CPG brand achieves 9x ROI through VR

A leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand began collaborating with InContext Solutions in 2012. Over the next five years, they increased their investment in platform licensing and store environments, resulting in a 9x return on investment. In 2018, they successfully partnered with a major retailer, further increasing their return on investment. Since then, the brand has embraced virtual reality (VR) technology on a large scale, setting the stage for future applications.

The brand initially used VR to test hypotheses related to new category concepts, including package type, package design, pricing, SKU assortment, and shelf layout. They quickly gained deep insights into each concept and made decisive actions based on these insights.

One hypothesis the brand tested was whether being the most prominent brand at the point-of-entry and having high household penetration led to increased productivity. A virtual test comparing major brands leading the aisle to the current shelf layout showed that the major brand performed better across all metrics: dollar sales, percentage of shoppers purchasing crackers, dollars per shopper, and percentage of shoppers agreeing that the shelf is more shoppable. In-store tests over time confirmed the initial hypothesis.

Following the successful testing and validation, the brand established new guidelines. They now audit each customer's performance against shelf priorities and scorecard them, which is a metric they aim to improve each year. This is reviewed in both monthly and quarterly reviews with sales team leads, ensuring all teams take full ownership.

Recently, the brand made significant investments in employee development and training, partnering with InContext to launch a virtual training program. Sales representatives now conduct operational training for new hires in a tailored store environment using VR technology, moving away from traditional learning methods.

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