Working at home and travel restrictions have forced a wholesale migration to the virtual world for consumer research, workshops, and even ideations. New product pipelines need to be filled and waiting for the ‘new normal’ can put companies at a competitive disadvantage. The show must go on, as they say.

Stories – when it comes to shopping during the pandemic, everyone has them! For example, right before shelter-in-place regulations hit Chicago, my husband and I stocked up on toilet paper, hand sanitizer, frozen vegetables, fresh meat, and even canned fruit (something new to us since we were always fresh fruit buyers). In subsequent weeks, we had to visit two to three stores, instead of just our normal one, because key categories and brands were out of stock.

Someone breaks into a deep cough on a crowded street corner. Another person sneezes on a train. Everyone stares.  We are living in the era of the novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. There are still many unknown factors of this disease, including how contagious it is, and when there might be a solution for global containment.

Alexa, what’s the weather today? Alexa, what time is the game on? Alexa, how long do you broil salmon? These questions are commonly asked in my household, along with the near quarter of other households that have smart speakers at home.

At C+R, we consider ourselves a bunch of smart people who have a passion for market research. But, even the best and the brightest can benefit from collaboration – and we do! Our organization is built on collaboration – both with our fellow C+R team members and with our clients.

The crossroads of attitudes and behaviors has always been a key focus to aid us in understanding the trajectory of brands and to keep pace with evolving shopper patterns.  In the past, the connection between these two components were mainly accomplished indirectly, and many times with assumptions attached. Now, we have the ability to bridge this gap with our new shopper insights product, Illuminator^®.

The crossroads of attitudes and behaviors has always been a key focus to aid us in understanding the trajectory of brands and to keep pace with evolving shopper patterns.  In the past, the connection between these two components were mainly accomplished indirectly, and many times with assumptions attached. Now, we have the ability to bridge this gap with our new shopper insights product, Illuminator^®. Listen to Terrie Wendricks, Vice President of ShopperEyes® and Ashleigh Williams, Qualitative Research Director for this Emerge Smarter webinar series.

My internship at C+R Research has been one for the books! I have loved experiencing Chicago and the great culture of this qualitative and quantitative research company. My focus for this summer internship was on quantitative research services.