Q&A: How to Identify and Measure Value-Conscious Consumer Buying Behavior (Part 2)

Catalina Chief Revenue Officer Stacey Hawes shares measurement strategies across the purchase funnel. In Part One, she addressed how to identify and respond to increasingly value-conscious shoppers.

How can brands use data to measure the shift in consumer purchase behavior prompted by inflation?
Brands saw consumer behavior change a lot during the pandemic, and now inflation is causing purchase behavior to shift again. Brands really need to trust today’s data, not historical patterns. Work with a data partner who can help identify the best audience and take away some of that guesswork. It’s important to concisely define a brand’s objectives for each and every campaign -- whether it's trying to acquire new shoppers, maximize purchases with their most loyal clients, or retain shoppers who we may be starting to show signs of churn.

How can you decode shopper behavior and maximize a one-on-one consumer relationship at scale?
Real-time transactional data on virtually every household in the United States can be the basis for closed loop measurement across the full funnel. You can leverage that data to deliver super highly targeted campaigns and optimize them in-flight to drive ROI.

Can brands measure accurately across the purchase funnel?
You can use anonymized household-level insights to define precision audiences – like gluten avoiders – to activate agnostically across a number of digital channels plus in-store. You can dig into the data at a very granular level and deliver highly targeted ads and offers to customized audiences, and then measure consumer response in real-time on the back end.

How should brands think about omni-channel activation?
Brands can activate across the full funnel of the consumer journey. Through multi-touch attribution and inflight optimization, you can hone in on the right audience segment and the right messaging or offer for them.

If something’s not working, you change direction mid-campaign – switch up the offer in real-time or readjust the audience definition. The holy grail for marketers and brands is to be able to take real time information and change a campaign on the fly to maximize the return.

How do you evaluate which channels to use for each audience?
Some consumers still prefer an in-store coupon. Others prefer to see their advertising pop up on their phones or computers. By understanding the media consumption habits of your consumers, you can start to dig into what channel will most likely convert to a sale.

What are the different ways brands and retailers work with Catalina?
We partner with agencies on behalf of the brands that they support, and we have several channel partners. We offer full-service managed service campaigns, but also provide data insights to clients who want to do their own activation to execute a campaign. We can come back in and measure that campaign.

How is measurement evolving?
Brands no longer need to wait until the completion of a campaign to measure and optimize. The old approach was to find the audience, deliver the media, then measure. If it worked, rinse and repeat. By partnering with Catalina, brands have access to the fastest, most granular attribution measurement in the CPG industry through our HUB360 platform. This tool compares audiences and can conduct in-flight measurement tied deterministically to buyer purchases. With this data, brands and marketers can make real-time decisions, tweaking what’s working and what’s not.

To listen and view the full recording, click here.

To learn more about Catalina Audiences & Data Services and our HUB360 platform visit our website or contact results@catalina.com.