Category: Case study

New pricing study: Reduce pack volume or increase price?

Posted on by sandra

By Saša Radojević, Sr Shopper Insights manager at EyeSee

With almost 2/3 of households in the US living paycheck to paycheck, the additional pressure of inflation pushes consumers to prioritize, rethink and, in some cases, give up on purchases.

EyeSee has just wrapped up the second wave of the pricing tracker in the US to identify how consumer behavior is shifting when exposed to different volume and pricing adjustment scenarios.

The study included two separate samples to gain an in-depth insight into consumer confidence. One group (a sample of 3200 individuals) was exposed to virtual shopping exercises, while the other sample completed a conjoint exercise (a sample of 1650 individuals). Both surveys aimed to identify new patterns of behavior and understand shoppers’ perspectives on the current situation.

To understand the retailer’s perspective on the matter, check out our latest Quirk’s webinar.

So, what buying behaviors have changed over the last year?

In the first wave of the tracker that was conducted mid last year, we asked respondents to forecast how they plan to buy in the upcoming period of six months.

In most categories, such as cosmetics, entertainment, traveling, finance and insurance, and other long-term investments, the behavior and predictions align well. Surprisingly, this time last year, over a third of respondents claimed that they will be stockpiling food and other items over the next six months, yet fewer did so.

Eating out has been affected more than consumers predicted a year ago, as well as the overall purchases of food and beverages. This makes sense when paired with the stockpiling trend among over 28% of respondents, which indicates they are very much looking to cover the basics and stick to essentials.

When it comes to predictions for low frequency categories like household essentials, clothes, and sports equipment, as well as subscriptions and memberships – these have all been affected to a greater extent than predicted a year ago.

Is shrinkflation your best move?

Same as last year, we investigated two lower frequency categories (body wash and dishwashing) and two higher frequency categories (bacon and chips). And within these exercises, consumers faced different scenarios.

  • In virtual shopping, the range of choices included the current pack price and size, increased prices of one third of the shelf and then the entire shelf, but also a decreased pack size of 1/3 of the shelf and then also the entire shelf.
  • And in conjoint, they were primarily faced with different price increase scenarios ranging from 5% increase all the way to 25% increase, but also a size reduction of its tax by 20%.

When looking at conjoint, volume decrease scenarios have low impact on respondents’ behavior. However, virtual shopping data tells a different story. Specifically, if we zoom in on the price sensitive segment, we can see that shoppers are extremely sensitive to any type of shrinkflation, especially in the body wash category.

Chips and dish wash sales are also affected, but primarily when only 1/3 of the packs on the shelf are reduced in size.

Thou shalt not pass price thresholds

Out of four categories we looked at, Bacon is the one impacted the most particularly when the whole category takes a price increase. In our research, we are using today’s pack sizes and prices, however it is important to consider the historical record of the bacon category fluctuation over the last couple of decades to fully understand the shift.

Last year, our study showed little to no impact, presumably because the prices skyrocketed in 2021 and 2022; the consumers were desensitized. However, this year in the scenario where the price was increased by another 25% on top of the already high price, data shows that the consumers walked away from the category at this point.

For each of the categories, there are thresholds – and for bacon, we are nearly there.

Want to know more? Check out the full webinar featuring Heather Graham (Director Client Service @ EyeSee), Sasa Radojevic (Sr Shopper Insight Manager @ EyeSee), and experienced retailer & Awarded 2022 Top Women in Grocery (TWiG) Raina Rusnak.

    Spicing the plant-based market up: The rise of alternative protein among consumers

    Posted on by EyeSee Research

    Written by Mirna Djuric, Innovation Director at EyeSee.

    Get access to the full plant-based study report at
    [email protected].

    Vegan-friendly products are gaining popularity despite the almost equal and opposite force of the increasing popularity of keto and other high-protein diets. How will we combine the two? Cue: alternative protein.

    We’ve seen sales of alternative protein products increase steadily over past years, but how is the category developing – are vegans finally getting options for a variety of diets or are regular meat eaters dipping their toes into vegan foods?We ran a passive tracking study following the online behavior of 75 meat eaters over a period of 3 months in the United States. With their permission, we recorded their browsing histories and selected food-related online behavior. Here’s what we found.

    More about Passive Tracking:

    Passive Tracking is the first step in the holistic understanding of the consumers’ path to purchase. This exploratory phase provides us with valuable insights into consumers’ natural behavior (not claimed) when searching the category and brands online. After consumers’ consent, we are able to analyze respondents browsing history in the past 30, 60, or even 90 days. Passive Tracking provides answers to some of the most common client questions related to category online behavior:

    • Which touchpoints are most frequently visited when searching for category online – retail websites, expert websites, brand/corporate websites?
    • What is the typical number of visits?
    • Where do visitors come from (which websites)?
    • Where do they land on the retailer’s website?
    • What are the most relevant search terms and queries in the category?

    A whopping 43% of shoppers are interested in plant-based

    That is to say that plant-based products are a far cry from being a specialty food intended for vegans, but quite the contrary – it is an everyday food choice among many others regular consumers make. To confirm this finding, we asked 1000 respondents directly through a questionnaire whether they have tried these products and if they are willing to – recording a similar result, we found that ~35% of consumers have already purchased and consumed plant-based products, while another 40% are willing to do so. Great potential is still out there to grow the category further. Given our findings, there are reasons not to keep plant-based products anymore in specialty aisles, moving them to the regular aisles next to their animal-based counterparts would benefit consumers and brands alike.

    Speaking from a climate change perspective, animal products are among the top 3 culprits contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, and after all, we don’t need a handful of people doing the change completely, but we need billions doing it partially – these findings suggest we may be on the right course.

    A reason to curb optimism: plant-based related online behavior, albeit widespread, is still under around 1.5% of all meat and food-related visits these consumers had. This is quite a small percentage that will hopefully grow in the future, but for now, we can consider this a trial behavior among meat eaters.

    Shoppers both learn and buy the category at the same place – retailer website

    Retailers’ websites are the most visited addresses related to plant-based products. 65% of the sample we followed visited an online retailer in search of vegan/plant-based products, with little research beforehand or after the visit. Retailers’ websites are probably very good at both informing the consumer and selling the product at the same time. If brands are looking for where to start reaching out to shoppers, their own PDP on popular retailers is already a good choice.

    Around a third of the sample visited any food-related blogs searching for information on plant-based alternatives, and even fewer went through search engines like Google or Bing. Given the nature of visited blogs (most of them recipe blogs), consumers most likely encounter a product on a retailer’s website and search for recipes and inspiration on blogs.

    Restaurants are still growing in representation, with only 10% of the plant-based visitations, but it is comforting to know they are being explored for plant-based options too. We may expect this will grow as the category gains importance.

    Dairy is still king in the plant-based food category, but full meals out-beat meat

    Meals like soups, chilis, curries, and burritos are even more frequently searched for than meat substitutes, which may be an effect of familiarity. These are still majorly the same meals we’re used to with one or two ingredients switched out. A plant-based burger patty, sausage, or chicken nuggets may be expected to have a too different of a flavor, so it may be saved for latter trials.

    Dairy is still the most frequently searched and a good entry point to the category. This may well be a spillover from brick-and-mortar, where dairy plant-based products were the first ones to earn a spot in regular aisles. From what we see, they carved themselves a space next to animal dairy in consumers’ minds too.

    Mainstream brands should step up the plant-based game

    Plant-based specialty brands are still the most popular, there is space for mainstream brands to innovate in plant-based options.

    When looking at which PDPs shoppers visited for plant-based products, the top of the table is still reserved for native plant-based brands. Not as unexpected, keeping in mind that although many brands invest in plant-based products, not many of them are mainstream USA brands, according to the FAIRR report.

    For brands considering entering the category with new products – think about known (familiar) products where only one ingredient is animal-based. Personal health is still more important than environmental impact (based on researched topics in the sample), so when it comes to communication, it should be emphasized first.

    And, of course, if unsure how will the targeted audience react, testing is the way, regardless of the product’s development stage. Testing can help while still prioritizing ideas, selecting concepts for further development, and of course, when the product is fully developed, including packaging.

    In conclusion

    We can safely conclude baby steps toward the popularization of alternative protein options have been made: a significant portion of people have already tried them together, with a big portion having a low barrier towards the category. This gives a good reason for developing more plant-based options targeted at mainstream shoppers, the whole category is ready to exit specialty aisles as well as decrease the premium pricing it often encompasses.

    There is a way to go still: although wide, interest in plant-based protein is not deep, which we can expect to change in the future as options grow and more mainstream brands innovate in the category.

      One approach: Ten studies that pushed the boundaries of consumer research

      Posted on by EyeSee Research

      EyeSee is turning 10 this year! To celebrate this decade of insights, innovation, and studies that pushed us forward – we have collected and hand-picked our most memorable studies and learnings over the years. From projects with clients like Twitter and Smurfit Kappa to self-funded studies tackling topics we knew were worth exploring – strap in for an insightful journey ahead as we look back at the 10 behavioral projects that helped us grow, expand our knowledge and tech and ultimately transform the approach to traditional consumer research:

      1. Getting sustainable products just right

      86% of consumers want to go more eco-friendly – so what’s stopping them? In this study, we set out to understand how brands could support their consumers by developing powerful communication and product claims and identifying categories that lack ‘greener’ alternatives – with quite a complex behavioral framework. The comprehensive undertaking included an in-depth look into who the green buyers are, which claims are most appropriate for use on product packs, and what makes an impactful kind of social media posts work best to inspire eco behavior and more!

      2. The price of consumer confidence under inflationary pressures

      With the transforming global and economic climate came shaken consumer confidence – and the high price points on the store shelves are palpable to both shoppers and marketers. The previous experiences with recession periods showcased that shoppers react differently across categories and markets making it clear that it is vital to feeling the consumer pulse in the changing setting. So to help brands operate in it, we turned towards understanding the current shopper behavior and assessing the best strategies to cope with ongoing inflation for both CPG and retailers – like, when do consumers opt to stay loyal to the brand and when do they switch to the alternatives?

      3. A tree is best known by its consumer decisions

      Do you know how shoppers decide which product ends up in their cart? We wanted to know too! So to do that, a behavioral component was added to well-known research tools: decision trees. This led to a complex meta-analysis on over 35000 respondents from dozens of projects across FMCG industries – which also included a comparison of survey results and virtual shopping data to determine just how unreliable surveys can be in mapping out consumer decision-making. Learn just how different behavioral decision trees are different to standard studies, what it takes to extract the biggest ROI from decision tree research and who benefits the most from these studies – and why trusting what consumers say is much more dangerous than you might think!

      4. Hitting the mark on socially conscious advertising

      Great social media content has the power to trigger a reaction in under 2.8 seconds and significantly impact brand perception. Yet when it comes to socially conscious advertising – getting the right tone and message can be a hit or, more often than not, a miss. So, our best researchers turned to behavioral insights to uncover just how crisis messaging should be done and how it affects brand equity. Check out the results of one of the most extensive mobile behavioral studies that was conducted on 1800 respondents in a simulated Instagram environment and learn how to nail your brand’s communication while tackling highly important social topics.

      5. Driving sales with in-store display optimization practices

      Just how powerful are point-of-sales displays in the store? Well, they can boost sales by as much as 20% when done right. We joined forces with Smurfit Kappa to pinpoint what drives in-store visibility, attention, likability and share of shoppers – by testing more than 400 POS materials on +60,000 shoppers across 15 countries worldwide. As it turns out, the best-performing display is 4 times more visible and could increase purchases 7 times more efficiently than the worst-performing ones. So, if you are developing in-store material that needs catch the attention in a crowded supermarket – these best practices are for you!

      6. The secret behavioral sauce of successful innovation

      Every brand knows the staggering statistic that over 90% of new products and innovations fail when launched – but the pressure to continue the development never ceases. To empower brands in their innovation endeavors, our team of researchers sought to showcase what a Market share estimation study looks like. What the study on introducing and measuring the success of a new product aimed to do was verify how the behavioral NPD solution fares against real-life sales data. If you have new products in your pipeline, this study is a must-read as it covers:

      • How to leverage the latest behavioral tech to ensure a successful new product launch
      • The new product opportunities to tap into in both brick and mortar and across digital platforms
      • All the crucial steps brands should take when going into innovation development

      7. From in-context testing to winning social media ads

      As news around Meta, TikTok and now Twitter continues to take the headlines by storm, the already tumultuous space of social media, where users scroll at a speed of 1-3 posts per second, has raised new concerns for advertisers and marketers. But, some social media best practices are evergreen. And so we have compiled a data-driven guide for making sure your ads are worth the investment and more importantly, captivating for the viewers. Since there are so many different things to have in mind when starting to test your social media ads, we have also included the most impactful things you should focus on from the start and which ones you can include if your budget allows it!

      8. The precious 6-second ads w/ Twitter

      Social media feeds are one of the hardest clutters for brands to break through – especially with the ever-growing percentage of mobile users. With this challenge in mind, we teamed up with Twitter to determine the optimal ad-viewing length by replicating Twitter feeds and studying user behavior in a controlled environment with reliable behavioral methods. The learnings were game-changing and led to Twitter introducing the 6-second biddable video ads on their platform! The study uncovered that these short-form and branded videos, with the sound turned off, have a much stronger ad recall on mobile than traditional TV commercials we are used to seeing – revolutionizing the way advertisers approach social media ads.

      9. Wrap it up with some holiday insights

      How will inflation impact this holiday season? Regardless of the current sentiment, many are expecting growth in sales numbers. And from festive advertising to online and store touchpoints, there are plenty of opportunities to get shoppers into the holiday purchasing spirit! We compiled our best behavioral learnings (did you know that using logos in festive ads boasts a 133% higher brand recall?) from multiple advertising, shopper and digital studies with a goal to help prepare your strategies for 2023 – cause we know that omnichannel optimization and a seamless cross-channel experience is something that is vital for success with shoppers all year round!

      10. Twitter’s look into the powerful role of gender in sports ads

      How does gender portrayal in (sports) ads impact the performance of the creative? To uncover what it means for brands to tap into uncharted territories with their advertising, we once again joined forces Twitter and explored the impact of gender representation in sports ads – and found some unexpected results, such as:

      • Women are taking the lead – both traditional and non-traditional gender roles in ads outperform their male counterparts
      • Ads with male athletes just don’t do the trick anymore! They’re less credible and empowering – men are looking for more relatable role models
      • Cultural relevance is crucial to a consumer’s purchase decision and correlates with performance on brand effect metrics


        Forecasting innovation success: The power of NPD market share projection

        Posted on by EyeSee Research

        The pressure of launching an NPD is something every company eventually faces – and with massive investments in new product development, many brands might forgo the NPD efforts, especially during economic pressures. But uncertain times have proven to be the mother of innovation, and now is the time to think about pushing out new products and tapping into the changing consumer needs.

        Check out Marija Djordjevic (Product Director) and Milica Kovac (Product Manager) on this latest NPD Market Share Projection framework designed to estimate the in-market success of newly developed products by leveraging virtual environments:

        What is the crucial first step in NPD testing?

        One of the most important steps in every research study is Screening. Recruiting the right target audience is critical – especially for a new product launch strategy. That’s why necessary steps to pinpoint the right target audience for each study and do so diligently.

        Nowadays, most automated research platforms on the market only allow researchers to pick category shoppers, at best. Driven by this, we ensured our solution is highly customizable and tailored to each study – by adding more granular subcategory criteria, including usage frequency, understanding brand awareness and openness to purchasing the new product, and even filtering the geolocation in some cases. With every added testing criteria, the potential risk of a new launch gets smaller.

        On top of this, with the remote research approach, we can conduct studies in over 40 countries across the globe via respondents’ mobile or desktop devices – enabling our clients to tap into any market.

        How does this solution ensure in-store and digital innovation success?

        As the world of e-commerce continues to take the world by storm, more and more brands have been on a mission to establish their online presence. So, it goes without saying that nowadays, most new products end up on both the in-store and digital shelves. But what works in digital might not have the same impact in B&M, and vice versa.

        And this is where the contextual research of our NPD solution comes into play. Given that our tests are conducted remotely and on respondents’ devices to enable the findings’ scalability, developing highly realistic yet virtual shopping environments was essential. So, when it comes to new product launches in stores, we are able to recreate any store or retail environment with high accuracy, allowing shoppers to buy products as they normally would. With eye tracking, we can also measure respondents’ eye gazes to understand what they are or are not looking at and if they are noticing the new product on the shelf.

        The same goes for e-commerce – we can develop websites or webpage mock-ups such as Amazon, Target, Kroger – and let respondents shop and explore as they do in real life while we collect data about their shopping behavior.

        Having the ability and agility to put them in such a context that feels familiar and authentic and do so remotely for any market is undoubtedly the key player in estimating the success of any new product launch strategy.

        Why is a sequential monadic approach king in innovation testing?

        In order to really capture the switching behavior and potential cannibalization effects, EyeSee’s NPD solution rests on the premise of having the same people make two shopping purchases, one in a competitive environment before the new product introduction and then another one with a new product launched and implemented on the shelves or webpages.

        Of course, there can be certain bottlenecks with this approach, which is why it was crucial to develop tactics that overcome the potential downsides of sequential design – such as putting a cognitive load on people’s working memory with different memory tasks between purchases, exposing them to marketing materials, catalogs or newsletters with the NPD incorporated, etc.

        What does an NPD study entail and uncover?

        To help you paint the picture of what a Market share estimation study for brick and mortar looks like, we have conducted an NPD study that aimed to verify the EyeSee NPD solution against real-life sales data. Just like any NPD, the tested product had a specific proposition: it came from a beloved and trusted brand that’s a category leader but aimed to enter a completely new space – the breakfast category. With its type of packaging and position on the shelf, this product represented an alternative to instant oatmeal breakfasts.

        Just a few months before our study, the new product hit the shelves on the local market, allowing us to longitudinally follow the development of its sales on the one hand and conduct the study among consumers unaware of its existence on the other. This, in turn, provided the insights that confirmed our NPD solution based on virtual shelves, gives a reliable estimate of real NPD sales in the first year of launch.

        Additionally, the switching analysis on SKU level uncovered that not only oatmeals but some less expected breakfast categories also represent a relevant competition to this NPD. Consumers don’t switch within the same product category and same packaging type, but within the same flavor, same price range and consumption purpose.

        Interested in maximizing your new product development success? Reach out to us!

            Feeling the consumer pulse: Confidence and sentiment amid crisis

            Posted on by EyeSee Research

            As reports of the plunging consumer confidence continue to emerge in the developing global situation and inflation becomes a challenge across the world – the critical question for marketers and businesses is: what will be the impact on shoppers’ behavior? In a comprehensive study, our team took a closer look at the shifting sentiment in new circumstances using a tech-driven approach leveraging virtual shopping.

            This is part two of a three-part series on global inflation and its impact on consumer confidence – check out part one and get the full report!

            How did we approach this complex question?

            The first wave of this study focused on the US market – but stay tuned for EU results! In order to gain an in-depth insight into consumer confidence, the study included two separate samples. One group was exposed to virtual shopping exercises, while the other sample completed a conjoint exercise – both followed by the same survey aimed to identify new patterns of behavior and understand shoppers’ perspectives on the current situation.

            When the prices change, consumers behave differently

            As inflation brings on new challenges for both businesses and consumers, many brands across industries are faced with pressures to change parts of their businesses in order to combat the effects of the uncertain economic environment. One such strategy is increasing their prices – but this comes with certain risks. For instance, if just some brands increase their costs and it is possible for shoppers to compare the price tags on the shelf, we’ve seen that the most price-sensitive ones walk away from the shelf. However, when the whole category increases the prices, comparison shopping makes the differences in pricing less obvious, so consumer behavior remains consistent. Another factor to keep in mind is how frequently a product is bought – and the changes across these categories are not to be amiss.

            Low frequency category: Body wash and dish detergent

            A noticeable trend for the low-frequency category is that shoppers tend to opt for a smaller package within the same brand. So, when deciding on a body wash and dishwashing detergent, they do stick with a brand they already trust but choose smaller volume packs. On top of this, the findings uncovered that the most significant drop in demand for this category was exactly with the bigger packages from the best-selling brands.

            What is important to remember here is when the best-selling brands are the ones taking the price increase, they stand to see the impact the most – but here the good news is that pack size can still play a role in consumer decision-making. 

            High frequency category: Bacon and Chips

            What happens when  the prices increase for the products that get purchased more frequently? We have noticed a general switch towards alternatives and exploration of different brands​ that didn’t change the costs. So, when talking about chips, most shoppers are quick to jump to a different brand altogether – and since there is a great variety of these products, they’re easily replaced. Therefore, price increase leads to a significant drop in brands’ penetration when 1/3 of the brands increase

            Another reason for the change in consumer behavior might be that the prices are more aligned across the category, so the price increase is easily noticed (3.99 or 3.59 as the standard price).

            Interestingly, the bacon category didn’t see ANY changes – there was no sensitivity to price increases, no switching between brands and the best-sellers remained the best, and some performed even better when the prices jumped.

            Volume changes are risky business

            So, if the price increases, shoppers tend to go for the smaller packs. But, does this mean that brands should decrease the sizes of their products? Well, this tactic can be risky in the long run since consumers might feel tricked if not properly communicated. 

            But there are 2 scenarios where it could be done – if all the brands in a category align and decrease the volumes at the same time OR there is such variation across the category that it’s really not possible to compare the different sizes easily. Overall, volume decreases are another strategy brands could leverage to tackle times of crisis, but keep in mind that consumers become more sensitive to any changes during these periods, so decreasing the volumes without transparent communication could lead to frustration.

            Shoppers would rather skip buying than go for Private Label

            Even when high inflationary pressures do not affect the everyday life of consumers, the biggest challenge brands have to deal with is remaining competitive – especially with the growing penetration of private label brands. With the appealing prices combined with the on-par quality of shopper-favorite products, private label packs have been making their way into consumer carts more and more over the last years.

            Now, in the changed global setting with higher price points, it would be expected that consumers would gravitate even more towards PL brands that are friendlier to their wallets. However, as mentioned above, shoppers actually prefer to stick to the brand they already use rather than trying to find alternatives and switching to a completely new private label product. 

            This is particularly true for the low frequency category – since consumers buy these less regularly and the tested products were for personal care, it makes sense that they want to continue to buy the ones they trust and know perform well. More good news for brands is that the findings showed that sales for the private labels actually stay consistent throughout different price increase scenarios – meaning there is no migration of shoppers!

            If you want to hear how experts at Kraft Heinz are navigating the crisis, make sure you check out the entire webinar:

                Keeping up with the latest crisis: Consumer confidence and pricing sensitivity

                Posted on by EyeSee Research

                Co-written by Vinay Rao, New Business Development Director, APAC at EyeSee. 

                Two years into the pandemic, the world is faced with another crisis – and the shake in consumer confidence could be felt across all markets. As the gas prices reach record highs, so do the concerns about the cost of daily lives. The long lines at the supermarkets at the start of the pandemic were replaced by queues at the gas stations across the world. The surge in consumer confidence was evident. So what is the first step brands should take to stay on top of this new global complex environment?

                Every crisis has unique qualities

                All the new pressures of this crisis have led to similar challenges brands had to make two years ago – shortages, supply chain issues, and consequently, prioritization of product distribution. Due to this, brands had to make complex decisions in terms of trimming their portfolio, reducing pack sizes and counts, or shifting pricing at the same time.

                Relying on past data is simply not an option now when pricing sensitivity is fluctuating and consumer confidence is unstable. Although previous experiences with different recession periods showed us the various consumer reactions across categories – it is brands’ reactions that are also changing the market landscape.

                Shifting pricing and sensitivity

                One of the go-to ways brands have been navigating crisis is by adjusting their pricing strategies due to production and raw material costs. But the biggest question lies in how does this impact consumer behavior? We’ve seen reports of prices doubling up across all industries, and consumers were spending more on groceries and items than the previous year until inflation – but now are mostly resorting to cost-saving measures and new purchase behavior. And our latest study showed that when 1/3 of products prices increase – price sensitive shoppers drop out and the value share decreases.

                In the current climate of uncertainty, even loyal consumers can seek more cost-effective options. So, prices shouldn’t be the only thing that changes – rethinking the approach to promotions and marketing is a necessary step brands must take to ensure consumer trust.

                Volume and size changes

                Under the inflationary pressure, another strategy manufacturers and brands are opt for is reducing pack sizes and product volumes. Because the price of production of individual SKUs increased, downsizing products and distributing lower volume standards is a safe bet for brands – but this can be risky in the long run. However, our comprehensive study uncovered that there are two situations when it makes sense.

                An effective way to de-risk the impact of both volume and price changes on shopper behavior is to understand how to feel consumers’ pulse in the right context and showcase the brand’s value beyond price.

                Behavioral methods such as virtual stores offer precise insights into a realistic model of consumer behavior. In order to get a better understanding of the current buying behavior, EyeSee tested 4 different product categories in various shopping scenarios – including price and volume changes.

                  Virtual shopping: Why some categories are leaders in the green change – and how to become one

                  Posted on by EyeSee Research

                  Why do consumers opt to buy some products more than others – especially in the arena of sustainable alternatives? The truth is that the demand is there – 86% of consumers are open to trying more eco-friendly products! So, why don’t brands venture out and build more alternatives that satisfy that green consumer need?

                  In the final installment of the study on sustainable products, we focused on how different sustainable product categories perform on the shelf – and what it means for brands that are in the process of developing sustainable products.

                  Here are the previous parts of this comprehensive study:

                  Part 1: The green horizon: An intro to the green buyer and how to measure eco behavior
                  Part 2: Walk your talk: Strategies for choosing your sustainable product claims wisely
                  Part 3: Social media impact: How much does social media content impact actual shopping?
                  Part 4: Virtual shopping: Why some categories are leaders in change, and how to become one

                  Here’s a digest of the study set-up – The study included a curated selection of tested stimuli in replicated Facebook timelines with a scrollable feed, where in-context performance of all the posts tackling plastic pollution was tracked – and followed by standalone exposure. As explained in the previous installment, a mix of eye tracking and facial coding uncovered emotional engagement and visibility of social media content. This part was then followed by a virtual shopping task, where four different product categories were exposed to the respondents (energy bars, shower gel, toothbrushes, and toothpaste). There were six testing cells in total, with two control ones in which the respondents did not have exposure to the social media timelines but only completed a Virtual shopping exercise – to compare the effect of content tackling this very topic.  

                  Personal care products impact the whole eco-category

                  The purchases in the personal care category (toothbrush and toothpaste) were by far the most influenced by eco-aware advertising. Shoppers exposed to the scientific social media posts were considering and buying more ECO toothbrush products compared to the mass media, celebrity-endorsed and posts from the control cell 1.​ The respondents from both control cells were buying more regular, non-eco products than cells exposed to the scientific posts – indicating that when consumers don’t see their potential impact on the environment, they are not going to take action.

                  Interestingly, the personal care category is the only one in which not only the package is sustainable – but also the product itself. And on top of this, the packages of these products were clearly distinctive from regular products in terms of shapes, materials, design, making it easy for shoppers to spot them on the shelves. However, even though the virtual shopping task in control cell 1 featured shelf stickers that should make it easier for consumers to identify eco-products in the store, there are no significant differences in the findings compared to control cell 2, which had none. But this is where both retailers and brands can make all the difference in terms of creating, testing and optimizing in-store materials to help guide the shoppers in the green direction!

                  Another important note is that the toothbrush category had the smallest differences between the average price of ECO vs regular products – which is in line with the findings that the majority of people (50%) would purchase sustainable products if they were the same prices as their regular products. The bottom line is that if brands want to make a real impact, ‘sustainable’ should not become a synonym for premium and that the prices need to remain competitive and accessible to all consumers.

                  Consumers want different options to choose from

                  Aside from being friendly to the environment and the wallet, the tested ECO toothpaste products also included some established brands. We’ve seen that over 27% of shoppers stated they would buy more eco-products if they were from well-known brands, but still, many brands become sustainable players only when the demand for greener alternatives is high. So, while it makes sense to play it safe, it is undeniable that the need for these types of products will only continue to rise as consumers become more and more aware of the green consumerism impact.

                  Being brave and bold in developing new products can have a much higher impact if you are a big brand – and these innovations can reinvent entire categories. However, always keep the customer experience in the center of the product: how can you improve it as you make it more sustainable? Explore new products and categories, and if there are no current sustainable solutions in your category – there is a plethora of space for innovation.

                  So, how to become a leader of the ‘green’ impact? Here’s a handy checklist of our experts’ recommendations:

                  Ready to launch a winning sustainable product? Reach out to us at [email protected]!

                    Riding the wave of change: Building competitive and sustainable products

                    Posted on by EyeSee Research

                    Sustainability, climate change, and plastic pollution are the big, unavoidable issues we need to face in our lifetime. To solve them, we need to act fast and communicate in a smart way. Brands have the power to both help the cause and develop sought-after and future-proof products that are more sustainable – and that people want to shop for. However, the way we communicate about these issues is a challenging feat! Many new product strategies miss the mark, don’t affect sales, or are labeled as greenwashing.

                    EyeSee set out to contribute to this burning issue with a complex behavioral study, in order to get a better understanding of a dozen different questions spanning several areas of thought. This blog is the first in a 4 part series, so strap in for a hilly, albeit hopeful ride across the complicated ‘green’ product landscape – check out the second installment here!

                    Here’s what this comprehensive research covers and that will be published in the upcoming months:

                    Part 1: The green horizon: An intro to the green buyer and how to measure eco behavior
                    Part 2: Walk your talk: Strategies for choosing your sustainable product claims wisely
                    Part 3: Social media impact: How much does social media content impact actual shopping?
                    Part 4: Virtual shopping: Why some categories are leaders in change, and how to become one

                    If you want to learn more about the results, request a full deck with an exclusive look into the study methodology, tested stimuli, and the resulting data below!

                    Here are some of the things you will learn in this series:

                    • Will different types of social media posts on plastic pollution impact behavior when shopping for more Eco-friendly packaging/products?
                    • What anti-pollution claims are most appropriate for use on product packs?
                    • What kind of posts work best in terms of keeping attention, evoking emotions, evoking positive attitudes, and calling to action?
                    • What do shoppers think about plastic pollution (do they believe they can contribute personally)?

                    Let’s dive into Part 1!

                    The green buyers – a growing minority you need to be talking to

                    The majority of today’s shoppers believe that pollution of air, water and soil is one of the most relevant threats when it comes to environmental preservation (47% considers it very relevant and 41% relevant = 88% T2B). Pollution is rated as the most relevant among other environmental threats (such as global warming, deforestation, ozone depletion, overpopulation, and even the public health crisis), and additionally, waste disposal is perceived as a very relevant threat (82% T2B). Despite these high numbers, only 34% of shoppers think they personally can contribute to a large extent to solving the problem of pollution. (For waste disposal, 44% believe the same).

                    Here’s how this awareness and attitudes play out when it comes to products they buy.

                    Now, onto the shoppers: we identified three key segments of shoppers, based on their behavior in the study, as well as their stated attitudes.

                    Female shoppers, those with higher education and higher income, were more likely to consider eco-friendly products. This speaks to the need to work on eliminating the high price barrier to purchasing these products, to reach a bigger population.

                    Key challenge and opportunity lie in this fact: 27% of shoppers would buy more eco-products if they were from well-known brands. Price is an extremely important factor as well – the majority of people (46%) would purchase eco-friendly products if they were the same price as their regular products, and only 4% of shoppers would pay much more money to get eco-friendly alternatives for their everyday products.

                    Values and prices rule the game, but demographics have a say, too

                    So, what did we find when it comes to your average eco-conscious buyer? One thing stands out: When targeting consumers, focus both on lifestyle + values segmentation and demographics. Age and gender are not the most fundamental indicators of receptiveness to this type of offering. Think about addressing their motivations as you craft your messaging and product claims.

                    For you, Segment 1, the True ECO buyers, should be the priority to have in mind when first venturing in this area:

                    • An easier start is by targeting female shoppers or product categories where they spend their time. Start building your eco portfolio in premium segments where the price is not the main criteria/barrier to purchase – this is very important as for them, the true cost of consumer choices is much broader than the product price. With an awareness of these issues, they evaluate every element of their transactions – is the packaging sustainable, where did it come from, what are the policies like for the workers who made it, and how long will it last. This equation means they are much more discerning of all the elements surrounding each purchase.
                    • You will have strong competition in terms of product/pack design and attractiveness, as for this segment, it is still an important purchase influence. They have their minds set on buying sustainably – but like regular consumers, they still want to have a choice between different brands and products in any given category. This decision will often come down to who attracts attention and which packaging is more likable, and as the market matures, there will be more and more to choose from.

                    When it comes to the second segment, who on the surface claim they want green alternatives – are actually on the lookout for convenience first. They are all about their favorite, trusted brands, which also holds the key to success:

                    • These people are after no-hassle-shopping – if you make sustainable products more available, they will try them. Remember, the majority of shoppers won’t put in extra effort to find ECO alternatives – if you make it as easy for them to choose your sustainable variants, you can tap into this huge pool of consumers, and play the key role of swaying them towards a more mindful way of shopping.
                    • This is a great opportunity for established brands to offer eco alternatives, as these respondents care about brand credibility, and would much rather try a new product from a familiar brand than trusting a newcomer. A fantastic example of this is Colgate-Palmolive and its expansion into greener territory. Having a trusted brand is reassuring and good for the bottom line.

                    The third segment still requires awareness.

                    • Communicating with them is an investment for the long run – they first need to learn more about the topic to be converted into Segment 2 and then Segment 1 buyers.

                    Capturing and understanding behavior across channels

                    This study is an ambitious amalgam of methods, approaches, and variables that strives to find connections between marketing communications and actual real-life behavior. The team has set up this with 4 very different product categories – toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gels and energy bars – which are at different stages of maturity when it comes to sustainability in their market offering.

                    By utilizing innovative methods such as eye-tracking and facial coding to uncover emotional engagement and visibility, paired with virtual shopping, and more traditional methods such as Max diff claim evaluation and survey, the team was able to generate a wealth of actionable insights, valuable for big and small brands alike, across categories.
                    Our researchers conducted all the analysis, combined and cross-referenced implicit and explicit KPIs, as well as other splits based on demographics. This is how we compiled the guidance for brands to craft product strategies based on this data.
                    The study is a trove of findings – but the resounding theme is about making green choices more accessible to consumers, both in the way they are presented and in the way they are communicated about. Open, humanized, and hopeful communication is key to inspiring action!

                    Next up, learn about how different categories fared in a virtual shopping exercise in the study.

                    Part 2 coming soon!

                      Experts’ guide to 2022: Innovation, sustainability and collecting the right data

                      Posted on by EyeSee Research

                      This year has brought new approaches to market research for many global brands, and the shift was felt across all industries – but keeping up with the latest trends is no easy task. To help brands get ready for 2022, we handpicked 5 tips from the top experts from Microsoft, Google, Swiggy, Coca-Cola, and Colgate-Palmolive that tackle the innovation process, sustainability, and approaches to collecting consumers’ data in the next year. Let’s dive in!

                      The blog before you is just a sneak-peak into EyeSee’s annual publication filled with 40+ industry insights, top experts’ perspectives and handy advice for the year ahead – and beyond. Stay tuned!

                      Tip #1 When in doubt, go behavioral

                      When lockdowns and restrictions hindered in-store shopping – collecting consumer data became a challenge on its own. To surpass it, tech powerhouse Google sought new ways to obtain reliable consumer learnings – by adopting a behavioral and remote approach to research. Research Lead Southern Europe at Google, Tiphaine Goisbeault, reflected on how user behavior has evolved and is now more complex than ever – and to stay on top of it, the need for innovation became a crucial component at Google. With this in mind, finding space for innovation at every step – while respecting user privacy and vendors’ safety – means opening new areas of thought, challenging well-known marketing frameworks, or testing new methodologies to improve operational marketing.

                      Tip #2 Embrace the small company mindset

                      When approaching innovation and product development, Tanja Petrović, The Coca-Cola Company’s Insights Strategy Director, believes there are a few key things small companies are acing – that big brands can learn from. First of all – the agile approach. As Tanja put it, it is something that the big systems could not say was one of their key advantages in the past, but are now heavily learning to apply many agile principles in the way they operate. Secondly, the uncertainty – especially during the pandemic but also beyond, is something small companies are successfully managing on a day-to-day basis.

                      Having a super-efficient yet authentic vision and mission with a purpose is another way small innovators are changing the game. Larger companies tend to gravitate towards wide portfolios to cover different business needs, making it challenging to stay focused on the vision and mission. Then there is high engagement internally among the employees and externally, especially with the consumers. Tanja believes smaller brands can especially be proud of the consistent interaction with their consumer – and then basing their business model on that interaction. And finally – alternative channels. Big companies usually tend to go to the mainstream channels to distribute products, while smaller companies are going the other way around and plugging into the alternative channels to build the brand and the product there.

                      Tip #3 Start with what’s comfortable, but build on it

                      Speaking of innovation – Senior Manager Market Research at Microsoft, Krista Bradley touched upon how many companies lack the courage to take that first step. A lot of times, the challenge in doing innovative research lies in the fact that stakeholders lean towards the rinse and repeat approach to avoid risks. Here’s how Krista always finds the room for innovation – while thinking a couple of steps ahead of what the stakeholder’s needs:

                      Tip #4 Tap into the sustainable arena

                      As the demand for more sustainable alternatives keeps increasing – so are the opportunities for brands to develop these sought-after products. According to Cherie Leonard (Foresight and Sustainability Insights, NA Division at Colgate-Palmolive), the first step to making sustainable products truly competitive is to understand the job that needs to be done – the product has to fit the consumer’s experience, or they won’t use it even if it’s the most sustainable option.

                      Tip #5 Combine different types of data for a full picture

                      So, how to approach research in 2022? As technology keeps changing the way of collecting data, many diverse research fields are working together to gather actionable insights. Omnath Killekar, Product and Consumer Insights at Swiggy, reflects on the relationship between insights gained from consumer research and those obtained from passive data. As he explained, these are two types of data: primary research data and the data we have from internal systems (from the funnel conversion, etc.). While both types are vital for researchers, the real magic happens when you understand how to marry the two data sets – to obtain a 360° view of consumer behavior. 

                      Interested in more insightful perspectives to help steer your 2022? Make sure you check out some advice from our senior top experts!

                        Walk your talk: Choosing sustainable product claims wisely

                        Posted on by EyeSee Research

                        ‘Eco-friendly’, ‘zero-waste, ‘100% recyclable’ – we’ve all seen them on that small section of supermarket shelves, but do these claims have the power to impact consumer behavior?

                        This is the second part of the comprehensive study on building sustainable yet competitive products that get picked out on the shelf. Here are the upcoming parts that will be published in the following months:

                        Part 1: The green horizon: An intro to the green buyer and how to measure eco behavior
                        Part 2: Walk your talk: Strategies for choosing your sustainable product claims wisely
                        Part 3: Social media impact: How much does social media content impact actual shopping?
                        Part 4: Virtual shopping: Why some categories are leaders in change, and how to become one

                        If venturing out to the eco-market, knowing your core audience is a must. In part one, we tackled the 3 shopper segments and what drives their (un)willingness to buy sustainably. But beyond understanding how these groups shop and what their incentives are – it is essential to understand how to effectively communicate your product to each segment and help the fight for ecological issues. This is where product claims come into play – they are great real-estate to not only communicate your product’s benefits and in a way negotiate the purchase, but also to directly state what exactly it is doing to make a green impact.

                        Clear claims for the big win

                        In the still novel landscape of green products, well-performing product claims are still finding their way to the consumer. In this study, the most common claims that can be found on sustainable products were evaluated using MaxDiff to understand how relevant and clear they are to the consumer – and to uncover their true potential to make a green impact. Here is how they performed on the two axes:

                        As seen above, one of the clear winners is ‘100% recyclable’– it is direct and clear, so it fared really well on both scales. Although a popular choice by both brands and shoppers, it can often be found in the center of the debate. A lot of product packaging that claims they are recyclable is, in fact, not when a regular consumer typically has no access to specific recycling sites or plants. An interesting note to take is that, although still a better performing claim than the rest, just ‘recyclable’ is seen as less clear and impactful than the former – suggesting that adding a number drives more impact. However, not just any number will work – as claims such as ‘80% less plastic’ is significantly lower on the clarity scale – and not only that, it was also one of that was rated as the least impactful out of the tested claims.

                        ‘Zero waste’ is an interesting one – while it has the potential to be impactful, it ranked low on clarity. This means that although consumers know this term is a good one, they are still confused about how exactly that works, but by making it clearer as to how exactly the product is zero waste, you can boost the impact on consumer behavior.  What is definite is that the worst-performing claims are the ones that are vague in how they are helping the cause – just stating Eco impact (G-A+), Sustainable or Eco-friendly is not enough to sway purchase decisions of eco-conscious shoppers.

                        It is important to note that none of the claims made to the top left quadrant – meaning if a claim is not clear, it will not make any impact. So when building a communication strategy for a product claim, prioritize your KPIs:  make sure your claims are clear, direct, and specific in communicating how they contribute to reducing plastic pollution – but use them as a space for educating your consumers.

                        Driving transparency will drive awareness

                        Apart from being clear and relevant to eco-buyers, transparency is an area where brands can really shine through. Oftentimes, what consumers find clear on product packaging is not in fact the most sustainable option. And on top of this, and perhaps ironically, when it comes to using the phrase sustainable alone, it will not do the trick either since consumers might not understand what makes a product truly sustainable. So, by positioning your brand as a trustworthy source of information, your brand can make sure consumers are not only buying what you are selling but are being educated on how they can be responsible for a cleaner environment. As previously covered, levels of eco-awareness among shoppers differ – but through understanding their motivations behind acting green and addressing them specifically, crafting the right messaging and product claims becomes an easier task.

                        But some rules of thumb are: claims that are too general (e.g. ‘sustainable’) and overused (e.g., eco-friendly’) are found to be unclear and less impactful in contributing to pollution cause. If not transparent in how a product is sustainable or good for the environment – shoppers won’t buy into it. Whereas,claims that are direct clear and specific in communicating how they are reducing plastic pollution (e.g., ‘plastic-free’, ‘100% recyclable’, ‘100% biodegradable’) are the best option to place on a product package. 

                        Sustainable doesn’t mean different

                        As with any new product launch, a big part of any brand’s communications strategy is ensuring that the product and the packaging claims are developed just right. Since their influence on consumer decision-making is indisputable, a well-researched and data-led selection of product claims are the ones that will end up on the pack design – so, why treat sustainable products any different? Typically, product claims should be tested with a repertoire of behavioral and traditional methods – MaxDiff followed by a questionnaire will assure that your claim resonates with the consumer, RTM shows how a claim fares on believability and likability, and lastly, eye tracking and virtual shopping measure whether the claims are even seen and the products consequently bought.

                        So remember, going beyond just claims – like any new product that will eventually end up on the shelf, sustainable products should meet the same thorough (behavioral) research faith.

                        Key takeaways:

                        • Product claims are the best area for describing your impact quickly
                        • Clarity is a must – be specific in explaining how you are contributing to solving a specific problem (e.g. ‘plastic-free’/’reusable’)
                        • Avoid being vague – claims such as ‘sustainable’ make it unclear to the consumer about how it is helping the plastic pollution problem
                        • Be brief and direct – avoid using longer copy instead of a claim (such as ‘good for the environment’) and overused phrases (‘eco-friendly’)

                          Thanks for your interest!

                          We”ll get back to you promptly