FOCUS GROUPS HELP STORES FILL GAP

DAVID ORGEL

CHICAGO -- As supermarkets face new consumer shopping patterns and a wider array of competition, some are putting things in focus with focus groups.

"Focus groups are helping to give supermarkets insight on specific kinds of behavior by testing new ideas or feelings or attitudes in depth," said Daryl Gilbert, director of qualitative research at Leo J. Shapiro Associates based here.

These groups are helping supermarkets remake stores in some instances. "You might find through a focus group that a store needs to add a tortilleria or whole-grain breads, for instance. "We sometimes ask consumers how they would design or remodel a store. We get comments like, 'Half my store would be produce,' or 'I'd never go to the bakery.' "

Focus groups, which are qualitative in nature, often work in tandem with data-based quantitative research, but operators need to know which type of research is optimal for their needs, Gilbert said. "If you are setting up an ad, for instance, the qualitative research can test out your positioning without the need to spend big bucks on a big survey," Gilbert noted. "Later, you could conduct a quantitative survey with a wider base that tells you how effective the ads were in bringing people into the stores and generating sales."

Often hypothesis generated from qualitative research can be quantified with surveys of larger samples, Gilbert said.

Other qualitative approaches include consumers taste-testing products or choosing items from a simulated grocery store mix.

"Many stores are finding research of any type is more important now because people are shopping differently and there are more operators as competition," Gilbert said. "They realize information is constantly changing."