Conduct an In-Store Survey of Merchandise and Pricing in Apparel Stores in the US, Asia and the EU

Plunkett Research was asked to conduct an intense in-store survey of apparel merchandising and pricing in a select group of retail stores in the US, Asia and the EU.  The goal was to compare pricing for certain types of merchandise across a broad array of brands.  The resulting data was utilized in a sophisticated computer analytics process to look for trends and opportunities.

 

Key Project Details

• We started with an intense project design phase, utilizing a variety of experts on the Plunkett Research team.
• We created a 12-page research guide, in 4 different languages.
• We selected and assigned individual researchers in major markets. The researchers had to be intelligent, diligent and highly accurate.  Some of the in-store researchers had deep retail backgrounds; others were MBAs or MBA candidates.
• We carefully selected a large number of store locations to be studied, based on type of neighborhood and size of the store.
• We trained the research team, so that they carefully observed our strict privacy and trade secret policies.  We were careful to adhere to local regulations.

 

Synthesis & Recommendations

• By carefully designing a mystery shopping project, we were able to gain vital market information in a legal and effective manner.
• Extensive team member training was required.
• We were able to gather tens of thousands of data points, which were then processed using data analytics programs in order to determine merchandising trends and pockets of opportunity.
• The result was a highly-effective program, completed on-time and on-budget.