Shopper Decision Trees Supporting Category Management Strategy
How understanding real-life shopper behavior helps optimize shelf layout, on-pack communication and retailer dialogue.
In our earlier paper - The Lighthouse Effect: Guiding Shoppers To Their Treasure, we talked about Shopper Decision Trees, also commonly known as Purchase Decision Hierarchy (PDH). It is a roadmap which outlines the product attributes which shoppers consider before purchasing a product, helping them find the best choice based on their needs and preferences.
Here we bring to you a global case study (from Ipsos Denmark), delivering significant client impact. Ipsos’ Simstore Shopper was used - by setting up real-life purchase situations based on ‘virtual shelves’ replicating actual client and competitor products within category.
By recreating a virtual version of the store’s shelf, consumers’ preferences, knowledge of the category and intuitive purchasing behavior were mapped in detail. The study captured which alternative products shoppers choose if one or more of their first choices are sold out. The result is detailed Decision Trees that reveal the shoppers’ decision making, category structure as well as strategic recommendations for different segments and markets. The actionable insights helped the client set up a data-driven category management strategy.
