Situation:
A large national supermarket chain had been gradually losing market share for several years and was looking at a number of options.  Under consideration was to eliminate double-couponing, reduce in-store prices, and implement a new advertising campaign positioning the chain as offering "everyday low prices."

Research Solution:
ConsumerQuest conducted a series of three research studies:  An Awareness, Attitude & Usage Tracking Study Pre-Wave, a Promotional Concept Test, and a Post-campaign Wave of the Awareness, Attitude & Usage Tracking.  Each wave of the AA&U Tracking research included 300 telephone interviews with the person in the household primarily responsible for grocery shopping.  Promotional Concept Research involved telephone interviews conducted at random with 400 test market households.  All households lived within a three-mile radius of one of the grocery chain’s stores. 

Findings:
Promotional Research:  The research successfully identified the positioning strategy that would most effectively communicate the supermarket retail chain’s dropping of double-couponing.  It also determined the demographic and psychographic segments of the market most receptive to such a change.  Accordingly, the supermarket dropped double-couponing, lowered its prices, and, with the assistance of its ad agency, repositioned itself as a brand.

AA&U Tracking:  This research, conducted pre- and post- campaign, found that a decline in average register receipt was in part a major trend of the supermarket industry.  However, rather than being caused solely by each shopper buying fewer or less expensive items per purchase, the decline in the retailer’s average register receipt also appeared related to a slight but important shift in the type of consumer the store was attracting as a result of its decision to drop double-couponing:  the minor occasion (fewer than ten items) buyer.  Although share of shopping trips indicated that the shift away from double-coupons and toward everyday low prices still benefited the chain, other research findings demonstrated that the retailer lacked the distinct image and the brand presence needed to attract enough major shoppers to compensate for its loss of heavy coupon users.  This suggested that the supermarket’s price-related positioning needed heavier media weight and time and of itself was not the easiest or most effective positioning strategy.

Outcome:
By incorporating the results of this research, the supermarket chain was able to adjust its positioning and media strategies and understand the effect that the dropping of double-couponing was having on its customer base.  The company stuck by its decision to drop double-couponing, lower its prices, increased its-media weight, and implemented a new campaign slogan to better communicate "everyday low prices" to consumers.