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Shopper Mission Study

Understanding shopper missions and linking this to your category

A shopper mission study is vital for understanding how consumers shop and why, providing actionable insights to link these behaviours to specific product categories. At DVJ Insights, we help clients learn more about Shoppers and how they make decisions in a real-life setting by combining the following principles:

  • Leverage the Best Practices from ‘How Brands Grow’ - Drawing from the principles outlined in Byron Sharp’s “How Brands Grow,” we help brands understand the importance of mental and physical availability.

  • Learn the Category Entry Points  - Analyse the different cues and triggers that lead to category purchase decisions, helping you position your brand effectively within these critical moments.

  • Hear in the Shoppers’ Own Words - By listening to their thoughts and preferences, we uncover how they consider brands for various occasions. This information is crucial in understanding where habits are ingrained and where there is room for influence and change.

  • Size the Opportunity  - Define the Headroom for Your Brand. Our assessments include a detailed analysis of the headroom for growth within your category.

  • Plan Your Retailer Business Plan with Shopper Evidence - We provide evidence-based recommendations that help you understand shopper needs, behaviours, and missions within.


Our approach

It all starts with Category Entry Points: We’ve learned that Shoppers don’t think about fixed categories and their choices and patterns are the result of an underlying need. From CEPs to market opportunities, we provide a holistic view of your brand’s potential. We have a structured approach to compare and contrast opportunities: We systematically go through the 5W’s to build a 360-degree view of the Shopper, her world and the choice process.


The second step is to link CEP’s to shopper missions. By identifying the different missions that drive shopping trips—such as convenience, stock-up, or special occasions—brands and retailers can align their strategies with consumer needs. This understanding enables businesses to position their category effectively within the broader shopper journey, ensuring relevance and accessibility.


We listen: Our insights are generated from deep listening to Shoppers are their buying process.  It means we uncover insights that are missed when all questions use closed scales.  We tell the story of the Shopper so you can share it with the retailer: We offer tailored deliverables that adapt to the category vision and retailer realities.  It means we create one-pagers, story books and infographics that inspire change


Our Deliverables

A consumer journey study is of great strategic value and offers a large amount of qualitative and quantitative data. Our deliverables fit the needs of all stakeholders.

  • For manufacturers we will provide a new value for each CEP: The Shopper Mission Entry Point score: We provide the quantitative evidence to compare entry points with a one-number score.  We apply best-in-class methods and analytics to make sure that the manufacturers can develop a winning go to market strategy.

  • For retailers, this study informs tailored category strategies, optimizing shelf placement, promotions, and product assortments to match shopper intents. It also helps develop differentiated approaches for each retail partner, based on their unique shopper profiles and mission priorities. Ultimately, a shopper mission study bridges the gap between consumer behaviour and business goals, driving improved category performance and stronger retailer partnerships through targeted, data-driven strategies. This makes it an essential tool for any business aiming to thrive in competitive retail environments.

  • The most important results are summarised in a compact PowerPoint presentation where we show the different journeys and identify possible obstacles using the FUA-method. This is complemented by the rich insight into all underlying data. Our Senior Consultants add value to the workshop in the interpretation and discussion with important internal and external stakeholders.


Your benefits

  • An in depth understanding of shopper mission and how they are linked to the category entry points of consumers.

  • Qualitative and quantitative insight into the entire shopping experience for each category.

  • Based on academic principles and therefore easily fitted.

  • In-depth insight into the 5 W’s and segments for concrete direction and optimisation.

  • Clear presentations and workshops from our Senior Consultants to bring the consumer journey to life.

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