ActiSKU

ActiSKU honoured at Imagina 2010 awards.

Hervé Bonnard — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:55:00 +0000

ActiSKU, the 3D Real Time Virtual Shopper Test solution was honored, at the Imagina, the 3D Simulation & Visualization Event in Monaco, being nominated in the ‘Industry’ category with two other leading edge 3D specialists.

A Marketing Pack now available for ActiSKU Partners

Hervé Bonnard — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:20:00 +0000

In line with ActiSKU’s new business model we are proud to announce the launch of The Marketing Pack-an online portfolio destined for ActiSKU’s newly certified Partners. The Pack is designed to help partners sell in and facilitate this leading edge technology to their clients.

In one click, you can see video demonstrations or select examples of 3D Stores available in different Template formats such as supermarkets, service station or shopping malls etc.

Having the possibility to make ultra-realistic 3D environments using the unique Shop Editor is one thing however the real genius behind ActiSKU lies in the statistics module. Every second of every consumer’s visit is recorded in the granular detail to deliver rich statistical data on consumer behavior in the virtual environment. In the Marketing Pack, examples, of this SKU data or Planogram level of interaction, are included as well as possible formats for the export of data.

Partners will also have an easy access to ActiSKU logos, brochures, technical specifications etc. Resources will be added on a regular basis, building up a truly comprehensive Portfolio for Partners.

Even if you are not yet a Partner you can check it out now http://marketing.actisku.com Who knows you might become a Partner online!

Bennet Holmes.

ACTIPLAY takes off to seduce Silicon Valley with ActiSKU®

Bennet Holmes — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:07:00 +0100

The region of Montpellier has selected ACTIPLAY to participate in its Hi-Tech Road show In Silicon Valley between 12-18 October. Bennet Holmes, Business Development Director will present ActiSKU®, to business leaders in The Valley.

ActiSKU® has created a revolutionary new way for brands and retailers to carry out market research. Much faster than classic research methods and costing a fraction of traditional budgets ActiSKU® enables brands to launch new concepts more quickly with an ultra realistic virtual 3D environment.

Market research companies, brands and retailers are using ActiSKU® as a new way to test marketing concepts, in a virtual 3D environment online, replacing the need for slow and expensive real store tests. ActiSKU® creates highly realistic 3D virtual stores with thousands of products. These stores are downloaded on the Internet and can be visited by consumers online.

Through its proprietary Shop Editor®, ActiSKU® enables Users to interact with the 3D virtual environment in real time. For every consumer, every second of his or her visit is recorded in the granular detail to deliver rich statistical data on consumer behavior in the given virtual environment.

For more information contact Bennet Holmes +1 518 690 03 97 or bholmes@actisku.com

ActiSKU LIVE at the SEMO 2009

Bennet Holmes — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:59:00 +0100

Being one of the major events in the domain of Market Research, the SEMO show is a great opportunity for Brands, Retailers and market research companies to meet and exchange notes.

ActiSKU will be at the heart of the action on the 4th and 5th of November on the A26/B11 stand.

ActiSKU is leading the market and is driving an e-revolution in the market research landscape; the solution will help you to:
- Test new concepts in highly realistic virtual environments, in real time and via the Internet.
- Analyze your shopper’s behavior while modifying your marketing-mix.

Come and meet the team and see how the surveys of tomorrow will look like!

ACTIPLAY, now member of the prestigious ESOMAR

Hervé Bonnard — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:54:00 +0100

Created in 1948 by 29 personalities of the research marketing sector, ESOMAR is the world organisation for enabling better research into markets, consumers and societies. With 5,000 members in 100 countries, ESOMAR’s aim is to promote the value of market and opinion research in illuminating real issues and bringing about effective decision making.

Testimonials

Pascal Bourut — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:21:00 +0100

Jared Joseph

Director - Retail Smart

«By partnering with ActiSku we are adding value to our retail and supplier client base by offering 3D merchandising services in addition to our existing category management services, it’s simply a natural fit.»

Retail Smart the UK’s leading innovator and provider of retail planning software and services for the FMCG sector, have partnered with ActiSku to offer store virtual realisation and online store surveys to the FMCG market.

Jared Joseph Director of Retail Smart Limited stated: It has always been our aim to add Virtual Reality services to our range of category management software and services. By partnering with ActiSku we are adding value to our retail and supplier client base by offering 3D merchandising services in addition to our existing category management services, it’s simply a natural fit.

By using ActiSku 3D virtualisation service clients get realistic views of how brands and categories look in store and on shelf to effectively plan a new ranges, product launch or full concept stores. In ActiSku we have found a partner who uses leading edge Virtual Reality platform which is totally web enabled making it accessible to anyone around the worlds, I’m excited at this opportunity and for the future innovations of online retailing.

How’s that?

Jean Francis Bonnard

Expert in industrial and commercial development

«As much as a merchandising tool and shoppeur test, as it is defined, ActiSku is for me a wonderful architectural design software, an unparalleled flexibility.»

Jean Francis Bonnard graduated from the Saint Etienne Architectural School, and began his career as a scientist with the army in French Polynesia, where he designed military buildings and barracks.

In 1989, he joined the Saint-Etienne based Casino Group as 'Supermarket Project Manager' and one year later, took over the management of all their Supermarket projects in France.

In 1991 he became head of the Group’s drawing/ design office, which designs all their shops, warehouses and restaurants.

From 1998 to 2003 he led the development of the 'Casino Cafétérias' subsidiary and, in 2003 became 'Property Development and Maintenance Manager' for the Supermarkets business units.

He left this position in 2007 and founded several companies working in the Property Development sector.

Jean Francis Bonnard is an IT enthusiast and contributed significantly to the implementation of systems at the Casino Group’s Works Management Department

Sylvie Joseph

Deputy Marketing Director LA POSTE

«I had the pleasure of discovering ActiSku made by ACTIPLAY last April to work on a number of simulations. This tool, the best I have ever come across, is fantastic in its realism and precision. It enables the user or consumer to project themselves into a reality which is less virtual than ever.»

Sylvie Joseph began her career in 1983 as Head of Advertising in an agency where she later became Chief Executive.

In 1992, she founded D&J, a retail-focused Strategy Consultancy, and joined the Carrefour Group in 1999 as Marketing Director for Branding and Communication in Europe.

In 2001 she took over as Director of Marketing-Communication for the France Hypermarkets business unit for the retail group, before joining Conforama (PPR Group) as Marketing Director for Customers and Communication.

In 2005, she took on the role of Chief Executive of the Solutions department for the High Co. Group, which specialises in sales promotion, and left in 2008.

Sylvie Joseph is a renowned expert in Customer Relations and Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing.

She is currently Deputy Marketing Director at LA POSTE.

ActiSKU online, it's as if you were there !

Pascal Bianchi — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:22:00 +0100

ActiSKU online

SKU photos and 3D modelling

Pascal Bianchi — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:55:00 +0000

3D SKU modeling : No longer any need to send your 3D products to be integrated into ACtiSKU, via the ActiSKU intranet you place an order in a few clicks, joining photos of your products(SKUs). In 72 hours your products will be modeled in High Definition 3D quality and integrated directly to your own data base of products.

The cost of this service is on average 10€ per standard object: food, drinks, perfumes, cosmetics etc.

Other 3D models : On top of the data base of 3D objects contained within ActiSKU and available to all users, our team can create tailor made 3D models (Templates, gondolas, decorative items, technical products etc). The ActiSKU intranet enables you to make a request for a specific order including detailed brief and photos. This type of modeling is charged on a basis of time spent( Between 50€ for an object up to 5K€ for an entire store).

Integration

Pascal Bianchi — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:54:00 +0000

In order to avoid losing time with mail and telephone calls to explain your particular marketing needs, ActiSKU includes a Shop Editor that allows you to create all kinds of shopper tests, with a few simple mouse clicks, directly from your own PC as if you were in the actual store.

Questionnaire

Pascal Bianchi — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:36:00 +0000

A standard questionnaire module is included in ActiSKU that provides forms before and after the virtual visit but if you want to integrate an external form, you can do that too!

Does the internet provide reliable information?

Hervé Bonnard — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:29:00 +0000

The EXPLOSION of online research !

At a time when the internet was still a “trendy” tool used by the younger generation, mostly written in C++, accessible mainly in cities due to lack of adequate networks in rural areas, and subject to ADSL connections (still rare 10 years ago)… online research was given a bad label.

The main problem was “non-representativeness”; a “ball-and-chain” that made it inadequate since it did not provide proper sampling.

In other words, for the internet to become a viable research tool, the surveyed cross-section should be more representative of the overall French population. This has not been the case and a disparity still exists even now. Experts respond to this by questioning whether representation is truly necessary.

Upon further reflection…

According to the figures published in the study referenced below, the profile of the French population versus that of internet surfers is as follows: 42% men as opposed to 53% amongst internet surfers; with respect to the CSP+ (upper socio-professionals): 20% men in the French population as opposed to 34.4% amongst internet users. To be even more precise: 18.5% in France as opposed to 22% on the Ile de France.

In spite of a significant internet penetration rate, there are still some very significant disparities in terms of age: 72% for 12-17 year olds and only 40% for 60-69 year olds (even though the growth in the number of internet surfers for the latter population was very strong from 2007 to 2008).

The question one might ask is whether or not marketing research groups systematically demand national representation for their research? Apart from surveys on general topics, political surveys and a few other research fields, the answer is NO.

Research companies often prefer criteria that are more representative for a given population: women, professionals, children, managers, etc.

In other words, if the methods are employed properly (to avoid surveying targets that don’t use the internet very much) and in proper context, the internet appears to be an excellent research tool, mainly because of its speed of implementation and low cost.

Sensitive data: sampling methods

Throughout history, promoters of “probabilistic” sampling methods were always opposed to “pragmatists” (non-probabilistic). They have always believed that research results cannot be correctly interpreted without calculating error margins. For them, only the scientific method can produce reliable results.

On the other hand, pragmatists, who favour quota methods and defend a more “open” approach, such as the one that uses the internet, do not dismiss results obtained using non-probabilistic methods. Today these people are among those who accept online methods consider the results obtained thereby to be sufficiently convincing.

In another, recently-published bulletin that addresses the benefits of using online research for market evaluation, we state that online sampling cannot be probabilistic, for at least one good reason: it is impossible to send thousands of emails to internet surfers since anti-spam laws forbid this in some countries (France allows this, as long as it is for research purposes).

Standard methods of research definitely have the advantage of being probabilistic but, in spite of this, they have quite a few drawbacks, as even the authors of the research cited below will concede. It forces them to admit that true probabilistic sampling does not exist! Surveys are often restricted to large cities, due to cost reasons, and some areas are never sampled (suburbs and other areas), etc.

Proving its worth

To counter these online “problems”, survey and research companies have quickly realised that it was useful to create completely self-contained online Access Panels and some companies have made it their speciality (e.g. Panel on the web). It is also important to diversify the panellist recruitment methods as much as possible by mixing off-line and online as a means of ensuring reliability and quality.

At least two pitfalls still need to be avoided: the results have to be adjusted to compensate for the differences between the sampling structure and that of the targeted population and, above all, to avoid “self-selection” that allows internet surfers to declare themselves as participants in a studies that only collect names, by simply clicking on a pop-up or some other internet media.

Even with these precautions, online studies must be set up perfectly in order to produce reliable results. To ensure this, some organisations perform “counter-studies” in order to validate their online results.

It is due to this “professionalisation” and the use of multiple filters that, today, close to 25% of research is performed “online”.

This reflection and this article were taken from a very interesting document published in September, 2008 by Syntec Etudes Marketing et Opinion /afm: http://www.revue-ram.org/documents/entreprises/terradot.pdf

The market Research

Pascal Bianchi — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:00:00 +0000

The world market research represents a sales turnover of 28.2 billion dollars in 2007 according to the annual Esomar report.

The European market has captured 43% of the world market with a sales turnover of 10.6 billion dollars. The North American market is second with 36%, then the Asia-Pacific rim (14%), Latin America (5%) and the MEA region (2%). All this in a world-wide market that increased by 6.8% in 2006 (an increase of 14.6 billion dollars).

The research market has greatly expanded in the last few years. On one hand, the major, well-known, world research institutes such as ACNielsen, Taylor Nelson Sofres, IMS and GfK are continuing their ascent by launching into other growing markets and consolidating their international presence. The top ten world-wide research groups reported a sales turnover of more than 11 billion Euros in 2004 (a growth of 19.5% over 2003).

On the other hand, smaller companies are maintaining their market share by providing research analysis software, strategic marketing advice and online methodologies. Internet research is thus enabling small companies to compete with the larger ones by offering simplified, “low-cost” studies that are custom-designed for specific needs.

According to Esomar, online quantitative studies represented 25% of all the research studies in 2007. According to Synthec Etudes de Marché et D’opinion, online studies (qualitative and quantitative) represented 22% of the research market in France in 2007.

Comparison of Study Techniques (source: Synthec Etudes, AFM):

Benefits of online studies versus in-field studies

Accessibility to numerous and varied targets. Ability to recruit rare profiles with low incidence rates collection speed. Background information and pre-qualification of respondents Sincerity and richness of responses. Sometimes lower cost.

Quality problems with online results

There are problems due to the very nature of online sampling but these will become less significant over time as the Internet penetration rate increases. Non-representation o Non-probabilistic sampling Risk of “professionalisation” of respondents Collection method: Can an Internet surfer represent a non-surfer? Projectability of the results (external validity)

Quality problems with “in-field” results

In-field testing, which is often considered to be more “qualitative” and more costly, is, in fact, rarely probabilistic:

o Cost-wise: in order to minimize travelling expenses, surveys are often limited to large cities o Street surveys are often limited to the busy main streets o Digicodes are making many areas and random streets more and more difficult to access o Some difficult suburbs are never surveyed ( this is also true for very rich areas ) o As well as certain entire regions that are rarely visited by pollsters (the “ the center of France and most rural areas).

Comparison of the quality of in-field and online surveys results

Variations in one particular study, conducted in 2007 with 4,427 volunteers randomly selected from an online XL panel (Kristof De Wulf and Sam Berteloot), were analysed according to the recruiting t methods used (phone, face to face, emails, web-posted forms, ad campaigns on the internet etc.) while the socio-demographic characteristic of the sampled population was filtered out so that the differences were only due to variations in the sourcing method.

In this analysis, the following factors were evaluated:

The participation rate. The time to complete the questionnaire. The consistency of responses. The depth of responses to open questions (number of words). The response style (monotone or varied). The level of knowledge. The consumption profile

The results show that:

There is no difference in the consumption behaviour (food, drink, equipment, leisure, political involvement etc.). There is no difference in the quality of responses (consistency, depth), except in responses obtained by email (fewer responses), and by Internet (higher click rate). There is no difference in motivation to participate in the study

Motivation of volunteers in online panels

One online, XL panel study of 2,084 panellists used random drawings and donations to charitable institutions as a means of motivation (Annelies Verhaghe 2007):

I want to express my opinion: 32%. I want to help the researcher by participating in the study: 27%. I want to have a chance to win a prize: 20%. I enjoy answering questionnaires: 10%. This is a way of supporting charity: 8%. I like learning things: 2%. Other: 1%

Impact of the duplication of panellists in several panels

Two studies in England conducted by Harris Interactive (2006) with 1,983 panellists (of which there were 133 multi-panellists) and 2,071 panellists (of which there were 166 multi-panellists) showed that:

There is no difference in age or sex. There were slightly more unemployed persons amongst the multi-panellists (6.7% as opposed to 5.2%). They respond more but also abandon the survey more often, thus an identical rate. The quality of their responses is slightly higher (consistency, depth). They are not more motivated by incentives. On the other hand they actually show a greater desire to learn new things

Studies: a sector that works twice as hards

Hervé Bonnard — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:12:00 +0000

Studies or communication: you can’t slack off in a crisis !

Whereas General Management might be tempted to cut certain budgets and without thinking much about it, some on the other hand, keep up the pressure.

In these difficult times advertisers have been increasing their pitches on the net to promote the advantages of advertising and, in a more general way, all communication. At the same time they have to explain and clarify the nature of information exchange, guide consumers, etc. and, if possible, add some humour in order to provide some comic relief !

Research groups have less presence in this field and are not as involved in blogs. Budgets, in general, are being tightened but, in spite of this, the overall sales figures are still very significant!

There is no need to explain the importance of knowing the market and the consumer, especially his own, to any one in business. Research studies have been gaining in popularity for several years because they are becoming more and more reliable and major institutions, as well as smaller ones, are becoming increasingly effective at using the various methods and techniques.

More and more studies

According to the “Global Market Research 2008”* report published by ESOMAR**, the world research market had a sales turnover of 28 billion dollars in 2007, and has been growing continuously. This represents 6.5% growth between 2007 and 2006! If the entire economy had the same growth, how good would that be? If only government leaders worked effectively! If only companies made the right investments at the right times! If only there was a strong market with high demand!

Europe alone represents 43% of the world research market, with more than 10 billion dollars in sales!

So where does France stand in all of this? It is actually not doing too badly in this very competitive market. Our country is just behind two Anglo-Saxon countries (USA and Great Britain) and is positioned as 4th in the world in terms of sales turnover. Germany is the first European country but France is ahead of Japan! Who would have believed this?

This is proof that the research industry knows how to be appealing using methods that are more and more innovative and reliable. Even in a good market, it is critical to remain watchful. The larger and medium-sized research companies are always keeping an eye on every movement!

At ACTIPLAY, it is the same thing. The interest in ActiSKU since its launch in October, 2008 is proof of that. A dozen companies in this sector got together and almost all had the same response.

So where does “online” fit into all this?

All that industrial members, the media and most companies are asking for is that research institutions and study groups help them increase their sales turnover through a better understanding of their clients and the market. They want to direct their marketing and business efforts more effectively but they are also trying to anticipate future conditions.

Even if most of the methods used by research companies are still “classical” (in-field studies), this does not mean that the Internet is not a serious contender! It provides a quick turn-around time, significant participation numbers from respondents located world-wide, and costs that are finally becoming acceptable to clients. Online surveys are, in fact, actually bolstering the growth of this activity sector.

The arguments opposed to online studies, especially regarding the reliability and quality of the results, although justifiable in the early years, are steadily losing their validity as time progresses.

The main problems are due to the very nature of online sampling: non-representation, non- probabilistic sampling, “professionalisation” of respondents, and its collection method: Can an Internet surfer represent a non-Internet surfer? The “projectibility” of the results is also still being examined (external validity).

Today, with the development of online panels, created and maintained by companies that are becoming more and more specialised (ex: Panel on the web) along with the development of hardware, high-speed networks and the constant increase in the Internet penetration rate, these arguments are no longer as valid as they used to be.

On the contrary, the specialists*** are promoting its ability to provide “accessibility to numerous and varied targets, recruitment of rare profiles with low incidence rate, collection speed, sincerity and depth of responses, background information and pre-qualification of respondents”. In addition to this, the cost is often significantly lower than classical studies.

According to Esomar, “quantitative, online studies represented 25% of the studies in 2007” and 22%, according to the “Synthec Etudes de marché et d’opinion” (qualitative and quantitative online studies).

Making a return on your investment

In this rationale, it is not about diminishing the use of in-field studies, which still represent a large part of the market and which will always be important, in spite of their disadvantages which are both recognised and enumerated by the specialists: “For cost reasons: to limit travelling expenses, surveys are often limited to large cities; polls on the street are often limited to busy main streets some difficult suburbs are never visited (- this is also true for very posh neighbourhoods); including many entire areas where there are rarely any pollsters (the “centre of France”, and the rural areas in general). Field studies, which are often considered to be more “qualitative” are much more expensive to perform and are, in fact, rarely probabilistic”.

It is more useful to promote the use of online studies due to the continued development and democratisation of the Internet. A “shopper test” solution in a virtual environment, such as ActiSKU, shows that online testing does work and the results can satisfy the best industrialists. I would invite you to explore (or re-explore) what I wrote in my first article concerning the creation of ActiSKU. There you can read that Carlsberg, being careful to compare results obtained online and offline (in the field) using the same tests state that there is a correlation of more than 80% in the results.

According to a study conducted in 2007 with 4,427 panellists selected at random from an online XL panel (Kristof De Wulf and Sam Berteloot), the quality of the results obtained from in-field and online studies were compared and he concluded that there was no difference in the consumption behaviour (food, drink, equipment, leisure, political activities etc.). There was no difference in the quality of responses (consistency, depth), except among email recruits (fewer responses) and via the Internet (higher click rate) and no difference in the motivation to participate in the studies.

According to another study (Annelies Verhaghe 2007) conducted with 2,084 panellists by means of an online XL panel that used incentives such as random draws and charitable donations, 32% of those surveyed stated that they were participating in order to express their opinions and 27% merely to help the researchers!

Let’s talk about the future…

At Harris Interactive, SEMO 2008, the question was asked in the following terms: “For online studies, the current and future (r)evolutions are still numerous. Will the development of community tools change the method of polling consumers? Is it possible to gain a greater insight into their intimate world using new technologies? To what extent can one simulate reality using online studies? What about mobile phones? What can be done now? What can be done in the future?”

As has already been stated, Europe represents more than 40% of the research market and the rest is held by the United States and Japan. What can be done elsewhere? There are many emerging markets and there will be continued growth in the need for effective research especially in countries that are just beginning to industrialise.

Personally, I think that online methods are going to continue to advance because they increase the range of options available to industry and are economically flexible. ActiSKU is part of this context: modernity of media, adaptability to needs, flexible business model and reduced costs (definitely a “plus” at this time when budgets are being squeezed!).

I invite you to explore the excellent analysis of the development of online tools posted on the www.e-marketing.com site: click here

*Global Market Research” is a complete report on world-wide research trends. It provides information on sales turnovers, but also discusses revenue sources of institutions as well as the most favoured methodologies. It provides an over-view of the best 25 research institutions in the world and the financial numbers for the top ten.

**ESOMAR, with 5000 members throughout the world in approximately one hundred different countries, is a world-wide organisation that works to improve and to promote markets and discussions, reveals problems and offers tools to facilitate effective decision-making.

***Refer to the study conducted by Synthec Etudes, AFM on this subject

Visit : http://www.esomar.org/

When merchandising become indispensable

Hervé Bonnard — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:55:00 +0000

The right product, the right place, the right time, the right price and the right quantity.

Consider the usual definition of “merchandising”. For decades, the corner grocer has been slowly transforming into a self-service operation over time in an almost scientific manner.

It must be stated that, with the explosion of competing brands and modern business needs in all areas of commerce, there is a great risk of loss and/or failure unless a minimum degree of order and organisation is maintained.

This is even truer in a hypermarket where there are often 60,000 to 80,000 SKUs (product types) all of which must be placed in a multitude of aisles and on hundreds of shelves. But how? Imagine our poor grocer of yester-year, could he accommodate all this? Probably not!

Profitability can only be maintained by extensive analysis of the positioning of products on shelves, the variety of stock, the quantity of product per “SKU”, etc.

Who takes charge of the merchandising?

A well-designed, attractive point of sale that is customised to match the habits and needs of the clientele increases the sales turnover per shelf and, thus, per SKU. Today, some distribution companies are working hand-in-hand with industrialists in order to increase profitability and, in some cases, the merchandising is completely controlled by industrialists.

From this point of view, brand-name companies, who often work together with several distributors (and who know them well) can help them to be profitable by using their knowledge of consumer habits as well as changes in the preferences of “average” clients but this only works when the competition is not too overbearing and the clientele profile is relatively simple.

On the other hand, many distributors have sought to regain control of their merchandising in order to customise their shelves and selection to the specific nature and needs of their own store. “Geo-merchandising”, as it is sometimes called, is often appropriate because the distributor knows his local clientele best (age, social position, preferences, lifestyle etc.). A degree of “fine-tuning” in accordance with local habits, rapid population development, etc, can greatly improve the merchandising effectiveness.

Industrialists, in spite of their advanced research methods and best intentions, often miss subtle nuances that can harm product sales if they are not quickly detected and resolved.

I am thinking of brand-names that will be seriously affected by the departure of entire regiments of the French Army in certain regions. Good-bye youth, family, celebrities etc. How are they going to manage these rapid changes without a finely-tuned appreciation of the consumption habits and preferences of the remaining population?

Every day they are confronted by a constant change in the “average” consumer profile. In such cases, the industry, the brand name, could never add to a deeper understanding of the local market than the store itself.

Let me give a more general example of the kind of “client knowledge” that is necessary: Carrefour has two stores in western Paris, Montesson and Sartouville separated by only a few kilometres that are designed for two very different kind of clientele. One: wealthy, high-revenue classes. The second: average, younger, “family-oriented” clientele. In this specific case, the selection on the shelves cannot be the same. Many products presented in one would be inappropriate in the other. This is also true for the pricing. The right stock variety, the right pricing, the right spatial positioning and the most effective promotional methods etc. are all very critical issues.

In addition to this, there is the competition of multiple stores!

Brand-names are trying to maintain control over their own merchandising and this has resulted in the creation of “ad hoc” services in the majority of major chains over the last few years as they try control their stock and every other factor that impacts their profitability.

The obsession with “exclusive info”, that they fear may be leaked to an industrialist to the profit of other chains, has probably played a significant role in the creation of these integrated merchandising

Merchandising methods

The purpose of Merchandising with a capital “M”, as described by the Institut Français du Merchandising (IFM), is “to increase product sales by constantly adaptating selection to market requirements and by presenting merchandise appropriately”.

In other words, any method used to help increase product sales, including in-store advertising, studies to determine a product’s ideal shelf positioning compared to its competitors, promotional strategies, aisle head displays, etc., are all among the traditional concerns of merchandising.

Today, merchandising is often integrated into the overall IT system. Everyone is familiar with “Apollo” and “Spaceman” which are widely used in major food retail chains and in industry to connect sales forces and merchandising. When used in conjunction with other software, they also make it possible to manage and plan the product assortment based on store details, as well as product and consumer data.

These same tools can help manage shelf displays, planogram design, or even, on the supplier side, to monitor sales initiatives, while communicating with merchandising software. Initially used mainly in industry, these tools are now widely adopted by distributors and appear indispensable today.

ActiSKU and certain other market solutions come into play well upstream, before implementation of a new marketing concept, before placing a new product on the shelf, before installing new signage or in-store advertising. They are used in the context of marketing studies designed to perfect understanding of the customer.

To be clear: The advantage of ActiSKU is that it provides real-time feedback that frees the user from long processing times for data compilation, unthinkable for research groups today in view of tightened budgets (time is money!). This is one drawback of Flash-based software, which also suffers from excessive download volumes.

The next step for ActiSKU and its successors will be to create the necessary technology “bridges” to other tools (Apollo-Spaceman, etc.) to increase their usefulness and improve marketing methods and research. ActiSKU was designed for such changes, a client need only ask!

Can studying the “customer path” improve operational effectiveness?

Pascal Bianchi — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:43:00 +0000

Everyone is talking about the crisis - but the distribution chains deal with it on a daily basis, and have been since well before it became a hot media topic, in the summer of 2008.

Purchasing power has certainly been declining more quickly since last summer, resulting in ultra-fast changes in consumer behaviour. “I don’t have the same budget, so I can no longer purchase the same things in the same quantities, I no longer respond to the same criteria, I favour other products instead of my regular purchases, I prefer certain products for various reasons, etc.”

In this environment, stores have to work hard to adapt. They must react quickly, at least as quickly as their competitors, or risk irretrievable loss of their commercial positions. One thing is certain: market shares have never been as hotly contested as they are today, and pricing strategies are no longer always enough.

Therefore, being able to rapidly analyse changes in consumer behaviour has become a strategic necessity, in order to better offer this disoriented consumer what he needs at the right time and at the right price.

Where do they go? What do they do?

Customers who enter a store are subject to a multitude of influences during their visit. Sales area design, traffic areas, informational items, communication elements (signage), etc., are all customer relation interfaces.

What exactly happens when they enter the store?

Which aisles do they prefer and why? Do they – still – follow the path imagined by the sales area design experts? What determines their choices? Does signage influence their path through the sales area, or is the customer’s trajectory more subconscious as he pursues a predetermined goal? Do consumers seek to first satisfy their primary reason for visiting the store? Do information, new offers, in-store advertising locations, aisle head displays, product promos, etc. affect their decision to purchase particular products? If so, in what way and to what extent?

People who manage business and marketing departments ask all these questions – but do they have the financial and/or technical tools to answer them correctly?

Clearly, what was true yesterday is even more, true today: Better understanding the “customer path”, better understanding customers’ habits, what they deem important, the major factors in their decision-making process, will all lead to a better understanding of what, exactly, in the sales area can influence their choices. So do studies of the customer’s path and more generally CRM studies increase operational effectiveness? Personally, I am convinced of it! What about you?

An article that I think is very useful, published on the CSC agency site

What price is right?

Pascal Bianchi — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:38:00 +0000

The pricing war began a long time ago.

Today, using promos such as “buy two get one free”, “3 for 2”, “2 for the price of one” and all the other imaginable schemes, distributors are obsessed with gaining market share from their neighbour by offering lower prices. From sale to price reduction, they have only one desire: to protect their margins by keeping their own clients at least, and if possible winning some over from their competitors. A veritable balancing act that is also subject to the law of the marketplace.

On the other side of the fence, the industrialist is scratching his head: “How can I accurately evaluate the price at which I should sell this new product?” All the more so as he often has several brands and dozens of references in a single aisle and can’t let his “new” product be shot down by another one. It must also be correctly positioned among the ubiquitous “private label” products, and the competing products of other brands or “signature” products. He must justify his price in relation to the ”best price” products that are increasingly capturing consumer interest.

So many parameters that require study, simulation, possible testing and a greater deployment effort as prices become increasingly volatile! Product pricing or “price positioning” has become an art today, requiring lots of time, energy and money, if traditional methods are used, to have the best chance of pinpointing the “right price”.

In any case, the process is necessary to ensure profitability while remaining attractive to customers. This positioning is particularly important for highly competitive products. Every penny earned without losing consumer trust is of capital importance. Every penny or client lost can mean economic disaster. And advertising can’t do it all. The most attractive, best marketed product will still not sell if its price positioning is not managed correctly.

A virtual aid for “price positioning”

In this context, a tool like ActiSKU can effectively assist an industrial brand in its research. It can do so quickly, flexibly, at low cost, and with excellent chances that the virtual experience will reflect reality.

By positioning the 3D-product model – whether new or remarketed – among competing products using virtual planograms, panellists’ behaviour can be studied without risk, as it all takes place in a virtual world, but a world in which real consumers and panellists express themselves. The industrialist can very quickly determine how far is too far, whether the price is the only attractive feature, and measure the effects of particular prices with respect to other brand products, etc.

ActiSKU could also be used more actively, to test for the “right price” for sale of large volumes during large-scale commercial operations. The “nature of the consumer” (examined in the small article referenced below) is a determining factor in the purchase of a product. Age, socio-professional status and other factors can all be studied very simply and effectively using ActiSKU, which was designed to do just that.

I also suggest reading a small pricing article that stimulated my own personal reflection: link to the article

The birth of virtual Test Shoppers

Hervé Bonnard — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:08:00 +0000

Once upon a time...

A recurring issue in retail distribution and industry is how to evaluate in-store marketing for large-scale commercial operations and be certain that it will have the desired impact on sales. It is just such a typical, yet crucial question facing marketing and business departments that launched a project called “ActiSKU” 4 years ago. “SKU” is mass distribution jargon for a “product type”. In 2006, a manager with Carlsberg, a brewer present in more than thirty countries, met with ACTIPLAY, a company specialised in the production of 2D and 3D, real-time advergames… that is, video games and advertising sites!

What was the link between these two? Only that the brewer had an idea in mind, and specific needs, and ACTIPLAY mastered 3D technology. Nothing more was needed to launch an effective project between ambitious, visionary partners.

The meeting that started it all …

Carlsberg’s request was concise and might be summarised as follows: “Given advances in 3D technology and your own specialty (i.e. at ACTIPLAY), could software be designed that would allow Carlsberg to quickly and economically test the impact of advertising before a large-scale deployment?”

In other words: “let panellists located anywhere in the world visit a virtual 3D store in order to observe their purchasing behaviour and how it is influenced by in-store advertising created to boost sales.” This was asking quite a bit!

The need to observe and analyse customer facts and behaviour has been around forever. It is the very basis of marketing.

The methods used to measure these “facts and behaviours” are always the same in modern business: qualitative and/or quantitative consumer surveys, using real tests in actual stores that are set up for this purpose.

This does work, but the organisational effort and cost are prohibitive and many stores cannot (or will not) accommodate this.

The idea of creating online testing software using virtual stores was revolutionary – but much remained to be done because no one had yet figured out how to do it.

In the preceding years there had been some attempts to represent stores in 3D and have customers push a virtual shopping cart through virtual aisles – but never online. And having been on the other side as a manager in retail distribution, I can confirm that none of it was very exciting. Not much was out there – cumbersome, not very user-friendly solutions, unattractive 3D images and 2D photo simulation of shelves, prohibitive load times, ineffective tracking tools, etc.

Premature attempts? Certainly, and as a result, major players in the mid-2000s (agro-food and retail multinationals) who actively wished to see this type of tool on the market, if only to reduce their research costs, remained dubious… possibly for some time. At the beginning of 2007, a manager in charge of one of the major French distribution giants told me nothing different.

And after him, many others. It is a well-known fact that truly revolutionary technologies must often overcome the errors of the past in order to gain a decent foothold!

This is not the fault of companies who tried their hand in the early 2000’s, it is just that technology had not yet reached its 2007 levels! ACTIPLAY is certainly very talented, but was also one of the first to take another look at this market – because we believed in it and a large company expressed a specific demand!

Challenge as a business principle

“Real-time 3D” is ACTIPLAY’s specialty, so we were given the go ahead!

ACTIPLAY recognised from the outset that one of the most critical factors for success was to create sufficiently realistic online stores to ensure that the panellist experience be as close as possible to what it would be in a real, physical store – otherwise, the results would not be accurate. An ambitious challenge, but if we could succeed…

Some months later, the first versions were available. Based on globally recognised 3D development software from Dassault Système (3DVIA Virtools), ACTIPLAY proposed a set of applications that could be used to create 3D stores with an “online test shopper” function. As soon as first-half 2007, Carlsberg began tests using custom 3D store models. Their products were arranged using highly realistic virtual planograms; in-store advertising created by its agency was placed appropriately, and all other store decor and furnishings were included.

To observe how customers would react in this little scenario, panellists with “ad hoc” profiles were recruited and given “missions”, which they would carry out from their own homes. ActiSku took care of everything and recorded thousands of data points in real-time, which Carlsberg could analyse only a few minutes later through a back-office function.

The first results seem encouraging, but to validate ActiSKU technology and to give it the credit it deserves for these “virtual tests”, Carlsberg also conducted traditional tests (duplicates of the virtual tests). The results indicate a correlation rate between the two methods ranging from 80 to 85%, which Carlsberg views as an excellent performance (today, this figure appears in a Carlsberg Group PowerPoint presentation posted on the internet). From then on, ActiSKU virtual testing had proven its effectiveness, but the software could still develop further. ACTIPLAY has no intention of resting on its laurels!

A dash of gaming, a pinch of imagination…

ActiSKU works and it provides conclusive results! In spite of this success, all the stores created for Carlsberg were custom creations, which made its research group dependent. But ACTIPLAY is a gaming specialist, let us not forget, expert at the art of facilitating player-interaction in virtual reality.

The next step was to create a new version of ActiSKU that gives research groups more autonomy. It would allow them to create test environments very quickly (complete stores, target areas, virtual show rooms) by using a 3D tool-box of basic objects and then customising them for particular stores: wall colours and textures, floors, ceilings, location and number of aisles, cash registers etc. Pre-fab elements to customise yourself. This would accelerate the pace of testing and make ActiSKU a true marketing management tool. Easy to say...

To create online software that is flexible, ergonomic, easy for marketing and artistic teams to use and doesn’t require in-depth IT skills, software that is capable of loading thousands of 3D objects within an acceptable time-frame, etc. – the technical challenges were immense. Few specialists in the world would even attempt such an ambitious project. In particular, one of the difficulties that no one had yet attempted to solve was that of displaying thousands of products in 3D!

Contact was made with OSEO to obtain financing for designing this ideal tool. Convinced of the validity of this technological approach and of the unique software that would result from it, OSEO offered a first R&D financial package in 2007, and a second followed in 2008. A lifeline for ACTIPLAY, which could now create the revolutionary software of its dreams.

And the genie is out of the box

Coming up with store templates that are pre-configured with objects such that clients can use them to create their own stores depends above all on having a list of “typical” costs that represent world business practices as faithfully as possible.

To address this need, in May 2008 ACTIPLAY hired a French expert familiar with designing sales spaces for mass retailers. He identified the ideal dimensions for furnishings, aisles widths, the number and configuration of shelves, etc. This work lasted several weeks, but was indispensable for creating stores that up close resemble “real” stores and comply with the standards which apply in the real world. The realism of the final store determines the extent to which panellists can “immerse” themselves, and as I said earlier is a constant challenge. Today, this expert continues to guide us through change at ActiSKU

For more than a year, engineers at ACTIPLAY have had a second obsession: coming up with technical innovations that will allow the thousands of generic products modelled in 3D on virtual shelves to load and display quickly. This involves making hundreds of colours, textures, and virtual objects available in a database that clients can use to customise their own sales spaces, a feat that requires us to pool and mobilise all of the company’s brain power!

Today, a 3D store with 1000m² of floor space takes less than one minute to load completely using a standard ADSL connection. Who can say that? This was THE sine qua non for “democratising” virtual testing and making it appealing to an larger number of manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors, and research and survey groups.

A test to validate new packaging can be created in less than half a day. Because of Carlsberg’s demand for this capability, ActiSKU greatly extended its territory in 2006,. The capability can be used to determine the ideal selling price for new products relative to competitor pricing. Packaging design companies can more easily analyse the choices consumers make when presented with new packaging. ActiSKU can also trace the “customer path” through a sales space and identify the “hot spots” where customers linger in the aisles. And all this information is available at a single click!

I am reminded of an amusing anecdote. In 2002 or 2003, the distributor for which I was working wanted to remodel all signage in all stores. Can you imagine the investment required to make such a change in more than 200 hyperstores? Not to mention the financial risk if the change did not work? To explain to us the design principles and help us assess the visual impact of the proposed design, the advertising agency created a cardboard mock-up of the store. It featured scale versions of the shelf tags and the placards which mark off the various groups of shelves – Drinks, Breakfast Foods, CDs, etc.in short . all the signage as it would look in the final setup. As a final effort to persuade us, the agency made a short film using a miniature camera, to show what would be seen by a customer browsing the various shelves. It was the early years following 2000. People used – with ingenuity whatever was on hand. Today, with the emergence of software such as ActiSKU, we can trace the customer path and simplify the process of making effective marketing decisions.

We’re off on an adventure, a business adventure!

ActiSKU began its business adventure well before the current version saw the light of day. This gives ACTIPLAY marketing personnel a significant advantage. In our various discussions with manufacturers, major research groups, wholesale and retail distributors (in France and abroad, particularly in the United States) we always, without fail, discover new uses for ActiSKU. The software is licensed per country. Then, a flat rate is charged per panellist who completes an assignment. We have chosen a simple and flexible business model that reflects the spirit in which this unique software was first conceived.

A potential distributors for ACTIPLAY in the United States says that for a year he has searched throughout North America for a tool capable of doing what ActiSKU can do. Once again, ActiSKU, the revolutionary, 100% French-made product, is experiencing what other software solutions that came before did: a launch attended by fanfare … but in a land other than its country of birth!

''*The author of this article: Hervé Bonnard, is a former newspaper journalist and publication manager. He has also managed communication/marketing teams for mass retailers. He currently serves in a management capacity at ACTIPLAY."

Contact for Research Agencies

Pascal Bianchi — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

If you are a research agency and would like to use ActiSKU to perform online surveys in a virtual environment : please contact us to try the Partner program.

partenaire@actisku.com

EUROPE : +33 499 614 010
US : +1 857 445 1399

Contacts for industrialists

Pascal Bianchi — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:31:00 +0000

To perform shopper tests or to test new store designs, we invite you to contact one of our authorised ActiSKU partners who specialise in virtual-environment behavioural studies.

industriel@actisku.com

EUROPE : +33 499 614 010
US : +1 857 445 1399

Who was ACTISKU, the online, 3D, virtual environment shopper test solution designed for?

Pascal Bianchi — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:59:00 +0000

The ActiSKU solution was designed exclusively for research agencies looking to add new high value capabilities to respond to marketing decisions, whatever the product: in-store advertising, planogram, pricing, re-organisation, or complete store re-design.

With ActiSKU, you can view the panelist reactions to a variety of different marketing options, by analysing the data collected from shopper missions in a 3D, online, virtual environments.