An Overview of Advanced Research Methodologies

At Pi Insight, we conduct a huge amount of both online and face-to-face consumer research, all of which is focused on the Travel retail sector.

However, as time goes on, more and more Travel Retail stakeholders are looking to advanced research methodologies to answer some of their burning consumer insight questions.

Advanced research methodologies, when used correctly and in the right context, can really add value and can help understand what really drives choices, how and why shoppers make trade-offs and what might happen if different elements of the proposition are changed.

There are lots of advanced methodologies available, but these are some of the ones we use most often within our channel:

• Conjoint Analysis: Helps us understand the trade-offs shoppers make between different product attributes. Price, brand, pack size, exclusivity, sustainability, promotions and other features can all be tested to understand what really matters when shoppers have to choose between them.
• MaxDiff Analysis: MaxDiff forces shoppers to make choices, helping establish a clear hierarchy of what (and what doesn’t) matter within the purchase decision
• Price Elasticity / Gabor-Granger: Rather than simply asking whether a price feels expensive or cheap, price testing helps identify how purchase likelihood changes at different price points. This can help establish optimal pricing, acceptable price ranges and the potential impact of price increases or decreases.
• Segmentation: Not every shopper thinks or behaves in the same way. Segmentation allows us to move beyond basic demographics and identify groups based on their attitudes, motivations, behaviours and needs. This is a methodology that’s notoriously difficult to action in Travel Retail but we have developed a model that can assist here and make actionable, segment specific insights.
• Drivers Analysis: Drivers analysis helps identify which factors have the strongest relationship with an outcome, allowing brands to focus on the areas most likely to make a difference.

The important thing with advanced methodologies though is that they shouldn’t be used simply because they sound more sophisticated. The methodology should always follow the business question and sometimes, a straightforward survey is exactly what’s needed; other times, a more advanced approach can uncover something that a simple question never could.