Shopper Insights: Using Modern Research Techniques to Uncover Shopper Behaviors

In the dynamic world of shopper research, staying still means falling behind. At a recent tech showcase, leaders from Reach3 Insights and Rival Technologies came together to explore how conversational research is modernizing the way we understand consumer behavior. If getting real-time feedback and actionable insights on shopping behavior matter to your team, the takeaways from this session are a must-watch. 

The presentation featured Christine Nguyen, Vice President at Reach3 Insights, and Mireia Peace, Senior Customer Success Manager at Rival Technologies. You can watch a recording here. Want just the highlights? We have some key takeaways below. 👇

What is shopper insights research?

In today’s fast-moving, omnichannel environment, shopper insights are not a luxury. They’re the strategic foundation for decisions across product, marketing, and retail strategy. Shopper insights are data-backed understandings of how, when, where, and why consumers make purchasing decisions.

Shopper insights go beyond transaction data, offering a window into the emotional and behavioral drivers behind every purchase. Unlike broad consumer insights, shopper insights focus specifically on the buying context—whether it’s on the shelf, online, or post-purchase.

Getting better shopper insights with conversational research 

Traditional survey methods are struggling to keep pace. Shoppers now expect brand interactions to feel intuitive, interactive, and personal. That’s why the Rival platform, as shown at the showcase, embraces a fully mobile, chat-style format—no apps required.

This approach lets brands engage shoppers in the moment, dramatically boost response rates through fun, natural exchanges, and collect richer qualitative data, whether it’s through open-ended questions or multimedia uploads. If your team is facing declining participation or surface-level feedback, switching to conversational research might be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Designing for real life: Smarter recruitment & broader reach

According to Christine and Mireia, reaching the right shoppers in their natural environments is critical to gathering meaningful shopper insights. The Rival platform makes it easy to use different recruitment channels like social media campaigns, QR codes in real-world settings, and integrations with client CRMs and research panels. This multi-channel strategy helps brands engage a more diverse, representative set of consumers—delivering insights that are not only scalable but also contextually relevant.

The importance of in-the-moment engagement also came through strongly. The ability to reach consumers on mobile, right after they’ve had a product experience, leads to more honest and accurate feedback. No app downloads, no friction—just authentic responses delivered in real time. That’s a significant edge over legacy systems still relying on recall-based, email-driven surveys.

Capturing insights across the entire shopper journey

One of the standout strengths of the Rival platform, according to Christine and Mireia, is its ability to capture insights at every phase of the shopper journey. Whether brands are testing concepts pre-launch, evaluating how packaging performs on-shelf, or collecting shopper feedback after purchase, the same platform enables fluid, real-time engagement throughout. For example, a snack brand leveraged this approach to uncover why certain packaging designs resonated more than others—insights that traditional surveys would likely have missed.

This holistic approach mirrors how people actually shop—fluidly moving between channels and stages. And with Rival’s conversational design, brands are able to mirror that shopper journey with equally fluid research touchpoints, delivered seamlessly via SMS, mobile web, and embedded media.

Transforming strategy through real-time insights

What sets conversational research apart is its ability to turn feedback into action—fast. The Rival platform includes built-in AI tools that analyze responses, highlight key patterns, and package results into visual reports, all in real time. From live dashboards and tone-aware summaries to instant video highlights that showcase authentic shopper sentiment, the tools aren’t just smart—they’re strategic.

This type of agile research allows teams to move in hours—not weeks. Whether it’s adjusting creative based on shopper reactions or reprioritizing messaging due to real-world input, having real-time data at your fingertips changes how strategy is built and executed.

Implicit techniques and AI: What shoppers don’t say matters

Not all shopper feedback is explicit. Sometimes, the most valuable insights are what people don’t say. Christine and Mireia highlighted how you can use conversational research for implicit techniques—like analyzing tone and sentiment—to surface these unconscious drivers. By combining video responses, behavior tracking, and AI probing, researchers can uncover emotional responses, identify subtle brand perceptions, and spotlight unmet needs that shape purchasing behavior.

These AI-powered tools not only improve speed but unlock a layer of human understanding that standard quant tools miss. They create space for storytelling, emotion, and nuance—all essential when the goal is not just to gather data, but to understand behavior.

Community + market: Blending perspectives for deeper insight

Another highlight from the showcase was the emphasis on blending insights from dedicated brand communities with broader market data. Rather than choosing between deep, longitudinal feedback and wide-scale trend validation, brands can now have both. Rival’s platform makes it easy to tap into highly engaged community members while also capturing the broader market pulse—delivering insights that are both rich in context and scalable across segments.

This hybrid approach, pairing high-frequency, high-context community insight with the dynamic nature of market input, creates a more complete picture of the shopper experience.

Case study spotlight: Snack brand innovation

The tech showcase featured a compelling case study involving a snack product launch. Through a conversational survey experience, shoppers offered feedback on everything from packaging and flavor to where and how they discovered the product. Instead of static yes/no answers, the brand received nuanced, story-driven insights that helped guide both product tweaks and go-to-market strategy. It’s a clear example of how conversational research delivers both engagement and depth.

And because the feedback came in so quickly, the brand was able to iterate fast—demonstrating the real-time power of agile research and its ability to influence execution on the fly.

Why shopper insights drive business growth

From product development to marketing and beyond, shopper insights fuel better business outcomes. With top market research platforms like Rival Technologies, the shift from static data to dynamic dialogue is already underway.

At its core, Rival Technologies is reimagining how brands engage with their customers. Our mobile-first, conversational research platform isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about building meaningful, ongoing relationships that translate into business impact. Whether you're optimizing a campaign, fine-tuning a product, or rethinking your retail strategy, Rival provides the tools to capture real human insight at every turn.

By embracing conversational research, brands can move faster, listen more deeply, and make decisions that are truly shopper-centric. Want to see how it works in practice? Let us show you. Book a demo with Rival Technologies and experience firsthand how conversational research can turn everyday interactions into strategic business wins.