*Updated* Keynote: Emotions in the Aisles: Quantifying In-Store Emotional Response with Bio-Sensory Metrics

Video Clip Below

Michael Lee, Found, Chairman and Chief Science Officer, EMSENSE CORPORATION
Elissa Moses, Chief Analytics Officer, EMSENSE CORPORATION

Michael starts off this morning’s discussion presenting the EmSense Enabled headsets that combine both neuroscience and other bio-sensory inputs to create a robust model of human response. The primary focus is measuring brainwaves and it also measures heartbeat, among other bodily responses.

EmSense delivers deep insights is not the impact of on the shopping experience on consumers by capturing such bio-sensory measurements as emotional response and cognitive thought.

The headsets have been used by all types of shoppers across varying retailers.

During the course of the EmSense headset experiment, researchers ask the following questions:
How do shoppers feel thorough the journal?
How do they behave?
Where do they look?
What products they think about?
What emotions do the products garner?

EmSense has created, essentially a new box of tools and metrics to use for market research purposes. By utilizing breakthrough shopper insights and world class partners, they’ve earned unparalled resources and a new research paradigm.

Case Study: The Retailer’s Perspective, Foot Locker
Background and Objectives
1. Explore the Visual Search and Selection Process
Focus on shopper experience, communications and visual merchandising
2. Examine bio-sensory shopper response patterns
Eye tracking
Cognitive response to store stimuli
Emotional response to shore stimuli

Elissa shares with us an example of a shopper going to a London location of Foot Locker wearing the EmSense Enabled device. We were able to see the approach, threshold, browsing, considering, payment and exit of the shopper in the store. We found that the average person gives a “No” to about 116 shoes. The average point of sale fixation is 2.43 seconds.
EmSense discovered that the negative emotion while browsing for an item until an item is selected for evaluation, at the point of decision, emotions overtakes cognition.

Another element to the in-store experience relies on how staff can enhance the customer’s experience. As the staff is highly influential, there are a few keys that lead to purchase of a product. By interacting at the right time with the customer, it can have a direct impact on a shopper’s decision to purchase a particular item.

Case 2: The Manufacturer’s Perspective
Brand X (will be masked for this conference)

Context makes a big difference for shopping. Shoppers remain cognitively engaged through their journey at Big-Box; Emotion is highest during navigation and evaluation. At specialty stores, the shopper journey shifts from high cognitive engagement to positive emotional response as the shopper moves from evaluation to selection.
Specialty shoppers scan over 20% more times than Big-Box shoppers, driven by the larger category. At the Big-Box, Brand X is dominated by Cognition throughout the journey. At the specialty, Brand X is dominated by positive emotion.
Context is “King.”

Case 3: The “Wrong Emotion” in the Aisle or “How to Prevent the Next Tropicana”
EmSense and PRS have combined technology to offer the most comprehensive quantitative approach:
Assess Current Packaging and competition (guide re-design)
Evaluate New Packaging (select/optimize)

Depth of insights provided by overlying eye tracking with congnitive responses
Not since the New Coke in 1985 has there been such a blatant shopper backlash in rejecting a new form and package change for a beloved product. FF to 2009 and Tropicana creates a 20% decline in sales based only on a packaging change.
Showing the dashboard, EmSense notes that the old Tropicana packaging got the highest marks whereas the new packaging had seriously low remarks. They also looked at competitive products; Florida’s Natural was neutral where Minute Maid was positive.

New packaging failure is objectively predictable when:
New packing does not evoke cognitive engagement
Consumers do not note the brand logo and are unlikely to recognize their brand
Shoppers do not easily see the SKU type demarcations
Negative or absence of emotion when viewing the packaging

Updated