Dec 29, 2023
In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, you'll hear an insightful conversation between host Melina Palmer and guests Jo Evershed and Gareth Harvey. Jo and Gareth discuss the power of behavioral data in personalizing shopping experiences and nudging consumers towards more desirable choices. The conversation also delves into the impact of default options and the potential for personalization in branding. Overall, this episode highlights the potential of data-driven personalization in improving shopping experiences and pricing strategies. Whether you're an online retailer or marketer, this episode provides valuable insights on how to engage customers and increase conversions through personalized nudges.
In this episode, you will:
00:00:00 - Introduction,
Melina introduces the guests, Jo Evershed and Gareth Harvey, and
discusses their work in behavioral science and consumer
psychology.
00:04:34 - Gorilla Experiment Builder and Consumer Psychology
Jo explains the purpose of Gorilla Experiment Builder, a platform
for running behavioral research online. Gareth discusses his
background in consumer psychology and how he applies academic
research in the commercial sector.
00:07:07 - Applying Behavioral Insights in Grocery Stores
Gareth shares his experience in designing supermarket layouts and
how psychological principles can be applied to improve marketing
strategies. He discusses the importance of finding the right
stimuli and placement to influence consumer behavior.
00:09:40 - The Impact of Smell in Retail
Gareth explains the effectiveness of using scents like chocolate in
retail environments. He highlights the importance of placing the
scent in the right location to maximize its impact on consumer
behavior.
00:11:48 - The Truth About Pricing
Melina mentions her upcoming book, The Truth About Pricing, and
discusses an experiment she conducted with Jo and Gareth for the
book. The experiment involved testing different pricing strategies
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:14:21 - The Psychology of Supermarket Aisles
The group discusses the importance of positioning items in
supermarket aisles to encourage impulse buys and prolong shopping
trips. They explain the strategy of making customers far enough in
the aisle to see the next one and entice them to continue walking
and making more purchases.
00:15:40 - Changes in Supermarket Design
The group mentions how supermarkets are adapting their store
layouts to cater to different types of shoppers, such as
grab-and-go shoppers and those doing big stock-up shops. They
discuss the need to avoid antagonizing shoppers and the potential
for redesigning stores to meet changing shopping habits.
00:16:39 - Online Shopping and Impulse Buys
The group explains how supermarket apps can still encourage impulse
purchases and replicate the in-store experience. They mention the
use of personalized advertisements and offers based on past
purchases. Additionally, they discuss the importance of optimizing
product images and descriptions for online shoppers.
00:18:20 - Nudging Towards Healthier Choices
The group introduces the concept of "swaps" in online supermarkets,
where healthier alternatives are offered as substitutes for less
nutritious products. They discuss the potential for making small
nudges towards healthier options and the role of personalized
recommendations in influencing consumer choices.
00:20:12 - Challenges in Online Product Display
The group highlights the challenges of displaying products
effectively in online supermarkets. They explain how industry
guidelines and mobile optimization constraints limit the amount of
information and advertising that can be displayed.
00:27:42 - The Difficulty of Finding Gluten-Free Options
Melina discusses the challenges of finding gluten-free options due
to having celiac disease. They mention how it would be helpful if
stores and online supermarkets could offer personalized
recommendations based on dietary restrictions.
00:29:20 - Opting Out of Irrelevant Advertisements
The group suggests that online supermarkets should have an option
for users to opt out of seeing certain products, such as
gluten-containing items. This would save time for both the consumer
and the store, and provide valuable data for the store to make
better recommendations.
00:30:05 - Data Privacy and Opt-In Options
The group acknowledges the need for careful handling of shopper
data and the importance of opt-in options. They discuss how
consumers may feel nervous about having their data collected but
might be more willing if they have control over what data is used
and how it benefits them.
00:31:46 - Nudging Consumers Towards Healthier Choices
The group discusses an example of a study where labels on Coca Cola
products were used to nudge consumers towards healthier options.
They highlight the potential for supermarkets to use data to help
shoppers make better choices and become the best version of
themselves.
00:35:11 - Default Options and Personalized Recommendations
The conversation explores the idea of default options and
personalized recommendations within online supermarkets. By
offering healthier alternatives and giving shoppers the ability to
customize their default options, retailers can support customers in
making better choices.
00:41:22 - Setting up the Experiment
Melina and her team created an online shop to test different book
covers and their impact on sales. They ran a four-way
between-subject experiment, including a control condition without
Melina's books. They gathered data from participants, including
Melina's audience and small business owners recruited through
Prolific.
00:43:26 - Behavioral Decision Making
Gareth explains that visual saliency is crucial in decision making,
both in physical stores and online. People tend to go with what
catches their attention immediately. Online shoppers spend only a
few seconds reviewing multiple products. The study aimed to
understand how people's decisions differ when seeing a book cover
on a shelf versus in isolation.
00:44:37 - Challenges and Solutions
The initial data showed a strong preference for the red book cover,
but Melina and her team suspected it was due to the small sample
size. To overcome this, they collaborated with Prolific to collect
data from a larger and more diverse group. The final results
revealed that the green book cover performed the best, aligning
with both the behavioral and focus group data.
00:48:00 - Importance of Data and Uncertainty
Melina values running experiments to gather data and validate her
assumptions. Despite feeling uncertain about the outcomes, she is
willing to follow what the data suggests. The study helped her
understand that the green book cover performed well within her
audience, but not necessarily among those interested in pricing
books for businesses.
00:55:37 - Importance of Openness and Learning
Being open to different outcomes and learning from the results is
crucial. The Amazon description and keywords play a significant
role, and testing and optimizing them is essential. Feedback and
participation from hundreds of people have been valuable.
00:57:17 - Conclusion,
Melina's top insights from the conversation. What stuck with you
while listening to the episode? What are you going to try? Come
share it with Melina on social media -- you'll find her as
@thebrainybiz everywhere and as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn.
Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.
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