Shopper journey research follows people through a purchase: the trigger, the search, the shelf or the website, the choice and what happens after. Asking people to remember a shop a week later loses most of the detail. With Zolensa, shoppers record at the moment of purchase. They film the shelf on their phone, record their screen while they shop online, and rate how each step felt, so you see both the behaviour and the reasons.
When to use shopper journey research
- Shelf and fixture studies: what people notice, compare and pick up in the aisle.
- Online and app journeys: search, filters, product pages, basket and checkout.
- Omnichannel shopping: research online, buy in store, or the other way round.
- Category and brand switching: why someone left a usual brand today.
- Promotions and price: how offers, pack sizes and prices change the choice.
How a study runs on Zolensa
- Set an "every time you shop" task. Make it repeatable, so each trip becomes a new entry with photos, a short video and a few quick questions.
- Capture the shelf. Ask for a video of the shelf before choosing, and a photo of what went into the basket.
- Record online shopping. Add a screen recording question. On a computer it records in the browser, with the participant's voice. On a phone, participants use the phone's own screen recorder and upload the video.
- Map the journey. Add a journey map question: participants rate each step with five faces, from very bad to very good, and say why. You set the steps, or they write their own.
- Ask the follow-ups. Ask about one trip while it is fresh: "You put the first pack back. What made you change?"
- Analyse. The Analysis tab shows the average journey and the pain point. AI suggests themes across all trips, with quotes and clips.
Zolensa features that help
- Journey maps. Each step rated with a feeling and a note, then an average journey across participants.
- Screen recording with text read on screen. The text on screen is read on Zolensa's own server, and AI adds a sentence on what happens, so you can search what people saw.
- Repeatable tasks. Collect every trip, up to the limit you set.
- Phone location, if you ask. The study can ask for the phone's location, rounded to about 1 km, to confirm people shop in the right area. Participants can say no and still take part.
- Photos without location data. Location data is removed from every photo before it is stored.
- Choices and grids. Ask what was bought, what was considered and how each option scored.
Plan for these
- Shops have rules. Some stores do not allow filming. Ask participants to film products and shelves, not staff or other shoppers, and to stop if asked.
- Make it quick. A trip entry should take a few minutes. Shoppers can add a voice note on the way home if they had no time at the shelf.
- Define the trip. Say which trips count: the weekly shop, a top-up, or any purchase in the category.
- Mix in a home task. A short video of the cupboard or fridge shows what happens after the purchase.
