When you hear or read the phrase, “market research”, what comes to mind? For most it likely elicits mental images of large brands, slow timelines, and thoughts of huge project costs (we’d argue that it’s an investment and not a cost, but I digress). While true, larger research programs span hundreds of thousands of dollars; smaller projects can be as agile and affordable as you need them to be.

This research was incredibly fun for us to carry out because we knew we would be making a big impact at a non-profit – we always aim to deliver recommendations that are attainable and can be transitioned quickly into action. Dog Aide has given us permission to share a few with you all, so here are some results that we found interesting and that could have a wider impact beyond the non-profit space:

Dog Aide’s varying volunteer pool (current volunteers, lapsed volunteers, and those yet to volunteer but signed up with the organization) prefers communications to come across different channels. Some of Dog Aide’s volunteers were finding out about opportunities too late because they simply didn’t check that particular communication platform regularly. 

Implication for other categories: Your potential customers most likely won’t be reached with a single media vehicle – to maximize your reach and audience, you need to have multiple outlets of communication.

Dog Aide wanted to know how to reinforce and drive engagement with their volunteers and what we discovered was that regardless of the type of volunteer, everyone wanted to know the outcome or impact of their efforts:

Implication for other categories: Whether it be volunteers for a non-profit or your most stalwart brand champions, when people put extra effort and time into supporting a cause or product, they want to know if their blood, sweat, or tears made an impact. A great way to drive engagement with your brand or products is to show that you care about the time and effort people put in – how that manifests will vary greatly across categories and industries, but it’s still something that should be given some thought.

Research doesn’t need to cumbersome or expensive – it can be far more attainable than you think. In our April Newsletter, we give some ideas and guidance on how to achieve actionable market research when you are part of a smaller organization or when you really need to stretch and make the most of a smaller budget. If a small non-profit organization can run meaningful and sound market research, so can you! 

Andre Barroso

DIRECTOR, INSIGHTS & INNOVATION
CATAPULT INSIGHTS

Checkout has long been the bane of in-store shopping experiences, marked by long lines and cumbersome processes that slow the shopper down. Many shoppers have learned to love aspects of the online shopping experience, particularly the purchase moment. Although complicated in its own right, the end of online purchases is often far faster and less rife with frustrations than in-store checkouts. But the vast majority of retail purchases in the US are made in-store, despite a fairly steady rise in eCommerce spending. This is why many retailers are reimagining the in-store experience and focusing on the checkout pain point. 

Sam’s Club has been using Scan & Go for some time, which allows shoppers to use the Sam’s app to scan barcodes as they shop, then produces a QR code for an attendant to scan on your way out. While this solution allowed shoppers to skip the checkout line, it still required active scanning by the shopper. However, the retailer just started rolling out an AI-powered solution that should eliminate receipt-checking when exiting the store.

This technology is still in its early days, and when I tried it for myself I was still stopped by an employee to scan my receipt. But the trajectory appears obvious that the retailer aims to one day eliminate that human touchpoint, which would bring their checkout and store-exit experience at parity with other retailers. Taken a step further, this technology could one day eliminate the need to scan product barcodes in the first place. This could mean a shopper would load their shopping cart and walk out of the store without scanning a single thing – much like customers are able to do today at Amazon stores. 

Several of Catapult Insights’ clients are working on yet-to-be-announced technologies to make shopping and purchase experiences better for customers. We see a potential challenge in disparate experiences existing across retailers, making previously mundane tasks no longer feel like second nature to shoppers. This is why we’re working closely with our clients to devise optimal education and rollout strategies that balance new benefits with acceptable learning curves.

JUSTIN SUTTON

CO-FOUNDER
CATAPULT INSIGHTS