Background
SPAR is a international company providing branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 and as of 2021 consists of 13,623 stores in 48 countries, with revenues in excess of €40bn.
The Challenge
In the ultra-competitive convenience retail sector, SPAR needed to understand whether their marketing strategy was aligned with what matters to their consumer, as they seek to continue their growth within the market, and drive market share growth.
Our Approach
Our approach incorporated both quantitative and qualitiative techniques. An initial large-scale quantitative piece used regression analysis to statistically validate what matters to consumers when it comes to decision making, rather than relying on overt & spontaneous consumer feedback, which can be prone with errors as the consumer misattributes what actually influenced their decision making. We then followed this work with qualitative exploration of the topics uncovered asking the consumer to give us the ‘whys’ behind the facts & behaviours we already knew to be correct.
The Outcome
Our findings highlighted key areas for improvement and focus within the retail estate, and marketing focus. Our recommendations spanned not only marketing activities but also estate management, space planning, additional service offer and new store opening.
