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What we do
Category Review
Do consumers and brand owners group category products the same way?
The way consumers group different products within a category is not a conscious decision. Shapes, colours, materials and imagery are just some of the factors that influence consumers’ perceptions of products in ways that they are often unaware of.
A category review unveils the intuitive classifications that go on within a category, and then can be used to inspire new product development, design, and merchandising strategies.
Understanding how consumers intuitively group and differentiate products within a category can help inform marketing, merchandising, and packaging decisions in order to maximise sales opportunities. It is vital when introducing a new product into the competitive space and can save money down the line by avoiding a trial-and-error approach to product launch.
The insight from a category review study can help:
- Create more profitable ranging strategies based on shopper needs (rather than on brand or price point).
- Determine the best product positioning at a fixture level (e.g. should products be displayed alongside competitor products with the same format and price point or alongside products belonging to the same brand, etc).
- Develop products and packaging designs that accurately communicate the desired perceptions and which are also clearly differentiated from competitors.
Using an implicit methodology and cluster analysis, we can see how consumers organically group products and how this corresponds to the brand’s categories.
For example, a client might think that a personal care category is mainly broken down into different product formats. The category review actually shows us that the formats play a secondary role, but that shoppers intuitively group the category into two broad groups: one gentler, softer, and good for the skin and the environment, with the other bolder, more modern, featuring strong fragrances and vivid packaging colours.
Grouping products on shelf this way makes the shopping experience easier and more intuitive. Diving deeper into the sub-groups unveils which packaging cues people most rely on for their snap judgements, and helps identify gaps in the market.
Seen what we do, but wonder who we do it for?
Here are some of the clients we work with...
