Retail Market Research
Why they buy. Why they walk away.
Retail consumer insights that reflect how people really shop
Retail is no longer just about what happens in store.
Shoppers jump between channels without thinking. They compare prices in the aisle and on their phones. They question claims, scan reviews, and abandon baskets, whether they’re holding them or clicking them. Every part of the experience matters, from layout and signage to pricing, UX, and brand perception.
That’s why brands turn to a retail research agency.
We deliver market research for retailers that goes beyond surface metrics. Whether in store or online, we help you understand how people shop: what draws them in, what makes them hesitate, switch tabs, or simply walk away.
From in-store experience research and pricing strategy to customer journey insight and category performance, we help you shape strategies that stick.
Our POV: Retail is everywhere, but trust is in shorter supply
Retail no longer begins on your homepage or inside your store. People shop through TikTok. They buy from peers on platforms like Vinted and Depop. And they shape opinions about your brand through reviews, ratings and third-party sources—often before they’ve even seen what you have to say.
At the same time, trust is getting harder to earn. Shoppers question product claims. They pause in store to scan barcodes for health scores. They search online to compare prices, read reviews and check community feedback.
In our recent work through Basis Ideas, which tracks real-world, unprompted behaviour at scale, we found over 1,200 people now search for trustworthy brands every month. With 106.8 million people in the US shopping on social media, peer validation often matters more than anything you say directly.
Peer-to-peer commerce is accelerating too. Searches for how to start a TikTok shop are up 400 percent year on year.
This is not just more noise. It means the people shoppers trust are becoming the people they buy from. Influence and commerce are converging. Control is shifting. And trust has never been more valuable.
We help brands uncover where trust is being built, where it is breaking down, and how to show up in the spaces that matter. Through retail consumer insight and behavioural analysis, we help you build credibility that turns into loyalty.
What retail research services should unlock
We go beyond the basics to help you decode what drives decisions, detours and drop-offs. Our work covers everything from creative testing and UX research to category and pricing insight, helping you build sharper strategies across every part of your business.
We help clients:
- Unpack shopper insights across in-store and digital environments
- Identify category opportunities and whitespace
- Understand how different audiences perceive price and value
- Test comms, signage and promotional messaging
- Optimise the retail UX across every channel
- Track loyalty drivers and perception shifts over time
- Pressure-test new concepts, products or partnerships
- Explore sustainable and ethical decision-making
From shelf to screen, we help retailers move with confidence
We support some of the world’s most recognisable names in retail, clothing, and home to solve big, complex problems, across every touchpoint in the journey.
Our retail research services span:
- In-store and ecommerce experience optimisation
- In-store experience research, including grocery store market research and layout testing
- Retail customer behaviour analysis and journey mapping
- Pricing research and proposition testing
- Shopper insights for campaign and category development
- Szegmentálás and stretch audience targeting
- Product, concept, and brand portfolio testing
- UX and content validation for digital retail journeys
- Ethical and sustainability perception tracking
- Loyalty strategy refinement and churn diagnosis
- Trend forecasting and future-focused opportunity spotting
Questions we help retailers answer
The best retail research starts with the right questions.
Here are just a few we help our clients answer:
- Who are our highest-value customers, and how do we grow their spend?
- Why are we losing share to competitors, and how can we reverse the trend?
- How do different segments define value, and how is that changing?
- Where are the pain points in our customer journey, in store and online?
- How can we better meet the needs of Gen Z shoppers?
- What messaging builds trust and credibility today?
- How do we optimise pricing without eroding loyalty?
- Are our loyalty schemes still delivering value, or just perceived privilege?
Whatever you’re solving for, we bring the insight that unlocks clearer thinking and better results.
How we work with retail clients
Our approach blends commercial focus with cultural depth. We build every project around your real business challenges, using a range of tools to uncover what matters.
Track how people move between platforms, channels and brands, and where the experience is falling short.
Use in-the-moment qual, mobile diaries and experience testing to see what shoppers actually do, not just what they say.
Blend behavioural insight with social and market signals to understand what shapes expectation and perception.
Explore how different audiences behave, choose and respond, so you can design for the moments that matter most.
From strategic frameworks to retail playbooks, we deliver tools built to travel across teams and guide confident decisions.
See it in action
Here’s how our tailored research programs and commercial insights have given clients an edge.
John Lewis
Finding direction in a challenging high street environment
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Eataly
Felfedezzük, hogy mi hajtja a vásárlók szeretetét az Eataly-ban
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Avon
Segít az Avonnak, hogy a folyamatosan változó szépségápolási környezetben is az élvonalban maradhasson
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Kiemelt meglátások
Tools, guides, and fresh perspectives to help you decode shopper behavior and drive smarter strategy.
Let’s move your retail strategy forward
Whether you are launching a new line, rethinking your omnichannel experience, or refreshing your segmentation, we help you stay aligned with how people actually shop. Get in touch to find out how our retail consumer insights can help you act faster, spend smarter, and drive growth with confidence.
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