I already have a bunch of insights, and I don’t even have time to read through all of them! Why are you telling me I need more?” This is a refrain we shopper-insights types hear often. The answer, of course, is that — most likely — the research your organization has already done was done among brand consumers, so the insights you’ve developed are all about brand consumption motivations and behavior.

You’ve done ethnographic studies to see how people use your brand in their homes. You’ve done surveys and focus groups among people who recently ate, drank, wore, drove or played with your brand to find out how they perceive it and whether it is fulfilling their emotional needs. This research, and the insights that spring from it, help you craft your brand positioning and communication strategies, and they point the way to brand innovation.

But have you talked with the people who actually bought the product or service that your consumers used? Have you asked them how they made the decision to buy it, whether it was planned or impulse, why they shopped for it where they did, and how they selected your brand when it was actually time to pull out their wallet?

You’ll find that the connection they made with the brand as a result of its consumer communication activities is only one factor in a much larger picture of making that purchase decision.

When we’re developing shopper-marketing strategies and programming, we need to understand category shoppers — rather than brand consumers — so we can understand their shopping and purchasing behavior.

We need to know such things as:

• When and where did the shopper become aware of the need for the product/service?

• Did someone ask them to buy it? How specific was the request? How much does the shopper care?

• Does the need to buy this product/service drive shoppers on a particular trip or to a retailer?

• What other categories are related to that need?

• How much planning has gone into the shopping trip, and what tools were used?

• Is the category or brand on some kind of shopping list?

• What problems did the shopper encounter while trying to find the product and pay for it?

The answers to those questions will provide the insights that lead to better marketing programs — whether short-term promotions or permanent changes in category placement and merchandising. Let’s take a look at a few examples of strictly shopper insights, how we gather the information from which they are developed, and how they can inspire marketing activities that change the way people shop and buy at retail.

Is the purchase planned?

Marketers often talk about the difference between a planned and an impulse purchase, but shopper research has shown that there are degrees of planning and impulsivity. Understanding where a category stands on this continuum can make all the difference between effective and ineffective programming.

Do shoppers in your category generally spend hours on the internet comparing brands and retailers, and then walk into a carefully selected store with a brand firmly in mind? Or are they more likely to happen upon the product unexpectedly during an unrelated shopping trip and make an on-the-spot decision to buy it?

Clearly, the former calls for a strategy of reaching the shopper in the “pre-shop” phase of their path-to-purchase, perhaps using digital shopping tools such as product reviews and a high profile on the right retailer websites, as well as delivering compelling rational incentives. That kind of activity would be a waste of financial and creative resources if the category purchase is likely to involve the latter scenario.

For most categories, the reality is probably somewhere in between, and an investment in understanding just how shoppers plan their purchase, and which tools they use, could drastically change the strategies and tactics that are effective in reaching them.

Is the consumer the shopper?

If the shopper is a different person from the consumer — and this is very often the case with packaged-goods categories — brand communications may have created a loyal consumer, but that loyalty may not translate to the shopper in the aisle. We know from years of research among primary grocery shoppers that husbands’ requests tend to rank well below kids’ requests on the “must buy” list.

If a mom’s children request a particular brand of mac-and-cheese, we can be pretty confident that brand is on her list, that she knows exactly where to find it in the store and that it will end up in her shopping cart. If, however, the same shopper’s husband has requested a particular brand of breakfast cereal, she is probably much less motivated to fulfill that request exactly.

For competitive brands, traditional in-store tactics, such as coupon machines, may be very effective. For the requested brand, the biggest obstacle may be that the mom is only thinking about her kids while standing in the cereal aisle and has forgotten that her husband asked for something — or even that she might like a more adult cereal with a different taste and nutritional profile.

In this case, in-store merchandising that highlights the adult section may be the perfect solution, both to grow our brand and to help the retailer sell more cereal to that household. We find that actually shopping along with our target shopper is the only way to understand these kinds of dynamics reliably. Once she is out of the store, this mom is unlikely to remember — or even be consciously aware of — the thought process that resulted in her cereal purchase.

How hard is it to shop the category?

Shopper marketing is all about solving problems for the shopper — or, in the absence of problems, otherwise enhancing the shopping experience. Research techniques, such as video or in-person observation and analysis of aisle traffic, can reveal situations where category placement or merchandising impedes purchase. If aisle traffic is strong, but conversion to purchase is low — and especially if shoppers are seen to spend an abnormally long time reviewing a particular section — there is probably an issue of category “shoppability.”

Shopper interviews, or even good, old-fashioned store checks, may reveal that there are too many closely-related items in the category, that the packaging looks too similar, or that the product is organized in a way that is more friendly to the retailer’s or manufacturers’ operational needs than to the shopper’s mindset. In these cases, it may be possible to show the retailer how reorganizing the category or providing additional merchandising cues will improve conversion and overall category sales — and even estimate the growth that can be expected.

If conversion is low, but shoppers do not appear to be spending an overly long amount of time in the aisle, maybe category adjacencies don’t make sense and shoppers are not even noticing the category. Shopalongs, or a market basket analysis of frequent shopper card or panel data, may help reveal where in the store the shopper is thinking about related categories and may provide support for moving the category to another location to improve conversion.

In what mode is my shopper?

Different shoppers shop differently. For instance, men tend to be “hunters” while women tend to be “gatherers.” In Simmons surveys, men are much more likely to agree that, “When shopping, I just get what I need and leave,” while women are much more likely to say “Even when I do not purchase something, I enjoy shopping.” These modes are subject to change in different environments — just think how the preceding statements might be reversed for the average man or woman shopping at a jewelry store versus a home improvement retailer.

Likewise, certain channels and retailers tend to be associated with certain shopping modes. People shopping in the grocery channel are often on autopilot. They know what they need and where to find it in the store: they are trying to get what they need and get out. Communications to shoppers in this mode need to be simple and high-impact. They need to interrupt that shopper and deliver their message fast. Hence, the success of end-aisle motion displays and colorful aisle interrupters with two- or three-word calls-to-action.

People shopping in the club-store channel, or at a mall department store, are more likely in “discovery” mode. They are open to finding something new and interesting, willing to invest time in the shopping process, and actively paying attention to what is going on around them in the store. Communications to these shoppers can take more time to educate and entertain, and should engage more of the shoppers’ attention and senses. The ubiquitous food samples at club stores attest to this truth, as do perfume spritzers and makeover stations in mall department stores.

How strong is the retail association?

Sometimes shopper research reveals that a category is closely associated with a particular retailer or channel. This is obviously the case with over-the-counter medications and the drug channel, for instance, or pet supplies and the big-box pet channel. There are other associations which are less obvious and that may have developed on a market-specific basis, or as a result of a particular retailer’s focus on “owning” a category or shopper type.

We can use retailer- or channel-specific focus groups, online surveys or analysis of panel or shopper card data to understand this association and its profit impact on the retailer. That information is a gold mine in helping to develop programs that allow certain retailers to spotlight and cement their association with the category and others to combat a competitor’s association and stop category leakage.

For the retailer with a strong association already in place, this often means helping them take the category shopping experience to the next level, while for the retailer losing shoppers it means pinpointing the right way to convince the shoppers who are already in their store that they are committed to the category.

It may mean an expanded selection, a revamped aisle or the addition of new category-related services. A rich, qualitative discussion with shoppers loyal to the retailer, but who buy the category elsewhere, is usually the best way to understand what is missing in this situation.

There are, of course, many more areas of shopper motivation and behavior to understand, some very specific to individual categories, channels and shopper targets. The more of them you can identify and understand, the better your chances of developing really effective behavior-changing programming. Begin by asking yourself who is really shopping for your product and then walk through the likely shopping process. Look for the areas that are likely to impact that shopper’s decision-making process with regard to your category. Use the information you gather along the way to ask, “So What?”

You’ll know when you’ve arrived at some useful insights — they will immediately begin to inspire ideas. If you’re still left asking — “So What?”— you haven’t arrived at the right insight yet! Once you do, you’ll be on your way to shopper strategies and programs that will make a real difference — for the brand, the category, the retailer and, of course, the shopper.