Blog articles about Consumer Packaged Goods

Explore a driver analysis solution for analyzing stated and unstated factors

Tracking studies provide extensive information on brand perceptions over time. They play an important role in understanding what influences consumers and professionals to make decisions. However, as these groups become more empowered and have more choices to consider, your approach to brand trackers needs to evolve as well.

Using a subscription pricing model to lay stable foundations

Funda is the top online real estate platform in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. It’s been described as the “Amazon of houses” in its homeland, because it’s said that almost every house that’s sold in the country will have been advertised on its platform first.

The online leader generates revenue by charging realtors to promote residential and commercial inventory on its platform. When there are more homes than buyers, properties are advertised longer and funda sees revenue soar. However, when the market is booming, properties sell quickly, listings come and go on the platform, and revenues dip.

With the increased adoption of voice technology, smart speakers and digital assistants, there’s no denying that Alexa, Siri and Google Home are changing consumer behavior. However, to what extent? Are consumers simply curious about these devices? Are their purchase decisions being guided by AI?  Will purchase trials shift to new shopping habits? 

As decision behavior experts, we set out to examine these questions by conducting research on consumer attitudes and adoption of voice technology in the U.S., U.K. and Germany (the markets the technology manufacturers have focused on). This infographic previews some of the research highlights.

Key takeaways on voice and digital assistants from ESOMAR Congress 2018

Artificial Intelligence, voice and digital assistants were all the buzz at ESOMAR Congress 2018. The promise is that when these technologies come together in digital personal assistants, they’ll make our lives easier, remove our “choice stress” and will become our trusted advisors. Sign me up! But, how will voice technology affect consumer behavior and how will brands tackle this new decision environment?

Our recent voice trends research included qualitative interviews with digital and eCommerce experts on this very topic. At ESOMAR, some of these respondents participated in our “Brands on Fire – How to adapt to the new market reality of AI platforms” panel. Danone, Wehkamp, Beiersdorf, Ericsson and SKIM had a lively discussion on the digital implications of AI for brands, marketers and insight professionals. I, along with Yasemin Ozdemir, had the honor to moderate the panel. Here’s what you missed and need to know.

Voice technology and Artificial Intelligence were all the buzz at IFA, Germany’s largest consumer electronics show in September. Established players launched new products in Europe and there were a few surprise offerings from new market entrants.

Google introduced its premium smart speaker -the Google Home Max- here in Germany, along with a bilingual voice assistant feature that responds to queries in English and German interchangeably. And telecom giant Deutsche Telekom introduced plans for its own smart speaker activated with the magic words “Hallo Magenta.” This introduction is the first smart speaker coming from a German company and includes Amazon’s voice assistant “Alexa” too.

As I was setting up our new office in the heart of Berlin, I reflected on how much technology has disrupted consumer behavior from the time I grew up here. Is Voice all hype in Germany? How and will German consumers embrace these AI technologies? What are the implications for brands?

My team and I recently set out to answer these questions in Germany, and also in the US and UK. We explored  from the consumer and brand perspective.

Here I’m sharing the Germany insights, which we unveiled at ESOMAR Congress 2018 in Berlin.

“Alexa: do you remember the last consumer tech “must-have product” to hit the shelves?”

According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), it was the iPhone (2007) and iPad (2012). And now voice-controlled smart speakers, like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, have achieved that coveted status. CTA predicts 56.6 million smart speakers will be sold in the US next year; two years ago that number was just 7.2 million!.

Voice technology is set to fundamentally change the environment in which consumers make decisions, and who (or what) influences that decision. To stay ahead of the competition, brands will need to exhaust every opportunity to optimize their position in this new “4th sales channel” of voice commerce. 

Do you know how voice searches for your product category begin?

Discover the approach PepsiCo Benelux took to optimize the immediate and long-term impact of its promotions.

While short-term impacts on cash flow are often front of mind for the fast-moving consumer goods industry, after-sales dips and other aspects of sales recovery can prove detrimental to a brand’s financial health in the long run. Shopper insights managers looking to develop a promotions strategy with sustainable impact on sales and revenue growth, must be equipped with market research insights that address both the short-term and long-term impact of promotions.

Getting Started with AI: Speed + Quality

From Uber’s self-driving cars to Amazon’s warehouse robots, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be reaching human-level dexterity nearly everywhere. You might be wondering like us: how are brands actually taking advantage of next-gen automation innovation in market research today? Can artificial intelligence identify better insights cheaper? Will computers and robots render human researchers useless? As market researchers, who also happen to be human beings, we’ve been exploring many of the same questions!

Danone, one of the world’s leading food companies, recently sought to understand consumer consumption drivers for a new product category. 

eCommerce success in the consumer goods category doesn’t happen overnight — it’s a journey

Defining a set of marketing guidelines that drive a measurable increase in sales is an incredible feat, never mind doing so for 2.5 billion smartphone users across the globe.

Yet that’s exactly what our client, and consumer goods giant, Unilever is tackling with the challenge of developing a consistent and cohesive set of mobile ready hero image guidelines for all brands, in all countries to follow with all retailers. When co-presenting with us at the OmniShopper International Conference, Oli Bradley, Unilever’s global e-commerce experience design director, shared details on his eCommerce journey. Here’s what we learned:

The increased adoption of voice assistants is forcing many of our clients in the consumer goods category to ask, “Alexa, how are you affecting consumer decision behavior?” From search through the path to purchase, the implications of voice-enabled technology are far reaching for brands. Now recognized as the “fourth sales channel,” voice tech represents an evolving channel, requiring new insights. You know you want to gain consumer preference in this lane, but what questions should you ask?