Optimizing qualitative research: How situational factors affect consumer behavior

How can researchers account for the many variables that influence consumer behavior?

Editor’s note: Ben Elliott is a senior research strategist. Amy Spencer is co-founder of market research firm The Research Heads, California. 

Qualitative research remains a key tool for uncovering the intricate layers of consumer decision-making. Among the various ways in which we can engage with people, the shopping experience stands out for its ability to reveal how consumers navigate their purchasing decisions in real-world settings. During the in-person shopping experience consumers are asked to shop in a simulated or real store environment and their actions are observed and recorded. By using this approach, qualitative researchers can gain rich insights into how consumers make purchase decisions, react to different product attributes and respond to various situational factors.

However, in-person shopping experiences also pose some challenges for researchers. How do researchers account for the multitude of variables that influence consumer behavior? How do they set up the approach so that it best mirrors real-world scenarios? At the end of it all, how do they ensure the analysis accurately reflects the complexities of real-world shopping experiences? This article explores these questions via a hypothetical case study that looks at how situational factors can be designed into the research approach.

Exploring dynamic variables when shopping for personal care products

Let’s imagine a project was commissioned by a personal care brand that wanted to explore consumer preferences, motivations and behaviors for different product categories (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc.). The goal of the study is to test the effectiveness of different product attributes such as scent, packaging and more, while also examining the impact of situational factors such as budgetary constraints, time pressure, shopping for others and the presence of distractions (e.g., kids).

Let’s assume the research project followed a four-step approach to showcase how being mindful of these situational factors can yield real world actionable insights.

Step 1: Setting the research objectives. 

Making sure you have clear objectives is crucial for any study, but especially so when you have a number of variables.

• Profile the consumers: Identify consumer personas for the different product categories.
• Evaluate preferences: Understand consumer needs, preferences and purchase behavior for various product attributes.
• Gauge satisfaction: Measure consumer satisfaction for different product attributes and identify opportunities.
• Understand situational factors: Determine how situational factors such as budget, time pressures, etc., can influence consumer behavior.

Step 2: Designing the experimental conditions. 

This next step involves exploring how the research team could manipulate variables of interest to observe how they might (or might not) impact consumer behavior.

Here are six distinct scenarios, each designed to test different aspects of the shopping experience.

Condition 1: The basics.

Respondents are given a budget of $20 and asked to shop for personal care products for themselves in a simulated store with a standard shelf setup. No time limits or additional information is provided.

Condition 2: Budget constraints.

Respondents are given a reduced budget of $10 with a standard shelf setup and no time limits or other instructions.

Condition 3: Time pressure.

With a $20 budget, respondents have only 10 minutes to shop the standard shelf setup. They are told there would be penalties for exceeding the time limit.

Condition 4: Shopping for others.

Respondents shop with $20 but for someone else. This person provides guidance over the phone but could not see the shelf setup.

Condition 5: Distractions.

With a $20 budget to shop for themselves, respondents are accompanied by one or more young children. These children were instructed to distract and annoy them during shopping.

Condition 6: Shelf changes.

Respondents are given $20 to spend on personal care products for themselves, but the shelf setup has been altered. Product locations and availability were changed.

Step 3: Experimenting.

The experience could be conducted with 100 respondents who were the target population of the personal care brand. Each recruit is randomly assigned to one of the six experimental conditions. The shopping experiment is conducted in a controlled environment to ensure consistency across all variables, apart from those being explored.

Each participant is asked to shop as normal, given the circumstances they find themselves in. As with all market research studies, participants are compensated for their time. Qualitative researchers monitor and observe, and carefully capture data on each participant's actions – what products they pick up, what they put back, how long they spend with a product, what is purchased, what other factors impact their actions and how much money is spent. At the end of the experience, participants are allowed to also self-report their experience, to help with quantifying results as well as allowing researchers to compare and contrast against observed behavior.

Step 4: Analyzing the data.

With the data collected the research team could use both quantitative and qualitative methods to address the core objectives set out at the start of the study. Analysis techniques such as thematic and discourse analysis are used to uncover patterns and themes from the participants behavior.

The findings could reveal valuable insights for the personal care brand, for example:

• Time pressure and loyalty: Time pressure had the biggest impact on brand loyalty.
• Shopping for others and brand switching: Shopping for others resulted in the most brand switching.
• Distractions and product selection: Shopping with younger children resulted in additional items being purchased.

This experimental study could highlight changes that the brand might make in terms of how to design and position the products, how to communicate and promote the products and ultimately how to enhance and optimize the consumer shopping experience and purchase decisions.

Leveraging insights for real-world impact

For brands and market researchers alike this case study can highlight several actionable takeaways:

• Don’t shy away from complexity. Life is anything but straightforward and a real-life shopping experience is complex. The research approach should reflect this. Embrace it and test multiple variables.
• Design for realistic scenarios. Think about the different situations your consumers might find themselves in everyday life (e.g., distractions, time and budget constraints) and aim to include these in the design.
• Target your audience with precision. Use the findings to home in on consumer personas. Tailor the marketing strategies and product offerings accordingly.
• Iterate on product design. Learnings from these shopping experiments can be used to inform on packaging design to shelf placement, helping brands to better meet consumer needs.

Enhancing consumer understanding by experimenting with situational factors

By accounting for the multitude of ways situational factors can influence shopping behavior, researchers can offer brands a more nuanced understanding of their customers. This in turn allows brands to make more informed decisions to ultimately help enhance consumer satisfaction, loyalty and ideally market growth.

While this case study is theoretical in nature, it shows the importance of considering – or at least being aware of – the various situational factors that can influence consumers.