Gongos goSHOP Offers Powerful Predictors for Products in the Retail Space

AUBURN HILLS, MI--(Marketwire - November 19, 2008) - Understanding how consumers make a purchase decision is just as important as knowing what products they are likely to buy. By simulating the retail environment and capturing real-time data, Gongos Research is tracking purchase behavior with its newest online research environment -- gongos goSHOP.

Designed and tested to be a powerful predictor of in-market performance, goSHOP is a next-generation virtual shopping platform that enables increased flexibility in the navigation of up to hundreds of product options with multiple views and package details. Similar to the rigor of online quant studies, it allows for the randomization of products to reduce shelf location bias, and results in a more representative sample of consumers than when conducting in-store research.

Producing the same high-level reporting that Gongos Research is known to deliver, the goSHOP environment transforms large amounts of data into a model that enables companies to further analyze and manipulate the data, evaluate "heat maps," and test take-rates against real-market performance. Results from development-phase studies completed in January and August indicate correlations as high as 0.8 between goSHOP data and actual in-store sales.

"Many online studies focus on the linear relationship between product features, purchase intent and purchase decision," says Christi Walters, Principal and Head of Consumer Products for Gongos Research. "Understanding the more holistic relationship between the retail space, merchandising and product enables manufacturers and retailers to more effectively make critical business decisions."

"Like traditional retail testing, goSHOP helps us understand what products sell and don't sell," adds Bill Eisele, Consumer Understanding and Insight Manager for Hallmark Cards, who worked closely with Gongos Research in the development of goSHOP. "But it also unlocks a dimension of insight around specific consumer groups that find different styles of products more or less attractive. There is strong potential to help us understand how consumers shop for our products since we will be able to watch consumers 'shop' our display."

Utilizing Microsoft® Silverlight™ technology, goSHOP is a cross-browser enabled platform that offers advanced maneuverability and ease-of-use for respondents.

Since 1991, Gongos Research has worked with leading companies including Best Buy, Hallmark Cards, Mars Inc., Domino's Pizza, U.S. Bank, GM and Polaris. In 2007, the company was first named to the Inc. 5000 list of "The Fastest Growing Companies in America," and in 2008 was among the Honomichl Top 50.

Gongos Research is a custom marketing research company that forms trusted research partnerships with companies around the world. Blending strategic thinking, top talent, breakthrough technologies and proprietary software, Gongos' offerings help refine, enhance and advance products and services across many industries. For further insight into the Gongos culture, visit gongos.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Susan Scarlet Marketing & PR Director Gongos Research 248.239.2381