In-store conversion: How grocery retailers and brands are using technology to drive ROI

Jan 28, 2020

What are the hot brands in my category? Which brands signpost my category to the shopper? How do I maximise in-store conversion for my brands? These are some of the questions we’re answering for brand owners.
How long does it take to shop each category in-store? Where do shoppers want to browse, and where do they just want to grab ‘n’ go? These are some of the questions we’re answering for retailers.

Businesses are focusing on in-store conversion to drive margin

Today’s retail landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Around 18 million shoppers visit our supermarkets every week, and with the emergence of new channels, shoppers have more choice than ever on where to make a purchase. By focusing on driving in-store conversion – by providing better shopping experiences – brands and retailers can deliver significant sales uplift for their categories and brands.

Increasing your shopper buy conversion rate by just 1% can have a massive effect. For example, a 1% increase in buy rates for chocolate biscuits equates to ~$1m per annum.

How do you know where to start?

To make the best investment decisions for your shoppers in your stores, you need to first know how your shoppers are behaving and why. We deliver these essential insights through real-life, point of view footage from 2,000+ shoppers in Coles, Woolworths and other major retailers across grocery, liquor, and P&C.

Our experts turn millions of data points into simple, actionable insights – from the aisle down to SKU level – for businesses looking to maximise conversion for their categories and products. And we benchmark all categories, in all locations.

heatmap

The new way to grab attention instore

Traditionally the best place in-store was at the front; grab the shopper’s attention early in the shop. Now, a typical shopper sequence might be on the ‘race track’; the outer perimeter of the store. So a location at the very back of the store, in some categories, can almost double your opportunity to be seen.

What are the hot brands in your category?

As a brand owner, you may spend millions of dollars designing packs and logos to grab shopper’s attention. We can tell you if this actually drives shoppers to look at your products.

Certain colours in certain categories seem to resonate with shoppers, but what are they? We can tell you.

We track shoppers’ attention and, in most categories, it’s pretty clear who’s winning.

As shoppers are buying more and more for today’s consumption and top-up shops are the norm, we can tell you where in the store is the best place to be positioned to maximise your chances of being seen.

Why aren’t your shoppers converting?

Once you’ve maximised your shopper SEE rate, where in the sales conversion process are you losing shoppers? Do shoppers SEE you but not ENGAGE with you and if they do ENGAGE with you, why do they choose not to BUY? All these things can be unveiled and, once understood, we can start to diagnose how to fix the problem.

With around 18 million shoppers passing through our supermarkets every week, a 1% increase in buy rates for fresh pasta, for example, equates to ~$0.5m per annum.

When you can see how the shopper moves through the store and which products catch their eye, you can answer these key questions.

off-location

Is off-location getting the ROI you need?

Location matters…

What is the best way to layout a category, which segment should come first to maximise sales and trade-up opportunities?

Where exactly in the store are shoppers buying your product; main aisle or gondola end? An ‘off location’ can be a means to an end. Eye-catching locations highlight NPD and embed price perception, but where is the best location for these customer messages?

Shoppers often see the promotional end as a simple answer to an easy buy with a great deal included, sometimes it’s a billboard for what is to come in the main aisle and sometimes it drives totally new consideration. Off location is a big investment for brands, so it’s important to know what will be most effective in helping you achieve your strategic goals – now and in the future.

And finally, the million-dollar question: Does anybody look at my POS…? We’ve had some groundbreaking results from our POS work with retailers, which has redefined the businesses’ investment strategies.

Come and talk to our experts

Store Impact is the global first in automated in-store observations and the only automated analysis that benchmarks what shoppers see, where they go and what they do, in all categories throughout the total store.

We’d love to share our findings and help you drive in-store conversion of your brands and categories!

Author: Caroline Burgess, Senior Insights Director, Shopper Intelligence ANZ

Enquire here or contact Nancy.truscott@shopperintelligence.com.au to find out more