It has become common knowledge that the retail sector is highly competitive and demanding. Consumers are consequently given a wide range of choices, giving them the freedom to decide how they wish to invest their money.

Brands must therefore look into retail market research solutions to find out more information regarding the tastes, habits, behaviors, interactions with rivals, and other factors of the targeted customers.

A retail store (regardless of whether it is online, physical, or hybrid) will have the advantage of better understanding its targeted market and make more informed business choices by surveying or interacting with customers.

To find out how to use consumer data to influence strategy, marketing, and sales, continue reading.

Significance of Retail Market Research

Market research is helpful for retailers to develop or enhance several business activities.

Using custom research studies, retail companies can:

• Strategies for marketing and advertising
• Leveraging social media
• Store layout
• Webpage design
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• Product choices
• Training employee
• Store reward schemes
• Sales and advertising

It is difficult to depend on a particular pattern or what was regarded as most effective just one year back because customers' tastes rapidly shift and improve. For instance, compared to a year earlier, most consumers now have increased standards for customer service.

Popular Reatil Market Research Options

1. Intercept Surveys

One extremely common method of conducting retail market research is using intercept surveys or intercept interviews. An interviewer contacts clients exiting a store during a regular retail intercept survey and typically inquires regarding their shopping experience.

A tablet, laptop, or paper survey can be used to perform intercept interviews and capture the results.

With the advancement of technology, intercept survey firms can also connect with retail customers via smartphone apps and geo-fencing, enabling analysts to target consumers of particular locations or even individuals who purchased during particular times of the day.

Furthermore, eCommerce sites have the capability of using website intercept surveys. This is often done by having a pop-up window where website visitors can do a quick survey regarding their purchase experience.

2. Consumer Segementation

Customer surveys not only gather opinions, but they can also give brands segmentation information. Organizations may send customized marketing messages with a higher conversion rate by segmenting their consumer base into market groups.

Consumer segmentation targets factors like competition, geography, demographics, purchasing habit, characteristics, and behaviors.

Segmenting the customer base as a segment of retail market research helps in rising customer retention, recognizing niche markets, improving ROI with data-based marketing, and better prize optimization.

3. Competitive Research

It's widely known that the retail industry is severely competitive. Retailers are continuously contending with each other since there are so many options available to consumers. All retailers, regardless of size, ought to analyze their competitors.

Market researchers carry out competitive analysis to gather information on rivals using techniques including mystery shopping, primary qualitative or quantitative research, secondary desk research, social media monitoring, and numerous other approaches as they consider appropriate.

Retailers can get a comprehensive understanding of their rivals by using competitive analyses, which are frequently created using the results of these research techniques.

4. Mystery Shopping

There are several factors that influence a consumer's experience at a retail business, including items available or accessibility, store neatness, consumer service experience, store management, sales associate expertise or friendliness, and other factors.

A skilled market researcher pretends as a consumer while conducting a mystery shop. The setting of the retail store, the employees, and any other factors that can affect a consumer's purchasing experience are all examined by the researcher.

A store can examine its business more closely and see where there may be space for development by using mystery shopping.

5. Shop Alongs

Retailers have the ability to comprehend a customer's trip from the entry to the departure of their business via a shop-along market research study.

An experienced interviewer watches a consumer's behavior when they purchase something, including their directions, decision-making process, product choice, and entire shopping experience.

Shop-along gives researchers a rare chance to investigate the psychological elements that influence a consumer's choice-making process. The market researcher can find out why a buyer chose one item over others or skipped an aisle by observing them.

Conclusion

Intercept surveys, mystery shopping, customer segmentation, competition research, and other popular retail market research methods are available. These kinds of market research techniques can be carried out by retailers independently or in combination to produce a thorough research study.

Brands can be comfortable that by engaging with a retail market research firm, they are receiving high-quality feedback that will guide their decision-making process.

Author's Detail:
Aparna Dutta / LinkedIn
Experience in Blog creation, Article Submission and Blog posting. I specialize in writing engaging blog posts for Market research and business insights. A person who believes in the principle of time and works towards perfection.