Ten years ago, who had heard the term “shopper marketing?”  Yet, today, nearly every major brand in the US has an entire department dedicated to “shopper marketing,” and most have departments dedicated to “shopper insights” that support “shopper marketing.”

What has driven this explosive growth? 

Marketers used to reach mass audiences with a national TV campaign.  Today, however, the highest rated TV shows reach just a fraction of the population compared to twenty years ago.

On the other hand, retailers have the ability to “reach” millions of target consumers every day, and they reach these consumers at the point of purchase decision. 

That is not to say that marketing strategies outside of the store are unimportant.  Brand building initiatives remain a critical function to simply garner space in a consumer’s consideration set.   But, marketers have discovered the power of using in-store initiatives (i.e. “shopper marketing”) to close the deal.

Shopper marketing is more than simply a promotional display.  The function encompasses a multitude of marketing levers that can be manipulated in the store… from a product’s packaging (arguably the strongest billboard for a brand), to price and promotions, signage, and even arrangement on the aisle. 

- Implications For Market Research -

As marketers invest more and more in shopper marketing strategies, they are also investing more in “shopper insights” to support the initiatives. 

During a session at the recent ISMI Summit at Hamburger U, a panel convened to discuss the changing ways marketers now address shoppers. Peter Breen of the Institute reports that “PepsiCo's Sonja Mathews described the mission of the nascent Channel & Shopper Research Team that she leads as being an "advocate" for the needs of retailers and shoppers to the company's brands -- not the other way around.” Read more from the event here.

Historically, there was only one viable approach to test in-store initiatives… an in-store test.  But, in-store tests are expensive, take months to complete, cause interruptions in the store, and are limited geographically. 

Today, there is an alternative:  virtual shopping platforms.  Using a virtual environment, marketers can test in-store initiatives quickly and cost-efficiently.