Business challenge
A major soft drinks manufacturer faced a rapidly changing market environment, shaped by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Consumer behaviours had shifted significantly, there was increased in-home consumption, greater demand for promotions, growing price sensitivity, and more shoppers seeking lower-cost alternatives. The client needed to review and refine its pack, price and promotion strategies across its product portfolio.
Our approach
We designed and delivered a large-scale, two-phase conjoint study, combined with detailed price sensitivity analysis, to deliver robust and actionable insights.
Overview of Study Design:
Two phases of online quantitative research were conducted, engaging 8,000 nationally representative UK soft drink shoppers. Each participant completed a 20-minute online survey, which included multiple conjoint exercises.
- Phase 1 focused on large bottles and multipack cans across several soft drink categories.
- Phase 2 covered immediate consumption formats, mixers, and products sold in the convenience channel.
Realistic Shelf Scenarios:
Participants were presented with realistic shelf scenarios that replicated genuine shopping experiences, where product, price and promotion combinations were systematically varied. This allowed us to measure switching behaviour between the client’s products and competitor brands.
Advanced Pricing Analysis:
Alongside the conjoint analysis, a Gabor Granger approach was used to explore price sensitivity in greater depth, capturing consumer reaction to specific price points that extended beyond the conjoint scenarios.
Development of a Simulator:
An Excel-based category simulator was developed, enabling the client to model volume and value outcomes across different pricing, pack, and promotional scenarios. The simulator incorporated advanced elasticity modelling, including:
- Intra-brand and inter-brand switching
- Competitor cannibalisation
- Direct price elasticity
Outcome
The research gave the client a clear understanding of how shoppers respond to different prices, packs and promotions across supermarkets and convenience stores. It identified the points where shoppers are likely to switch, downsize or stop purchasing, depending on price levels. These insights are now being used to shape long-term pack, price and promotion plans, with teams using the simulator tool to test different scenarios and make evidence-based decisions.