How we at Bonsai are decoding the path to purchase anew: online, offline and in between. Insa Weber (Mondelēz International) and Jasmin Pampuch (Bonsai Research) showed this today at ECRlive, a GS1 event in Bremen. Findings from our current pilot study on the confectionery category make it clear: although the majority of purchases in this category are made impulsively in bricks-and-mortar retail, manufacturers should not disregard online influences. After all, around a third of shoppers had contact with the brand the week before.

Why a "new" Path to Purchase?

Shopper behaviour has changed a lot in recent years: On the one hand, shoppers are moving more into online retail and more online in general - whether it's to do research, get information or scroll through social media. On the other hand, we also see shoppers who, after two years of one lock-down to the next, are now longing for freedom, inspiration and normality again, thus giving stationary retail a renaissance.

That is why it is important to gain a new understanding of the shopper and their path to purchase. We have set out on a journey to decipher the customer journey with all its facets in a holistic way using the latest technology, a combination of different survey methods and a little courage.

About the Confectionery Study

Bonsai combines real behavioural data with survey data. This enables a holistic understanding of target groups on their path to purchase. From October to December 2021, we equipped 150 shoppers whose online behaviour was already continuously tracked with the Bonsai app and recorded their purchases in the confectionery category in stationary retail. In addition, the smartphones had sound-matching technology that allows us to capture which TV and radio ads were seen / heard. We analysed 3,255,012 online data points, 158,260 TV spots seen and just under 2,000 confectionery purchases.

The analysis shows that despite the large share of impulse purchases, the confectionery industry should not underestimate online influences: 34 per cent of buyers of a brand had online contact with it in the week before purchase: be it through their own research for promotional products or competitions, or via social media. On average, a shopper had 4.3 online or TV advertising contacts with the brand they ultimately bought. So even supposed impulse purchases can definitely be influenced. Especially among the GenZ, digital touchpoints are becoming more and more important; the young target group, for example, specifically looks for sweepstakes and online communities.

The collection, evaluation and analysis of data at single source level enables manufacturers to holistically understand the buyers of their products and the category: We can not only map the entire path to purchase with all relevant touchpoints, but also derive in detail at which point of the customer journey - e.g. on which website with which search terms - shoppers should be addressed in which form in order to convince them of a brand.

If you want to know more, feel free to contact Jasmin Pampuch