Mobile Eye Tracking Provides Insight for Retailers

Next time you’re at the grocery store, don’t be surprised if you see a fellow shopper cruising the aisles wearing a mobile eye tracker. Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are hiring market research companies that use mobile eye tracking, like Simple Usability and Perception Research Services (PRS), to get a better understanding of the consumer decision-making process. Using insight from mobile eye tracking studies, companies are able to optimize the shopper experience and improve the way they market their products.

PRS conducted a number of in-store studies using their PRS Mobile Eye Tracking and uncovered several findings that would have been missed with observation-only methods. By seeing exactly where shoppers gaze, PRS came up with the following insights for retailers:

“Grab & Go” Shopping

• Shoppers spend less than a minute selecting items from an aisle with goods in the frequently-shopped food category, with very low levels of observed comparison between brands.
• Eye tracking showed that shoppers pick the first brand they come across in this category rather than searching for a particular preferred brand.
• Featured displays, strategic positioning on the shelf, and packaging that stands out can increase the likelihood of products being selected in this category.
• Aisles with fewer options experience a higher number of unplanned purchases and comparison shopping, compared with aisles with hundreds of choices where shoppers tend to grab what is convenient or familiar.

High-Involvement Purchases

• Despite high levels of pre-planning and research by consumers in this category, eye tracking revealed that brand comparison and decision making still occur in the aisle.
• Consumers look at packaging, POS signage and materials, and product displays when making a decision, particularly in the case of physical product displays where shoppers can see how the actual product looks.
• Simple displays that clearly match features with user benefits perform better than flashy displays with “information overload.”

On-Aisle Signage

• Once on an aisle, shoppers look straight ahead or downward, leaving any overhead promotional signage completely unseen.
• Even if positioned in the line of sight, promotional signage that isn’t emotionally engaging doesn’t impact the purchase decision.
• Marketers should consider both creative execution and optimal shelf placement in order to drive sales in the retail setting.

Mobile eye tracking helps market researchers fill in the gap between what shoppers say they see and what they actually look at. While these studies are currently happening in a controlled context, there will likely be a day when eye tracking is more ubiquitous and marketers will have access to information about what we look at while we shop or even walk down the street. What are your thoughts? Are you open to providing this information if it makes your decision-making easier or do you have trouble getting over the privacy invasion factor?

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