190247660 unilever how to do a store visit

8/12/2019 190247660 Unilever How to Do a Store Visit

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How to do better store visits

Learning to look through our shoppers eyes


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Its all about perspective, asking why, and how we

judge

What does HEsee?

What does HEthink?

What does HEfeel?

What does SHEsee?

What does SHEthink?

What does SHEfeel?


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There are three ways to improve:

1. Take a different perspective:You need to step

outside of who you are and become one of them.

2. The power of asking Why:Just observing something is useless. We needto ask ourselves why did she do thator why is that good. We must form

hypothesis to be proven, or disproven.

3. The way we judge:We must appraise what we see

impartially. The shopper merit is determined by the

shopper, not us.


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9. Are you decided upon atthe shelf or not

7. We do not judge the

competition fairly

8. We need to learn from

other categories

5. Shoppers assess value

differently to us

3. Shoppers dont manage

brands, they buy and consume

them

1. We are not our shoppers

6.Winning beauty contests doesnot equal sales

4. We go when we want to; not

when they need to

10. In store staff know more

that you do2. Shoppers go shopping to shop,

not survey brands

There are 10 weaknesses to our approach


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Fact: We are not our shoppers

Insight:Unilever managers are not representative ofour shoppers. We are well paid, educated and

come from within the industry.

Action:When in-store you must step outside of whoyou are and force yourself to think and act like atypical shopper.

Helpful Tips:

Go to stores that you do not normally shop at. Go to places where you do not normally go to.

Make sure you do store visits and shopperconnects when you travel to other countries andmarkets.

Look at products you do not normally buy.

Research before hand and find out where the bulk

of the population sits on the LSM scale. Giveyourself an imaginary budget similar to theaverage.

Think about their household, their children, theirbudget and their mode of transport.

Write down a list of what you think they wouldneed (not want) and what their budget wouldroughly be.

Think about these two things while in store aboveall else.

One of us

One of our

Shoppers


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Fact: We go when we want to; not when they need to

Insight:Shoppers shop on certain days

and at certain times. If you want to

observe shoppers in their natural

habitatdoing what they normally do,

you need to go there when they are

most likely to be there and in that

mode.Action:Do your store visits at the most

popular shopping times on the mostpopular shopping days. Plan yourtrips well in advance.

Helpful Tips:

Do your homeworkand find out before hand what are the busiestshopping times and days (as a rule of thumb, working people shop outsideof working hours).

Use basic logic and common sense; weekends are prime shopping timesfor modern trade shoppers & 5:00am is a prime shopping time in a wet

market.


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Fact: Shoppers go shopping to shop, not survey brands

Insight:Shoppers usually have a reason togo shopping. When you go into a store,what is your purpose? Usually it is tosee how your product looks on shelf orto see what the competition are up to.These are two very different objectives.

Action:You must walk into a store in a

shopping mode(not a survey mode).The store will look and feel verydifferent. Do a shopnot a store visit.

Helpful Tips: Take a mock-up shopping list as you

would when you go shoppingpersonally.

Follow this list and shop with a trolley orbasket.

Walk the entire store following a typicalshopper route.

Spend adequate time in eachaisle/category; dont just go to yoursection.

Log what you discover as you go. Takephotos if you can. If you are notpermitted to, make sketches to bring

your insights to life.

Our tools of trade

Their tools of

trade


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Fact: Shoppers dont manage brands; they buy them

Insight:When we, (ie Unilever employees) go intostore we zero in on our beloved brands andproducts. We block out other thingswhenactually we need to focus on those otherthingsjust as much as our own. Shoppers didnot spend 18 months and have to pass fourIPM gates to write their shopping list.

Action:You must disconnect yourself from your

brand. The bias of ownershipin-store willhandicap your ability to see through ashoppers eyes.

Helpful Tips: Ask yourself, what would your

mum see or notice if she wasshopping right now.

Learn to blur your eyesas youlook at displays, shelves andproducts. This will help to showyou what shoppers see, notwhat you want to see.


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Fact: We can learn from other categories

Insight:When we go into a store 90% of the time we go straight to our category and lookat our brand.

Action:Look at as many categories as possible to learn from others. Observe what they

are doing and ask why they are executing in this way.

Helpful Tips:

Pick the category directly opposite yours in theaisle. Write down 3 things that the category or

brands are doing to convert shoppers in that

category.

Take each three then apply them to your

category to see if they fit or would work.

If they would not work write down why.

If they would work write down how you would

execute it in your category with your brand.

Back at the office find out if this has been done in

any other markets or in your country before to

investigate how effective it was.


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Fact: We judge the competition unfairly

Helpful Tips:

Look at your competition and try to post rationalize their execution.

Take your products and find three things wrong with them as a stress test.

Go to a completely foreign category pick up two products and compare them as if you were

buying them. Now go back to you section and do the same for your product and a

competitors product.

Observe 5 shoppers in a row. What did they touch or pick-up. Ask yourself why those

products were engaged and why others were not. If they picked your competitors

products go and look at them afterwards (yourself) asking the same question.

Action:

Dont apply industry

criteria to what you see

in-store. You need to

look and judge in-store

execution in a way a

shopper would.

Insight:

We judge things in store

based on industry

metrics and standards,

not on the actual

shopper merit. We tend

to criticize thecompetition and post

rationalise our execution

in-store.


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Fact: Winning beauty contests doesnt

equal sales

Insight:We tend to judge the quality of our execution in-store

based on what we think looks good; not what our

shoppers think looks good. Stand out on shelf is much

more important than beauty when it comes to driving

sales and market share. Before they can buy a product,

a shopper must be able to see it and understand it.

Action:When judging your products at the point of purchaselook at them for how well they:

1. catch the shoppers attention amongst their surroundings

2. Tell you what they are and what they do

3. convey the key selling points / close the sale

Helpful Tips:

Stand well back from your products location in storewhen you look at them.

Blur your eyes; can you still see the important sellingpoints?

Walk along the aisle and try to find and understand yourproducts without stopping. Could you read the brandand variant? Could you understand what your productsare and what they do in 5 seconds?


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Fact: Shoppers assess value differently to us

Insight: Shoppers measure value in-store through a mix of elements and a host of trade-offs.

Helpful Tips:

Look at the product sizeimpression.

Does it look bigger or smallercompared to the logicalalternative?

Dont just look at the volume orweight. Learn to look at thenumber of usage occasions (iedoses or washes in laundry).

For promotional activity, look atthe percentage saved and alsothe cash saving.

How compelling is this in realterms for a shopper.

Look at the deal and ask yourselfwould I buy that?

Action:

Try to compare and contrast value by assessing it in

the same way a shopper would given the

circumstances.

We need to do the same value trade-offsthat a

shopper would do at the point of sale.


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Fact: Shoppersbuy because of years of history,

personal bias and emotional links

Insight:Shoppers arrive at a store having made manydecisions already. They will have subconsciouslychosen the outlet, the budget, and their their list. Evenmore important, they arrive with well-developedpreferences for brands, based on associations built upover time from a host of sources.

Action:Make sure you cleans yourself of your personal

biases. Try to think of how they would besubconsciously preparing to shop in the store you arevisiting.

Helpful Tips:

Pick a typical shopper out from the crowd. Build ahypothetical story up of who he/she is.

At a polite distance observe him/her throughout the trip.

Ask yourself was that driven by what she encounteredat the point of purchase or was it something pre-determined (ie decided upon out of the store).

Try to link these back to your brand and ask yourself;are you decided upon already or at the shelf in-store.


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How to prepare for your Store Visit

1. Before You Go2. As you enter

3. As you do the

shop

4. When you check

out

5. When

you get

back


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Store Observation Flow Diagram

2. As you

enter

3. As you do the shop

4. When you check

out

5. When

you get

back

1. Before

you go


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1. Before you go

Select your store (or stores) wisely. Thinkabout what you want to get out of thetrip. Write it down clearly andsuccinctly. State your objective.

Do your desk research on the channel, theretailer, the store. Know where you aregoing.

Do your desk research on the catchment area(the region, the location the street theshopping centre etc.)

Do your desk research on the shopper profileyou expect to encounter (LSM, Culture)

Dress appropriately. Try not to stand out. Youneed to blend in; you will be moreeffective.

Take along your mobile phone to take photos

(if you are allowed)Prepare your mock-upshopping list

Establish your realistic mock-upbudget

Most importantly: Make sure your list and your budget reflect the typical

shopper; not yourself.


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3. As you do the shop

Make a quick sketch of the store layout and any noticeable features.

Pick up a basket or get a trolley.

Do your full shopping trip now. Use the list you have prepared. Tryto stay in line with the budget you have set.

.

Now that you have completed this task, reverse the process andreplace all the products you have just selected one by one.Each time you do this ask yourself why did I chose thatproduct? Note the reasons down. Try to use criteria like,

display, standard price, promotional price, pack size, claims,POS, stand out on shelf etc.

At this point also note down the route you took. Make specific pointson where you visited versus where you did not. Mostimportantly note down why you excluded these aisles orareas. Think about influences like, signage, POS, categoryadjacencies and the overall store flow.

After you have competed this exercise now take some time to observeother shoppers. Try to spend just as much time observingthem as it took to do yours. Make a note of the time it takesothers to; shop each aisle, select each product. Its also vitalto observe what mode they are in. Are they (i) impulse buying(ii) selecting on autopilot, or (iii) thinking carefully about it.Are they reading any of the following: POS, Signage, PackDetails (front & back). Are they being helped or handicappedby others with them (ie kids). Think about what sort ofmission they are on for example, top-up, weekly stock up oremergency. Think about their mood. Are they enjoying this oris it a chore.

If there are store staff available ask them what is selling and what isnot. Make notes based on what they tell you.


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4. When you check out

Take stock of the cash registers and what the queuesare like. Are they long and if so how long is thewait.

What offers and what messages are beingcommunicated at the checked out area. What typeof products are on display. Are they impulselines or not.

Consider how others are paying for their baskets. Arethey using cash or credit. Are they using loyalty

cards or coupons?Observe how shoppers are leaving the store and watchfor what type of transport they are using. Arethey walking, riding a motorbike or bicycle,driving a car or catching a form of publictransport (eg bus).

Think about how easy or how awkward it is for them tomanage their shopping bags. Are they strugglingor are they managing it easily. Think about how

long it would take them to get home and if itemslike ice cream would melt or eggs would getbroken.

Watch long enough to determine if they are goingstraight home or if they moving onto their nexttask or location.

Think about what they will do when they get home. Howwill they be unpacking and storing their products.What type of rooms would be in their house.

What sort of meals would they be preparingtryto close the loop.


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5. When you get back

Make sure you capture your notes in a way that you can share them.Share these with your team (including your line manager) andalso your CMI business partner.

Try to form hypothesisfor your key observations. Note these in away that is easily recognised by others.

Save or scan-in any material that you collected on your trip like storefolders/flyers, brochures, pictures, samples and promotionalentry forms.

Make sure you save your findings, material and photos in a place thatcan act like a catalogue. The concept being that you will addto it over time. You can upload your material to:

http://teamsites.unilever.com/collab/ShopperInsight/default.aspxifyou are a member.

And most importantly.for the insights that you believe to besignificant, draft a quick email and send them to the AACShopper Insight Team. Your contributions will help us buildan invaluable shopper knowledge base

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

A practical guide to improving your in store observation skills
http://teamsites.unilever.com/collab/ShopperInsight/default.aspxmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://teamsites.unilever.com/collab/ShopperInsight/default.aspx


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A practical guide to improvingyour in-storeobservationskillsThere are three basic ways to improve your observation skills in-store:

1) Take a different perspective:You need to step outside of who you are and become one of them.

2) The power of asking Why:Just observing something is useless. We need to ask ourselves why did she do thator why is that good. We must form hypothesis to be proven, or disproven.

3) The way we judge:We must appraise what we see impartially. The shopper merit is determined by the shopper, not us.

1. We are not our shoppers

2. We go when we want to; not

when they need to

3. Shoppers go shopping to

shop, not survey brands

4. Shoppers dont managebrands, they buy them

5. Shoppers assess value

differently to us

6. Winning beauty contests does

not equal sales

7. Judge the competition fairly

8. Learn from other categories

9. Are you decided upon at the

shelf, in-store or not?

10. In store staff know more than

you do when it comes to

shoppers

Unilever managers are not representative of our shoppers. We are wellpaid, educated and come from within the industry.

Shoppers shop on certain days at certain times. If you want to observe

shoppersdoing what they normally do, you need to be there when they

are.

When we go into store we are checking how our products and

promotions look, or we are checking what the competition are up to.

Shoppers never do this. We must observe shopping not survey brands.

When we go into store we zero in on our beloved brands and products.

We block out everything else when actually this aspect is more importantbecause that is what we understand the least.

We need to do the same value trade-offsthat a shopper would do at thepoint of sale.

Stand out on shelf is much more important than beauty when i t comes todriving sales and market share in-store. Before a shopper can buy aproduct they must be able to see it and understand it.

We judge things in store based on industry standards, not on the actualshopper merit. We criticize the competition and post rationalise ourerrors or weaknesses in-store.

When we go into a store we go straight to our category and look at ourbrand.

Shoppers arrive in-store having made many decisions already. Most willhave decided upon the outlet, the budget, and their list without even athought. Is your brand decided upon like this or not?

We can learn a lot from the people who work in-store and interact withshoppers everyday. In-store staff can help us to understand what makesshoppers do what they do and most importantly what converts them.

When in-store you must step outside of who you are and force yourself to thinkand act like a typical shopper.

Do your store visits at the most popular shopping times on the most popular

shopping days. Plan your trips well in advance.

Disconnect yourself from your brand. The bias of ownershipin-store willhandicap your ability to see what the shopper sees.

Try to compare and contrast value by assessing it in the same way a shopper

would given the circumstances.

Judge your brand in-store by how well it catches the shoppers eye amongst its

surroundings. Pressure test your standout by walking past the category without

stopping; could you see it?

Dont use industry metrics to measure what you see in-store. You need to lookand judge in-store execution in a way a shopper would.

Look at as many categories as possible to learn from others. Observe what they

are doing and ask why they are executing in this way. Try to apply these to your

category to see if they are relevant.

Make sure you cleans yourself of your personal biases. Observe shoppers who

buy your category. Did they use in-store stimulus to decide, or did they just grab

the product automatically.

When in-store, make an effort to interact with the staff. Talking to the storemanager, the merchandisers, or our own promotional girls can reveal allot.

Observe shoppers not items. Look at behavior not products. Walk the entire

store following a typical shopper route. Use a mock-up list and use a trolley or

basket.

Headl ine Insight Act ion

190247660 unilever how to do a store visit

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