fine tuning the original solution.
(See Figure 7)
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25. 2. A cross-disciplinary approach & collaborations are key to the success of shopper
marketing today
A lot is being said about creativity these days. Definitions are changing. Its
complexity as a concept and its importance in creating any strategy is being
underlined many times over. Design today is not just about product or service
design. It is about all-encompassing creativity. In shopper marketing specifically, it
means using design to embed the shopper-centric culture into the fabric of the
organisation. It has to come from figuring out format specific challenges and
opportunities to devising human factor strategies to pave the way forward. It
involves cross-disciplinary innovation tools, processes and behaviors. It involves
moving from a closed innovation approach to a much more open framework where
creativity comes into play at every step from research to strategy to analytics and in
extrapolating it to the future.
In this context, collaborations within and
between organizations and teams will
help initiate solutions that align mutual
objectives and strategies towards a
common creative goal. It will help in
vertically integrating shopper marketing
solutions with all relevant brand efforts.
Also, strong ties and constant
communication between brands and
retailers will ensure better communication
activities that increase purchase intent
and drive profitable, incremental volume.
In the process these also induce
differentiation and grow both retailer and
manufacturer brand equities.
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26. 3. There are many barriers to collaboration and execution is a big challenge, more
so in a market like India.
In fact, our research shows that close to 40% of any spend on shopper marketing
in-store, does not get activated. Reasons? Indifference of the sales staff and the
retailer, clutter, and inefficient logistics to name just a few. This is also a reason for
a constantly evolving strategy, stated as point 1 earlier. However, the trick is to see
this age-old challenge as a new opportunity. It is an opportunity, given the focus on
traditional, unorganized retail today, and the big numbers forecasted in rural
markets. Execution challenges are more in these scenarios and so is the current
potential for growth.
As positive developments, Industry standards are now seeing light and technology
seems to be slowly edging its way into Indian retail to be an integral part of
shopper marketing strategies. Automated processes will ensure better distribution
methods and instore merchandising programs. Apart from this, an increasingly
skilled workforce will ensure progress in execution related activities, enhanced by a
good background understanding of the research and analytics scene as well. At
present, steps have been initiated in the right direction and the success timeline will
depend on the consistency of collaborative efforts put forth by brands, retailers and
agencies.
To conclude, Shopper Marketing is here to stay and the question is not
one of ‘if’ it will be the next gen strategy but more one of ‘when’ will it
if’ when’
be accepted as the next gen strategy! Till then, we continue our
strategy!
attempts to provide more Insight Instore.
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27. ABOUT US
Insight Instore is a trend research and retail shopper marketing consultancy. We study
trends and shoppers. We see the shop as our laboratory. Our aim is to create impact
instore, through insight and innovation.
Our areas of work include shopper research and instore consulting, design consulting,
trend research and forecasting.
Our solutions are driven by a combination of various skills and disciplines, coming
together on a vibrant and receptive platform. Research forms the basis of our
consulting work. Consulting for us does not stop at developing a strategy, but extends
to helping our clients to execute and evaluate the strategy. We also use this entire
experience for trend research and forecasting.
Insight Instore is headquartered in Bangalore, India.
Contact us:
Insight Instore
455, 1st Cross
9th Main, HAL 3rd Stage
Bangalore - 560 075, India
email: info@insightinstore.com
www.insightinstore.com
Tel : +91 97390 94983 / +91 97399 74069
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