SOLUTIONS | Understanding Your Point Of Sale Performance
A heat map is a visual representation of what and where consumers’ eyes are attracted to when looking at a packaging or a shelf in the retail environment. This type of data helps marketing professionals understand not only the functionality of a store but also how consumers are visually interacting with their brands. What are they gravitating towards when looking at a product or a shelf set? Is it branding (logo), key messaging, or colour blocking at the shelf?
This is essential for gaining insight into consumers’ perceptions of the retail environment and determining how to adjust marketing communications to ensure that your brand stands out on the shelf.
Here is what a typical heat map looks like:
Research shows that when a customer interacts with a product, it increases the likelihood of purchase, making it crucial for marketing professionals to understand shopper behaviour before planning their POS solution.
With a store heat map, marketers can harness data to understand what is or isn’t working in-store. For example, Manhattan-based retailer STORY utilized heat map technology to reveal that despite having SpongeBob Squarepants Rolex merchandise in its ornate glass case, the product was getting little attention. Heat map technology uncovers valuable insight into what consumers want from a brand.
Do our consumers interact most with a 3-shelf display? Will a modest pole topper get their attention in our desired store location? Will a gift with purchase or value-add on a bottle help us get noticed on the bottom shelf? The analytical data provided by a heat map can answer these questions.
Heat mapping shows where shoppers gravitate to and what products they interact with the most within a single store, making it a key tool in developing a POS solution. Knowing how your shopper navigates the store will help narrow down the best solution for your brand.
Understanding in-store activity and how consumers navigate their shopping experience is the first step toward a successful POS campaign. Heat maps show retail marketing professionals things like where shoppers gravitate, what items they interact with, and what shelf they grab products from. They look inside at campaign performance and help you understand the changes needed to get consumers’ attention and validate the ROI of their point-of-sale (POS) solutions.
