Abstract:

What is happening in a grocery store? What kinds of market research methods are capable of mirroring or replicating customer behaviour in this dynamic environment? Gaming computing has become an important area in computer science and can be used to replicate a grocery store in a realistic and lifelike manner. The authors developed two virtual reality stores using gaming computing and during a four-week period intercepted and invited participants to shop in the virtual reality stores before shopping in an actual grocery store as a test of the new tool. For the 603 respondents in the test, the market share of products in the VR-store was compared to market share of the same products in the physical store. In two of three (65%) cases the market share did not differ. How good (or bad) is this result? It is unlikely that a market research tool will predict market share correctly each time. It is also very important that the pictures of the shelf and products are of high resolution and good quality. The authors believe this is a useful tool in FMCG studies, although the tool itself can be improved and new validation studies are warranted.