The U.S. test marketing scene has been going through revolutionary changes since 1980 with the advent of electronic technology with high powered minicomputers. It is now possible to collect supermarket laser scanner sales data, TV viewing patterns, packaged good purchase histories and household demographics into a single (household) source database. These data enables us for the first time to realistically evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship of many marketing variables such as advertising weight and scheduling, promotional synergy, commercial copy quality and their relationship to sales. There are three major suppliers of these test marketing services in the U.S. These are Information Resources, Inc., SAMI/Burke Inc. and A.C. Neilsen. The second part of this paper presents a new test marketing technology provided by SAMI/Burkeâs Test Marketing Group for capturing all panelist purchases through a supplementary data wand. In SAMI/Burkeâs ViewScan markets, panelists use the data wand at home to supplement purchase records gathered in scanner grocery stores by means of a scan wand. Data obtained through this combined method are presented and comparison made with respect to store scanner only data to show the significant improvement on data quality and coverage, especially in health and beauty aids and over-the-counter drug categories.
The constantly developing equipment of outlets in electronic check-outs offers new possibilities of responses to manufacturers' information needs. In fact, the installation of test zone like the SECODIP SCANNEL proves, at the same time, the dynamism of research companies and their willingness to apply new methods in the market research field. In France, the SCANNEL concept has been used by SECODIP since 1985. A test zone is already in action while 2 to 4 zones are likely to operate during the years 1988/1989.
The purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art in the use of hand-held computers for collecting research data. This may be done via interviewers or âtiedâ panellists; both approaches will be described and summaries of benefits provided, based on practical experience of cases in several countries. A review of major current applications will be presented, covering live and experimental work in USA, Australia and Europe.