The cognitive interview,
our preferred methodology
At Séissmo, we trust in actual behaviour rather than asking questions about values or
attitudes. We rely on past behaviour to explain the future and infer values from behaviour.
When it comes to understanding shopper behaviour, the cognitive interview is our preferred method. It is a method of individual interviewing that consists of asking people to recount a specific episode (in this case a purchase journey) in detail and freely, i.e. without the moderator asking any questions.
This specialised methodology is inspired by forensic techniques, and it is dedicated to collecting the inner experience of personal experiences in detail and with great accuracy. Originally, it was invented to enable witnesses to recall and recount scenes accurately and in detail, and to prevent them from inventing false memories.
In shopper research, participants are asked to describe a specific shopping episode (in-store or online) to get a concrete view of their behaviour, thoughts, emotions and environment from their own point of view throughout the episode and buying process.
The accuracy of details consumers can remember is astonishing. Because participants are fully immersed in the situation and reliving it, they remember not only what they did, but also sensory impressions and how they felt in that situation.
During the pandemic in 2020, for example, we analysed the short and long-term impact of the Corona crisis on shopper behaviour in France and Germany as part of our annual in-house research Seismograph. We wanted to understand how the Corona crisis situation affected the shopping experience, decision making and trade-offs. In our first pilot interview, it took the respondent 40 minutes to mention the items purchased (and only after prompting by the moderator), as if they were mere details compared to the whole shopping environment and experience.
The main advantage of this method is that consumers make their purchases without the interviewer being present, so there is no interference or bias on the part of the interviewer. This gives us access to a real purchase situation.
Another advantage is that we do not need permission from the store, which makes the process much easier. We are not tied to any particular shop or region or city or town. As consumers describe their most recent purchase, we are provided with information about a wide range of different stores and shopping situations.
Read more on Shopper research
“Do-it-your-shelf” (ideal shelf set-up)
Social listening,
social media monitoring
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The other 3 pillars of our research expertise
Exploratory Research
WE DIG TO THE BOTTOM of consumers' minds
- Consumer attitudes, behaviour, drivers and barriers
- Usage patterns and habits, customer journeys
- Lifestyle research
- Market landscape, mental maps
- Latent needs, new territories
- Consumer segmentation, typology, persona
Brand & Strategy Research
- Advertising impact
- Product re-launches (360° marketing checks)
- Packaging
- Prices & promotion
- Marketing mix coherence, portfolio
alignment
Product & Packaging Test
- Opportunities for adopting new concepts and ideas (both products and services); addiction factor
- New formulas, flavours, fragrances, textures, colours, shapes, dosage forms, handling, devices, packaging materials, service components, names, claims, etc.
- Customer & user experience
