Retailing: Conducting Your Own Secret Shopper Study

The research approach that Underhill and his team use is observation. By simply observing shoppers, retailers can identify many issues. For instance, when we go shopping, on average, more than 60% of what we buy wasn’t on our list. Additionally, the longer we are in the store, the higher the chance that we will buy more items. This is why retailers place the water/milk section at the end of the store. Shoppers have to walk through the entire store, potentially purchasing more items along the way.

Such studies can help retailers and manufacturers better organize their products. For example, Underhill and his group conducted a supermarket study for a dog food manufacturer. They noticed that dog food is most often purchased by adults, whereas dog treats are frequently bought by children or senior citizens (who tend to spoil their pets). However, these treats are often stocked at the top of the shelves, creating difficulties for children and seniors trying to reach them. After the store rearranged the shelves, sales increased!

Now, let’s consider hair products. Young girls often buy hair color as a fashion statement, possibly needing a different color for a date or prom. Conversely, older women buy hair color products regularly to cover gray hair. Due to this difference, older shoppers find their color, take it, and go, while young shoppers study the rack and packaging before deciding. What does this mean for the retailer? If most shoppers are seniors, place hair color products near the entrance. If most shoppers are young adults, position the products farther from the entrance to avoid crowding.

For this topic, everyone is required to conduct a secret shopper study.

**Step 1:** Choose a section in a grocery store (e.g., the shampoo section). Alternatively, you may select a section in a department store. The choice is yours.

**Step 2:** In this specific section, observe at least five shoppers, take notes, and report your findings. It is preferable to conduct all observations in one location (e.g., all five customers in the same shampoo section at Wal-Mart). This will make it easier to reach a conclusion. During the process, pretend to be a shopper as well. Do NOT talk to other shoppers. Instead, observe their behavior and take notes. It is better to stand beside the targeted shopper to see which items they pick (note: people do NOT like others standing directly behind them, as it may disturb them).

For each shopper:
- Record the time they enter the aisle (e.g., 2:15 pm on April 5, Shampoo section, Missouri City Wal-Mart).
- Record basic information: gender, age group, ethnic group, outfit, whether they have shopping companions, the number of items in their shopping cart, etc.
- Record detailed shopping information:
- Which products they touched, how many, and in what order?
- How much time they spent browsing?
- Which products they read in detail, how many, and in what order?
- How much time they spent reading each package?
- Did they choose a product or leave without anything? If they picked a product, what brand and what product?
- Record the time they exit the aisle (e.g., 2:37 pm on April 5).

**Step 3:** Based on your observations from Step 2, what suggestions would you give to this retailer?