Consumers don’t usually consciously think about their process of picking an item off the store shelf, but market researchers do. Here at Canadian Viewpoint, we conduct shelf testing experiences to understand what drives purchases and intent for many industries. In addition to online shelf tests, we have facilities in major cities in Canada to bring respondents into to conduct virtual and real-life tests. We have equipped facilities with focus group rooms as well as life-sized virtual Reality spaces, using various headsets, glasses, and controllers to measure respondents’ behaviour. Our trained staff have launched countless virtual reality rooms to showcase multiple products such as food, cleaning products, and beverages. In addition, for our staff and respondents’ safety, we’ve instituted several safety procedures related to the pandemic.
Shelf-tests help researchers get a front-row seat to customer shopping experiences in person and virtually. They help to provide clarity when consumer decisions seem arbitrary or illogical. Shelf testing is critical during new product developments, and it helps you learn whether your new product will stand out among all the other options on the shelf. Can those who are visually impaired actually read the print? Can children identify products intended for them? Technology has given researchers numerous ways to conduct shelf tests.
Shelf-tests help researchers get a front-row seat to customer shopping experiences in person and virtually. They help to provide clarity when consumer decisions seem arbitrary or illogical.
Shelf testing is critical during new product developments, and it helps you learn whether your new product will stand out among all the other options on the shelf. Can those who are visually impaired actually read the print? Can children identify products intended for them? Technology has given researchers numerous ways to conduct shelf tests.
VR and AI offer concrete benefits to marketers and the market research industry as a whole. VR has enabled us to simulate many environments where we would want to conduct research without using those environments in the real world. VR shelf tests rely on special equipment, notably VR glasses or headsets worn by research participants. Like a video game, the process immerses people into a simulated store environment where they can visit different sections, from aisles to checkout counters. This technology often uses a hand-held device that allows people to point and click to simulate picking up a product, turning it around to read every side, placing it back on the shelf, or dropping it into their virtual basket.
By using VR, we are able to design, test and control the entire shopping experience to meet the precise needs of the research objectives. We can adjust the characteristics of every product, from where the product sits on the shelf to the price, colour, size, text, and branding, including product options that are not currently available.
VR shelf tests are perfectly suited to be combined with implicit research methods like eye-tracking and Heatmaps. These tools reveal subconscious behaviour and provide unbiased data to researchers. It allows companies to study the process consumers undertake when testing or choosing a product over millions of other products.
If you’d like help planning a package test, virtual or in-person shelf test please get in touch with us! We’d be happy to help you figure out which options would work best for you.
