and occasion driving the shopper, their task at each shelf, and reducing the time they spend completing that task. Here’s three insights that can make your shoppers happier. 1. Targeting primary drivers The shopping mission and intended usage occasion are the primary drivers of a shopper’s behaviour and product choice. Category purchases are made to satisfy a particular need or usage occasion. The overarching shopping mission determines the choice of channel and the intended usage occasion determines the product chosen. Developing instore activations that link these is the key to unlocking new channel and customer growth opportunities. 2. Two types of shoppers Shoppers are either ‘decided’ or ‘open’ when shopping a category, and this determines their task at the shelf. Decided shoppers are the majority: their purchase process is focused on finding what they have decided to buy. They spend the most time at shelf searching for what they know they want, however, the longer they spend looking, the more likely they are to leave with nothing. Category organisation must facilitate their navigational needs. There are fewer open shoppers than decided shoppers, but they provide a bigger opportunity. They act differently, actively make decisions, spend more time at shelf, are more likely to read information, and have different needs. Product assortment and call to action messaging on packaging and POS should be designed for their needs. Source: TNS Eye Tracking & PathTracking studies in global supermarkets 3. Faster and easier Making it faster and easier for shoppers to find the products they want is proven to increase shopper spending. Retail efficiency needs to be measured in shopper time (the number of shoppers versus the time spent in store). Research consistently shows that reducing shopper time by increasing spending speed is key to success for several key reasons. Firstly, there is a strong correlation between spending speed and basket size, with large basket shoppers spending up to ten times faster than small basket shoppers. Secondly, 10 per cent of shopper time is spent in active selection and 90 per cent is spent navigating. Increasing the time spent in store can mean increasing frustration. Lastly, shoppers look at packaging and POS for a fraction of a second, so extra time does not translate to additional brand engagement. Average time spent looking at packaging instore in seconds. Source: TNS Make shoppers happy by making it easy for them to find and buy what they want, and you can grow sales for whole categories and their brands. Understanding the shopper’s reasons and occasion – distinguishing between their changing tasks at the shelf – and facilitating a speedy resolution to their quest is crucial to shopper happiness. Data shows that when this is achieved, the rest will take care of itself. Peter Firth is a director at shopper insights agency, TNS Global. He advises on growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching, and stakeholder management.