Availability & Distribution
Track SKU presence, stockouts and distribution gaps by outlet.
Retail and CPG market research that finds the sales you are missing.
See where shoppers decide, where availability and price cost you sales, and which categories to back next.
One shopper decision, many market realities
What consumers buy is shaped by more than the product.
Format, technology, income, culture, availability and channel structure combine differently in every market. Understanding that mix requires consistent research close to the consumer, with the scale to measure it across countries.
85+Countries researched
50+Languages used in research
15,000+Trained research network
600+Assignments completed
Point solutions
Four practices across the retail decision system.
Each practice begins with a commercial question and brings together the evidence needed to answer it. Interviews and audits are inputs, not standalone services.
Retail audits & store intelligence
Are we present, visible and priced right where shoppers actually decide?
Measure execution through availability, visibility and value. Connect the gaps to shopper behavior, trade economics and the outlets that matter most.
Output: an outlet-level execution scorecard with priority fixes and negotiation evidence.
Shelf Visibility & Execution
Measure facings, placement, POSM and planogram compliance.
Category & Competition
Compare assortment, price architecture, formats and launches.
Pricing & Promotions
Test shelf price, promotional visibility and execution against plan.
Shopper & Store Intelligence
Explain missions, brand choice, barriers and switching behavior.
Early-Warning Signals
Detect delisting risk, private-label moves and new formats early.
E-commerce & q-commerce
Are we listed, visible and converting across the platforms that matter?
Connect digital availability, content, price and promotion with the shopper journey. Identify where visibility, trust or conversion breaks down.
Output: a platform-by-platform digital-shelf diagnostic with a prioritized action list.
Availability & Listings
Track platform presence, range gaps and out-of-stock status by SKU.
Digital Shelf & Content
Benchmark images, titles, descriptions, reviews and enhanced content.
Online Pricing & Promotions
Compare price accuracy, variation and promotion visibility.
Online Shopper Journey
Find discovery routes, decision drivers and abandonment reasons.
Q-Commerce Intelligence
Measure coverage, assortment, parity, availability and fulfillment.
Platform Competition
Monitor assortment, sponsored placement and emerging signals.
Market sizing & growth intelligence
Where is the growth, and what will it take to capture it?
Build a market view from category demand, shopper needs, competitive positions, channel economics and white space. The growth thesis rests on evidence.
Output: a sized and prioritized growth roadmap by segment, channel and geography.
Market Size & Demand
Size category value, penetration, frequency and regional growth.
Shopper Segmentation
Define need states, missions, occasions and valuable segments.
Competitive Positioning
Compare brands, assortments, launches and switching narratives.
Channel & Trade Economics
Map channel reach, trade terms, margins and ranging norms.
Margin & Value Chain
Trace where value is created, captured or eroded before shelf.
White Space & Entry
Identify underserved segments, formats and geographic opportunities.
Future of shopping
How are AI, social commerce and new formats reshaping how shoppers choose?
Separate durable behavior shifts from short-lived noise. Translate them into practical choices for proposition, portfolio, content, loyalty and channel roles.
Output: an evidence-led signal map with implications for portfolio, channel and experience.
Human + AI Decisions
Map how people, platforms and AI tools influence choice.
Social Commerce
Measure creator influence, live commerce and social discovery.
Sustainability & Purpose
Test claim credibility, willingness to pay and greenwash risk.
Omnichannel Behavior
Define how shoppers move between digital and physical channels.
Personalization & Loyalty
Evaluate program value, behavior change and churn barriers.
New Formats & Store Tech
Test readiness for new formats, self-checkout and scan-and-go.
Coverage
Across categories, formats and routes to market.
Research designs are adapted to the category economics, purchase cycle, channel structure and shopper behavior. The same design is not simply repeated from one market to another.
01
Food & Beverage
Packaged food, dairy, snacks, beverages, functional foods and foodservice.
02
Beauty & Personal Care
Skin, hair, hygiene, oral care, cosmetics, fragrance and wellness-led beauty.
03
Home Care & Household
Cleaning, fabric care, air care, hygiene products and household consumables.
04
Home & Living
Furniture, home décor, kitchenware, storage, DIY and home improvement.
05
Health, OTC & Wellness
OTC medicines, supplements, consumer medical devices and personal wellness.
06
Apparel, Sports & Lifestyle
Apparel, footwear, accessories, sports, athleisure, toys and lifestyle categories.
07
Retail & B2B Distribution
Grocery, mass retail, specialty formats, marketplaces, cash & carry and B2B channels.
08
D2C & Omnichannel Brands
Brand.com, marketplaces, offline expansion, subscriptions and loyalty models.
Channels studied
Modern tradeGeneral tradeSpecialty retailE-commerceQ-commerceD2CFoodservice & HORECACash & carry
Three illustrative examples
Three examples of how the evidence mix changes.
Research design follows the commercial question. Each program combines the fewest credible sources needed to reach a decision-ready answer.
01
Prioritize retail execution
Question
Which execution gaps are costing us most, and which outlets should we fix first?
Evidence
Focused store audits, shopper intercepts, trade interviews and sales context.
Answer
A prioritized availability, visibility and value scorecard linked to commercial impact.
02
Fix a D2C growth problem
Question
Why do customers abandon, churn or reject the proposition despite strong traffic?
Evidence
Client analytics, customer IDIs, journey interviews, focus groups and competitor review.
Answer
Evidence-backed changes to proposition, onboarding, bundles, pricing and communication.
03
Size a category opportunity
Question
How large is the opportunity, where is demand concentrated and what blocks entry?
Evidence
Retail audits, shopper research, distributor and expert interviews, and market data.
Answer
A sized growth roadmap by segment, geography, channel and route-to-market requirement.
Case Studies
Retail & CPG Market Research
Retail & CPG Market Research
at work.
Examples of how connected research has informed category, channel, proposition and market decisions.
Recalibrating household-care growth after shopper behavior shifted
Combined expert and consumer interviews, retail audits and exit interviews to compare category health, formats, channels and shopper needs across 20 countries. Decision informed: distribution priorities, product-launch sequencing and format emphasis by market.
Read the case studyFinding the occasions that could unlock plant-based beverages
Connected competitor interviews, retail and café audits, and shopper intercepts to understand category dynamics, occasions and adoption barriers. Decision informed: priority subcategories, portfolio focus and coffee-channel partnerships.
Read the case studyDe-risking an instant-noodle launch before market entry
Used focus groups, in-home usage tests and supermarket audits to test flavors, packaging, price and segment-specific propositions. Decision informed: final flavor, packaging, price point and messaging by target segment.
Read the case studyBuilding the commercial case for a premium air-purifier opportunity
Combined senior industry interviews, physical and e-commerce audits, and technology landscaping to assess demand, channel economics and competitive positions. Decision informed: product roadmap and channel-margin benchmarks for market entry.
Read the case studyFinding the white space in the pack, not the milk
Stakeholder interviews, consumer research and store checks across APAC mapped dairy packaging needs by segment and country, locating the formats worth building for.
Read the case studyMapping three different routes to the shelf
Interviews with manufacturers, distributors and retailers, checked against store visits and exit interviews, mapped how over-the-counter products reach shoppers in three markets that share no channel structure.
Read the case study
Perspectives
Retail & CPG perspectives.
ArticleRetail media networks: why CPG ad budget is movingRetailers built ad networks on top of checkout data, and CPG brands are following the budget. What closed-loop attribution actually measures, and what it costs.Read more
ArticleQuick commerce: the business model behind 10-minute deliveryQuick commerce promises delivery in minutes, not hours. Why the unit economics are brutal, why India took to it, and why the US model kept stalling.Read more
ArticlePrivate label vs national brands: who wins which aisleRetailers are not chasing private label everywhere at once. Margin, control and differentiation decide it category by category, and national brands still win some.Read more
ArticleOmnichannel retail strategy, or just multichannel?Most retailers calling themselves omnichannel are running multichannel with a shared login. What actually joins inventory, pricing, fulfillment and service.Read more
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Tell us the decision you are facing.
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Already have a decision in mind? Describe the project and the market it touches, and a research lead sets up an initial call to scope the evidence plan.
Start with a briefMedia inquiries
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Questions
Frequently asked questions
Connected research that explains what shoppers buy and why, across the consumer, category, channel and competitive forces shaping growth. Shopper research, expert intelligence, retail measurement and market analysis are brought together so the answer moves beyond what happened to why, where and what comes next.
Interviews and audits are inputs here, not standalone services. Each practice begins with a commercial question and assembles the evidence needed to answer it, so an execution scorecard arrives connected to shopper behavior and trade economics rather than as a list of counts.
Eight: food and beverage, beauty and personal care, home care and household, home and living, health, OTC and wellness, apparel, sports and lifestyle, retail and B2B distribution, and D2C and omnichannel brands.
Modern trade, general trade, specialty retail, e-commerce, quick commerce, D2C, foodservice and HORECA, and cash and carry. Most programs run across more than one, because shoppers do.
Yes. The e-commerce and q-commerce practice tracks platform listings and range gaps, benchmarks digital shelf content, compares online pricing and promotion visibility, maps the online shopper journey, and measures q-commerce coverage, assortment parity, availability and fulfillment.
Across several countries, yes; with an identical design, no. Category economics, purchase cycle, channel structure and shopper behavior differ by market, so the design is adapted rather than repeated, which is what makes the cross-country comparison meaningful.
Yes. Funnel data can signal that customers abandon or churn but not why. Customer in-depth interviews, journey reconstruction, focus groups and competitor review identify the motivations and broken trust behind the number, and what to change in proposition, onboarding, bundles, pricing and communication.
More than 85 countries researched, over 50 languages used in research, a trained research network of more than 15,000, and more than 600 assignments completed.
Per project, scoped against outlet and shopper sample, number of markets, method and language coverage. The scope and the cost are agreed before any fieldwork begins.
Researchers are briefed on scope before they go out, respondents are told who the work is for at the level agreed, no material non-public information about a listed company is sought, and every engagement is screened and documented before work begins.