What is retail market research?

Retail market research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about retail markets, consumers, and competitors. It provides valuable insights that help businesses understand consumer behaviour, market trends, and competitive landscapes to make informed decisions and improve their performance.

What is FMCG market research?

FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) market research is a specialised form of market research that focuses on products with a rapid turnover rate, like food, beverages, toiletries, and household goods. These products are typically consumed or used up quickly, leading to frequent repurchases.

How does STRAT7 utilise data analytics and AI for retail insights?

Market and customer research can: Help businesses identify and capitalise on emerging trends in rapidly-evolving consumer preferences Provide insights into competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and strategies, so companies can differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge Make demand forecasting more accurate, so businesses can anticipate consumer spending patterns in challenging economic conditions Inform more effective marketing strategies that resonate with increasingly-fractured audience segments

What key challenges do retail and FMCG companies face that market research can address?

Retail and FMCG companies face numerous challenges in today’s dynamic marketplace, including shifting consumer preferences, digital transformation, supply chain complexities, and sustainability demands. Market research helps address these challenges by providing insights into changing shopping behaviors, optimizing omnichannel strategies, improving inventory management, and identifying sustainable practices that resonate with consumers while maintaining profitability.

What methodologies does STRAT7 employ for retail and consumer goods market research?

Ethnographic research, cultural insights and semiotics all help us refine your messaging to resonate more effectively with your ideal customers; behavioural analysis and customer journey mapping provide insights into how to improve your operations to be more customer-centric, and unstructured data synthesis, surveys and polls and insight communities can help you better understand the impact of any changes you make.

How does STRAT7 help retailers adapt to changing consumer behaviours and preferences?

STRAT7 offers customer research solutions to understand changing consumer behaviours, such as purchasing habits, value perceptions, and sustainability concerns. We can help develop targeted marketing campaigns and optimise sales strategies based on specific customer segments and their evolving preferences, and we can provide insights for optimising offerings and developing new products that resonate with changing customer needs and tastes.

What types of retail and FMCG organisations does STRAT7 work with?

STRAT7 works with a diverse range of retail and FMCG organizations, from global supermarket chains and department stores to specialty retailers and direct-to-consumer brands. Our clients include multinational FMCG companies producing everything from household essentials to premium consumer goods, as well as emerging brands looking to scale their operations and establish market presence.

What differentiates STRAT7's approach to market insights in the retail and consumer goods sectors?

STRAT7 differentiates itself by combining traditional market research with advanced technology and innovative methodologies. We focus on providing actionable insights that drive real business impact. Our insights and strategies combine deep industry expertise with advanced data analytics and AI. This allows us to scrape and analyse vast quantities of information, to uncover hidden patterns and trends that other research firms may miss. At the same time, our experienced customer and market research teams can investigate any global market you wish, providing you a solid foundation and understanding of your prospective customer base, on an incredibly detailed and personal level.

Customer survey agency

Gain deeper understanding with AI-optimised global market research surveys

Blending surveys with AI, platforms, and advanced analytics

Customer survey services

Survey research has evolved far beyond simple questionnaires. At STRAT7, we’ve reimagined surveys as sophisticated insight engines that blend quantitative scale with qualitative depth, powered by cutting-edge technology.

Our approach combines AI-optimised questionnaires, interactive digital platforms, and advanced analytics to deliver deeper insights with greater efficiency. We don’t just collect data—we transform it into actionable intelligence that drives strategic growth. By enriching survey responses with synthetic data and behavioural science, we provide a more comprehensive understanding of your customers than traditional methods can achieve.

What our clients say

"I was impressed with the team’s enthusiasm, sector expertise and level of engagement with the senior leadership team. Their insight and advice have been invaluable in shaping plans and strategy around our target customer."

"What I enjoy about their way of working is that it’s a true partnership from beginning to end. We challenge each other and work out implications and next steps together."

"The insight community platform allows us to keep our finger on the pulse with customers, and feed insights straight back to the business at a fast pace."

"The ideas and concepts that STRAT7 developed as part of the work are helping us structure future thinking on our brand. We’re extremely thankful for their partnership and would certainly work with them again on innovation strategy."

"Our relationship with STRAT7 has been a highly rewarding and collaborative process. We’re extremely happy with the work we’ve done and the results of our joint effort."

"They dig beneath the surface, good at storytelling. They understand our business, allowing them to translate insights into actions and guide us in a way other vendors don’t."

“They act like a total and complete partner, and feel like an extension of our team with their knowledge, expertise, and embeddedness.”

Fueling strategy through data-rich insight

Why surveys matter in modern market research

Surveys remain the backbone of strategic market intelligence, providing structured, measurable insights into customer preferences, behaviours, and expectations. In an increasingly fragmented market landscape, they offer a systematic way to track performance, identify trends, and validate business decisions.

What sets modern surveys apart is their integration with other data sources and analytical tools. At STRAT7, we blend real-time customer input with AI, behavioural science, and digital simulations to fuel product innovation, experience design, and brand strategy. Our surveys don’t just gather feedback—they drive impact.

Global businesses rely on structured survey research for competitive advantage because it provides consistent, comparable data across markets and time periods. This consistency enables confident decision-making based on reliable evidence rather than assumptions or anecdotes.

Our approach to survey research

At STRAT7, we’ve reimagined every aspect of the survey process to deliver more engaging experiences for participants and more valuable insights for clients.

AI-enhanced survey design

From optimised questionnaires to chatbot-style UX via Whycatcher, we use AI to make surveys smarter and more engaging. Our technology identifies optimal question sequencing, adapts to respondent context, and reduces survey fatigue through intelligent design. This approach yields higher completion rates, more thoughtful responses, and richer data quality.

Smart data collection platforms

Digital, mobile, and embedded surveys across multiple touchpoints—integrated with real-time analytics dashboards. Our platforms capture feedback at critical moments in the customer journey, providing contextual insights when they’re most relevant. With device-agnostic design and instant data visualisation, we make insights immediately accessible to stakeholders.

Synthetic data & digital twins

Combine real customer responses with synthetic datasets to model behaviours, predict outcomes, and stress-test ideas. This innovative approach allows us to overcome sample limitations, protect privacy, and simulate market scenarios. By creating digital replicas of customer segments, we can forecast reactions to potential strategies before implementation.

Global reach, local relevance

Our global team ensures cultural nuance and localised design without compromising research consistency. With operations across major markets and access to respondents in over 100 countries, we deliver internationally comparable insights while respecting regional differences. Our local experts ensure questions and language choices resonate appropriately across cultural contexts.

Integrating surveys into holistic research strategy

Surveys deliver their greatest value when integrated with complementary research methodologies. At STRAT7, we connect survey insights with broader context for more comprehensive understanding.

Customer experience measurement

We combine survey feedback with behavioural analytics and journey mapping to create multidimensional views of the customer experience. This integration reveals gaps between what customers say and what they do, providing a more accurate picture of satisfaction drivers and friction points.

Brand health tracking

Our surveys work alongside cultural analysis and market monitoring to track brand perception in context. This holistic approach reveals not just how your brand is performing, but why perceptions are changing and what cultural factors are influencing consumer attitudes.

Innovation testing & development

We enhance survey validation with in-context testing and predictive modelling. By combining direct feedback with behavioural observation and simulated market responses, we provide more reliable predictions of concept performance and adoption potential.

Strategic decision support

Our survey insights feed into scenario planning and impact forecasting. This integration helps leadership teams understand potential outcomes of strategic choices, supported by evidence-based projections rather than isolated data points.

Customer surveys & polls can help you

Our survey methodologies deliver actionable insights that drive measurable business impact across multiple areas:

Measure customer satisfaction & loyalty

Our AI analytics identify hidden patterns in CSAT and NPS data, predict churn risks before they emerge, and reveal the underlying drivers of your customers’ loyalty. With this deeper understanding, you can employ retention strategies and experience improvements that are precisely targeted to your audience’s desires.

Identify market trends & consumer needs

With regular pulse checks and trend forecasting, we help you understand how preferences and demands are evolving with time. This forward-looking perspective helps you anticipate market shifts rather than merely react to them.

Optimise brand perception & messaging

Refine your brand’s positioning based on real consumer feedback across multiple dimensions. Our surveys don’t just measure awareness and consideration, but emotional associations and cultural relevance, identifying perception gaps and communication opportunities, so you can craft more resonant messaging.

Test new concepts & products

Our concept testing combines direct evaluation with predictive models that forecast market adoption and competitive impact. This comprehensive approach reduces innovation risk, and accelerates the development of winning concepts.

Case studies

Our expertly-crafted surveys have helped organisations from multiple industries gain deeper customer understanding into their customers and audience motivations.

Case Study

Air Wick

Demystifying consumer motivations and building a cohesive product portfolio

Case Study

A leading global software giant

Tailoring messaging and optimising product positioning with strat7.ai

Why work with STRAT7 as your customer survey agency?

Partner with STRAT7 for survey expertise that goes beyond data collection to deliver insights that transform business performance.

Specialist insight methodologies

With an empathetic, personal touch, we can open doors and gather more detailed and nuanced data on your customers that traditional methodologies can’t access.

Flexible and collaborative

Our approach is as unique as your business. No “one-size-fits-all” process will ever cut it, so we will only ever employ a tailored, consultative strategy.

AI-fed, human-led

Our AI capabilities allow us to collect, collate and comprehend vast quantities of data on exactly who your customers are, their motivations, and how you can connect with them most effectively.

Global reach, regional presence

With headquarters in cities around the world, we have the capacity to investigate, analyse and evaluate any global market you need.

Talk to the team

Stefan Schafer

FAQs

What is a customer survey?

A customer survey is a series of questions provided for customers of a business to answer, in order to gain insights into their opinions, perceptions, satisfaction and buying behaviours. Modern surveys range from short pulse checks to comprehensive studies using adaptive questioning and interactive elements to measure satisfaction, understand preferences, test concepts, or validate business decisions.

Why are surveys important in market research?

Surveys provide statistical reliability that qualitative methods alone cannot achieve, allow for comparison across time periods and segments, and are a systematic way to measure performance and track changes in customer perception, needs, and behaviour.

How does STRAT7 ensure survey data quality?

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What types of surveys does STRAT7 conduct?

How can survey insights improve business strategy?

Survey insights reduce decision risk by confirming assumptions with hard data, identify opportunities for growth by analysing unmet needs, optimise customer experience by revealing pain points, enhance marketing effectiveness through message testing, and improve product development by quantifying feature preferences and willingness to pay.

Are customer surveys reliable?

Well-designed surveys provide reliable, representative data when properly executed. STRAT7 ensures reliability through methodological rigour, appropriate sampling, questionnaire validation, and cross-verification with complementary data sources. We also acknowledge limitations transparently and combine survey findings with other insights for the most accurate understanding.