New Product Category Placement Testing

InContext helped this client prepare a national launch for a new product to be sold in retail grocery outlets.

The challenge

• Determine where the product should be displayed
• Ensure the consumer can find the product in retail locations
• More clearly identify a target consumer
• Estimate potential market share

Our approach

• Met with consumer insights and brand teams to set objectives and needs surrounding the new product
• Assessed three categories of snack products
• Designed a study using a virtual store that allowed the shopper to shop from all possible categories to understand the best placement of the new product

Our solutions

We gathered behavioral and attitudinal consumer insights for the new product using virtual store simulation by:

• Modifying virtual stores based on Kroger and Jewel-Osco planograms
• Designing a survey to meet client objectives
• Fielding a survey with 2,800 survey respondents matching the client’s criteria

We analyzed consumer behavior data and interpreted the findings by:

• Measuring the median time for consumers to find the new product within two retail environments
• Tracking findability of the new product within three separate snack categories
• Comparing individual level sales data to assess the impact of multiple configurations of the new product placement with different category layouts
• Ensuring statistical significance and validity of survey results
• Comparing attitudinal ratings for each scenario
• Comparing the new product performance against the competitor benchmark and other existing products

The results

• Determined the best placement to maximize sales for the new product
• Revealed how placement affects consumers’ ability to find the new product
• Demonstrated how the product launch would increase overall brand penetration by 5%
• Identified consumer product usage by age, occasion, situation and frequency
• Assessed the potential for brand cannibalism from other brand products and stealing from competitor products