From Pac-Man to Purchase: How Tech Is Transforming Shopper Insights

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: From Pac-Man to Purchase
2. Greenbook Video: Guide to Shopper Insights Technology
3. The Journey Behind Every Purchase
4. A Tech-Enhanced Toolkit for Deeper Insights
5. Technology That Follows the Shopper's Every Step
6. Reach3 Video: How Top Brands Use AI-Driven Mobile Chat to Unlock Deeper Shopper Insights
7. From Data Points to Storytelling
8. Consumer Insights & Knowledge Management">Market Logic Video: DeepSights Assistant brings Generative-AI to Consumer Insights & Knowledge Management
9. Precision at the Point of Packaging
10. Behaviorally Video: Decision Precision with Pack.AI
11. Why It Matters for Researchers and Beyond

Introduction: From Pac-Man to Purchase

When we hear the word “consumer,” we might picture a mindless Pac-Man, gobbling his way through a digital maze while ghosts chase him in every direction. But “shopper” paints a different picture—one of intention, purpose, and discernment. Shoppers aren’t just eating dots; they’re navigating options, weighing choices, and often making purchases on behalf of others. And if you want to win them over, you need to understand not just who they are—but what they face at every turn.

That’s where shopper insights come in. And today, technology is revolutionizing how we capture, analyze, and act on those insights.

Greenbook Video: Guide to Shopper Insights Technology

The Journey Behind Every Purchase

Whether it’s a spontaneous candy bar grab at checkout or a carefully considered B2B procurement decision, every purchase is part of a larger journey. Each step—awareness, consideration, evaluation, decision—offers a moment of potential influence. But to identify and capitalize on these moments, marketers need to understand not just what shoppers do, but what they think and feel.

Mapping the shopper journey means capturing everything from initial impressions to emotional triggers to competing alternatives. It’s a tall order, especially when traditional research methods struggle to keep pace with the complexity of modern shopping behavior.

A Tech-Enhanced Toolkit for Deeper Insights

Shopper research has long relied on a wide array of methodologies: surveys, interviews, in-store observations, biometrics, ethnography, neuromarketing, and more. But the challenge isn’t just collecting data—it’s collecting the right data, at the right moment, in a realistic context. That means understanding the shopper in their natural environment, without disrupting the very behavior you’re trying to study.

Enter technology.

Technology That Follows the Shopper's Every Step

Mobile devices now serve as real-time research companions, capturing both conscious thoughts and unconscious reactions. From recording video diaries to enabling in-the-moment surveys, mobile tools keep researchers close to the action—without getting in the way.

That’s the philosophy behind Reach3 Insights, which uses mobile chat-based, AI-accelerated conversational techniques to capture shopper input where and when it matters most. Built on the Rival platform, Reach3’s mobile-first approach blends qualitative and quantitative feedback—photos, videos, open text, and structured data—into a single seamless experience. This format delivers richer, more immersive insights into the shopper’s mindset during in-store interactions and across iterative moments in their journey.

Leading brands turn to Reach3 to decode modern behaviors by tapping into what shoppers feel and do in the moment, not just what they recall afterward. It’s a powerful evolution of in-context research—bringing speed, scale, and authenticity to the insights process.

Reach3 Video: How Top Brands Use AI-Driven Mobile Chat to Unlock Deeper Shopper Insights

From Data Points to Storytelling

Collecting data is only half the equation. Today’s tech doesn’t just gather more information—it helps make sense of it. GPS and purchase data, behavioral patterns, emotional responses—all can be integrated, analyzed, and visualized in ways that uncover deep insights and strategic opportunities.

Advanced analytics and AI-driven tools connect the dots across touchpoints and time, constructing dynamic journey maps that reflect reality more closely than ever. These tools also make it easier to share findings in a compelling, digestible format—whether you're presenting to a research-savvy stakeholder or a time-strapped executive.

That’s where platforms like Market Logic Software come in. Their DeepSights™ AI assistant is designed to bring generative AI to the core of shopper and consumer insights—making it easier for teams to access and activate knowledge. With 24/7 insight-rich responses to business questions, DeepSights™ empowers decision-makers across the organization, while the DeepSights™ Workspace offers research professionals advanced tools for connecting data streams, surfacing trends, and building a more integrated insights ecosystem.

By unifying market and consumer data in one platform, Market Logic enables brands to leverage their existing research investments and deliver faster, more customer-centric decisions. Recognized by Forrester, the Market Research Society, and the BIG Innovation Awards, their platform exemplifies how AI can increase both the accessibility and impact of shopper insights at scale.

Market Logic Video: DeepSights Assistant brings Generative-AI to Consumer Insights & Knowledge Management

Precision at the Point of Packaging

Packaging is a critical—yet often under-optimized—element of the shopper journey. In crowded retail environments, a product’s visual appeal and clarity of message can be the deciding factor between conversion and abandonment.

Behaviorally’s Pack.AI™ platform brings data-driven precision to packaging decisions by combining AI-powered real-time insights with the world’s largest behavioral packaging database. Built around their PackPower Score and 4S Framework (Be Seen, Shoppable, Seductive, Selected), Pack.AI enables brands to confidently test, refine, and optimize packaging at any stage of development.

In today’s market, speed and accuracy are essential—and Pack.AI delivers both. Whether it’s validating a concept or optimizing an existing design, brands can use the platform to ensure their packaging not only performs at shelf but also resonates with shoppers in meaningful ways.

Behaviorally Video: Decision Precision with Pack.AI

Why It Matters for Researchers and Beyond

According to the latest GRIT Insights Practice Report, shopper research isn’t just a niche focus—it’s one of the top five areas where insights professionals lead. From digital journeys to brick-and-mortar experiences, in B2C or B2B contexts, understanding the shopper journey is critical for influencing outcomes.

And it’s not just researchers who benefit. Marketers, product managers, UX designers, and even supply chain strategists increasingly rely on shopper insights to inform decisions. The better the data—and the better the tools to interpret it—the greater the competitive advantage.