With the ability to skip an ad at a click of a button, it seems modern consumers are blinded by most advertising and marketing efforts.
In-home product placement tests are quickly becoming a foolproof way for brands to reach their target audience in a less direct avenue.
What exactly are product placement tests, how do they work and when is the best time to use them?
Hang tight, these answers and more will be with you momentarily.
Our market research company just finished completing an 8-week product placement test with a 96% full participation rate. Here's an inside look at this project!
What is an In-Home Product Placement Test?
Now that we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming, let’s uncover what a product placement test is and the different product placement types.
A product placement test or study can refer to two different types of tests:
- An in-home product placement test
- A test where products are placed in retail stores onto shelves
In this blog, we will focus mainly on the former.
If you're interested in learning how to measure the effectiveness of product placement in-stores, read our blog post: The Comprehensive Guide to Shop-Alongs.
An in-home product placement test asks consumers to try products in their own homes.
This enables research participants to use the product as they normally would, instead of in a lab setting or focus group facility.
Benefits of In-Home Product Placement Tests
The purpose of the product placement test is to give research participants the ability to evaluate a product after using it for a long period of time rather than just a few minutes.
This provides brands with many advantages when launching a new product or looking for areas of improvement.
Accurate, High-Quality Feedback
Many consumers will use a product differently in their own homes rather than in a testing setting. Additionally, brands conducting in-home product placement tests are those with products meant to be used in a home.
This allows participants to use the product as they would if they were to have purchased it at a store. Additionally, with daily or weekly check-ins, participants use the product extensively.
As a result, their feedback is much more accurate and in-depth than if they were to participate in a 1-hour focus group.
Stay Competitive
Consumer behaviors and purchasing habits change rapidly.
In-home product tests allow our clients to keep their thumb on the pulse of their customer expectations and adjust their products accordingly.
By collecting consumer feedback, brands are using data-driven decision making to guide product development.
This type of insight creates an exceptional product that is more likely to increase revenue.
Cost-Effective Alternative to Focus Groups
Additionally, aside from the initial cost of shipping the product to testers’ homes, product placement tests can be more cost-effective than renting a focus group room.
When conducting a focus group, companies must account for costs associated with qualitative recruiting, focus group room rental, food and beverage, moderators, and travel.
Whereas an in-home product placement test eliminates the need for a room rental, food and beverage, moderators, and travel.
Additionally, qualitative recruiting costs can be lower being that participants are more inclined to sign up for a research study they can complete at home rather than a facility.
Learn more benefits of in-home usage tests, in this short video.
How do In-Home Product Placement Tests Work?
The test product is placed in households of target-market consumers. Research participants are asked to use the product as they normally would.
Typically, the product is shipped to research participants for ease of use and an easy entrance into their daily routines.
Many product placement tests require an extended period of time to fully gather results, however, the testing time varies from study-to-study and product-to-product.
Most product placement tests take between 4 to 12 weeks to complete.
Best Practices for In-Home Product Placement Tests
Number of Participants
A product placement test company would recommend placing the product in 25 to 30 homes.
This provides a sample size for usage trends and data interpretation.
Schedule Check-Ins
Sometimes, an interviewer will make an in-home appointment with the research participant.
This allows the researcher to talk to the consumer and see how they used the product.
The conversation can inspire new ideas and ways to use products which can be very valuable to the company conducting the product placement test.
Collect Final Feedback with an Online Survey
At the conclusion of the product placement test, consumer reactions to the product are collected and measured using a follow-up online or telephone survey, or an in-person interview.
When to Conduct an In-Home Product Placement Test
An in-home product placement test is useful in several different scenarios.
New Product Development
The most common situation in which this type of market research is used, is when a company wants real-time and real-life feedback on a product before it is fully launched.
Product placement tests can be used for a fully-fledged product, prototype, or new version of an already-existing product on the market.
The findings from the market research are also used for the development or advertising of the product going forward.
Products Used on a Daily Basis
Companies can also use product placement tests for products that are used on a daily basis.
The objective of these studies is to understand how usage changes over time and can keep tabs on satisfaction levels.
This acts as a check-in so companies can make changes to the product if need be.
Learn About Product Appeal
Lastly, companies use product placement tests to learn about product appeal, as well as to gauge if there is a desire for feature modifications.
These studies help a company strategize based on consumer purchase intent and product pricing elasticity.
Contact our In-Home Product Placement Company
Product placement tests provide a unique way to gauge consumer thoughts and habits. They allow our clients to keep their thumb on the pulse of their customer expectations and adjust their product accordingly.
A market research company like Drive Research can conduct product placement tests for brands accross the country.
Interested in learning more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the four ways below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Emily Carroll
A SUNY Cortland graduate, Emily has taken her passion for social and content marketing to Drive Research as the Marketing Coordinator. She has earned certificates for both Google Analytics and Google AdWords.
Learn more about Emily, here.
