CHICAGO — Giant Food Stores is competing more effectively with local retailers by enhancing its consumer research capabilities and gathering more insights about shoppers.
The evolution of the program also includes adding new sources of information and sharing them widely throughout the company, according to Sharon Eiswert, director of consumer research for the 143-store chain operating under the Giant and Martin's banners.
“It's a huge competitive advantage,” she said. “Not a lot of smaller companies have a highly developed function. The more we can understand our shoppers and show them we know who they are, the more of a connection they are going to have. We're trying to build an emotional connection.”
Eiswert described Giant's enhanced program recently at a shopper insights conference here hosted by the Institute for International Research. The Carlisle, Pa.-based retailer is part of the Ahold company and operates stores in four states: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.
Not too long ago, consumer research at Giant was a small department housed within the marketing department and functioning without meaningful interaction with merchandising/operations. The focus was largely on post-measurement of initiatives. Qualitative research was rarely used and there weren't any quantitative tools in place. The retailer launched its frequent shopper card in 2000, but initially there was only token integration between consumer research and the data accumulated by the card.
Today, Giant relies on three main sources of information for its consumer insights:
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Frequent shopper cards: Most shoppers use the card because it is the delivery vehicle for all customer savings programs. The high shopper usage ensures the availability of accurate data across geographies and customer segments. The card enables Giant to conduct such key analyses as ongoing tracking of customer metrics, pre/post analysis of customer response to new programs, and impact of promotions.
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Syndicated data: The two major data sources from The Nielsen Co. are Scantrack and Homescan. The former answers such questions as what categories are driving sales and what is the share of sales among like retailers? The latter relies on demographically representative panelists who record all UPC-coded items bought to answer other questions: What is the penetration among the shoppers in the market? Where are consumers shopping?
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Consumer research: Sources of information include quantitative surveys by phone, mail and Internet; qualitative tools such as focus groups and one-on-ones; and online consumer panels. These sources have evolved over the years through increased sophistication and development of tools to get information faster.
Eiswert explained how the structure of Giant's consumer research program has evolved. Before, company executives were confused by multiple sources for the same information; thus, it was difficult to act on insights.
Today, only insights that are validated via multiple sources are deemed meaningful, according to Eiswert. The structure and new tools allows insights to be more readily translated into action. They lead to earlier involvement in the process and increased use within the company. The result is that the consumer has a voice in more of the products and services offered.
To illustrate how Giant turns consumer insights into action, Eiswert used the example of new-market planning. Before the opening, data on new and relocated stores are gathered from local consumer research; market visits and analysis; and demographics, lifestyles and product purchase propensity. A report on this data answers the following questions:
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Who is the customer in this market?
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Where are the shoppers currently shopping?
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What are current satisfaction levels with the competition?
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What drives shoppers in this market?
Other uses for consumer insights include input into the category management process, developing customer-focused programs or communications, and leveraging relationships with suppliers and their consumer insights functions.
“The way it works today,” Eiswert summed up, “is that somebody comes to research with a great idea and involves us in a team. We can help them understand what the consumer wants and can test the idea with them. We implement it in the stores where we can establish a pre-timeline. Then we can do the measurement afterwards and use that information throughout the organization.”
