Global research firm Nielsen is claiming an Pacific-region first with its launch of a full shopper experience lab at its Sydney head office to help manufacturer and retail brands better understand shopping behaviour and test concepts.

The ShopperLAB will include interview, eye tracking and neuroscience capabilities. The eye-tracking equipment will help determine what shoppers see and virtual shopping devices will help to comprehend what shoppers do when faced with different products and shopping conditions.

The facility is aimed at marketers, category managers and sales directors to provide insights into how shoppers react to packaging, point of sale, range alterations, layout changes and aisle activation.

Associate director of Nielsen’s shopper practice, Rachel Shaw, says, “Nielsen research shows that 25% of new products fail in market. However, proper testing can dramatically increase a new products’ chance of success. Shoppers generally spend just 15 seconds interacting with a product category, so brands need to know how, when and where to communicate their strongest messages to shoppers.”

David O’Brien, customer marketing manager for Wrigley, says that working in the Nielsen ShopperLAB his company to explore the shopper psyche in a way they had not been able to previously. “Nielsen Shopper’s unique approach and cutting edge technology uncovered exciting new insights into shopper behaviour at Front of Store that identified significant growth opportunities for Wrigley and helped to enhance our position as experts in this area with our retail partners’,” he says.