MARKET RESEARCH GOES VIRTUAL
By Adnews Staff
Gadd International Research of Toronto is trying make market research more reliable by virtally making it more realistic. To do this the company has developed a computerized system called Simul-Shop. An advantage of using the program over traditional written testing is that respondents all view the same image. Written descriptions can be interpreted differently by each individual and this make test responses more unreliable. "We don't just conjure up a mental picture, we virtually take the respondent face-to-face with the product or concept and let him interact with it," research director Glenn Saxby says in a release. Subjects view footage of real stores and products in a program customized for the particular product or concept being tested. They move through the store and select merchandise by clicking on the items. Once an item is selected the "virtual shopper" can zoom in to read labels, ingredients and special promotional features. Throughout the process respondents are questioned by the program about their movements through the store, the store/shelf layout, purchasing decisions and other points of interest to researchers. The program can be used to determine the optimum number of different package sizes, which brands should be placed next to each other, which package design is most appealing and which store layouts cause the best traffic flow.