A's to your Q's

What is Merchant Mechanics?
What is the Merchant Mechanics philosophy?
What services does Merchant Mechanics offer?
How much do Merchant Mechanics' services cost?
How does Merchant Mechanics obtain its data?
What are Merchant Mechanics research techniques?
Does Merchant Mechanics' methodology infringe on the rights of individuals?

Q: What is Merchant Mechanics?

A: Merchant Mechanics is a behavioral research and consulting firm serving retail and manufacturing clients throughout the United States. Employing its core proprietary research programs, Retail Forensics® and RealThought®, the company helps retailers and store designers develop more effective selling spaces and aids product manufacturers in generating more enticing packaging and merchandising elements.

Merchant Mechanics combines proprietary techniques, traditional market research practices, and expert insight based in behavioral psychology to evaluate the interactions between shoppers and the elements within selling environments. We use that information to recommend creative and actionable solutions for increasing shopper's tendency to make purchases.

Merchant Mechanics' heart and soul lies within its research team. The company's principals each hold an advanced degree in such retail-relevant fields as the psychology of decision-making, spatial navigation and visual perception. With many years experience, our project leaders and research staff are extremely well prepared to rigorously examine and quickly improve any retail environment.

The company is forging its standing as a leader in retail environmental research and as an activist for creating selling environments and product merchandising that best match the natural behavioral and perceptual tendencies of shoppers. Merchant Mechanics creates a better retail experience for shoppers, and thus a more profitable experience for our clients.

Q: What is the Merchant Mechanics philosophy?

A: Our philosophy is simple: By studying the details of consumer shopping behavior as they occur in the store, and revealing why those behaviors happen, we provide our clients with reliable and impartial insight used to make the best-informed decisions. Whether we are investigating traffic patterns, signage, store design, packaging, or any other point-of-purchase matter, our research is designed to uncover both the "what" and "why" of shopping behavior.

Q: What services does Merchant Mechanics offer?

A: Merchant Mechanics provides research-based insight into consumer shopping behavior through combinations of non-invasive in-store video recording, covert field observation as well as customer and employee interviewing. Our services are in two main categories:Retail Forensics®, our cutting-edge proprietary quantitative research services that includes Retail Ergonomics and Spatial Mapping. Our RealThought®Insight research program includes CriticalPoint™ interviewing, FootSteps™ research and SpyShopper.

We also offer advanced univariate and multivariate analyses of acquired data. This approach yields robust simultaneous evaluations of the interrelationships of co-existing marketing and merchandising elements. These analyses are focused on uncovering critical "spheres of influence" over consumer actions as well as opportunities to innovate beyond common practices. Our clients are often surprised by the profitable findings, and are glad to have been enlightened.

Q: How much does a Merchant Mechanics project cost?

A: The cost of a Merchant Mechanics research project varies greatly depending on the number and types of services employed as well as the size, scope and duration of the project. The total cost is usually comprised of three elements: professional fees, travel expenses, and out-of-pocket expenses. Professional fees for basic research services typically range from $35,000 to $100,000. The cost of a full-scale retail investigation can range from $125,000 to $500,000, again depending on the scope and duration of the project. All out of pocket and travel expenses are billed separately.

Q: How does Merchant Mechanics obtain its data?

A: The majority of our data is acquired from video recording and the on-site efforts of our field research team. State-of-the-art video recording equipment captures the overall environmental dynamics as they unfold while our research team discretely observes and records everything individual shoppers do. We may also obtain additional qualitative and quantitative data using other market research methods such as customer and sales associate interviews.

Q: How long does a typical Merchant Mechanics project last?

A: Research project duration is determined by the needs of the client. Typical projects, from data collection to report delivery, range from a few weeks for a benchmark analysis of a single retail element to several months or more for a full-scale longitudinal study comparing data from several store locations.  Follow-up research and consulting may add to the total project timeline. Quality of information comes first, but we deliver information in a timely manner so advantages can be realized as soon as possible. We work closely with our clients and keep them informed regularly so that actions can be taken at the earliest sensible moment.

Q: Do Merchant Mechanics’ methodologies infringe on the rights of individuals?

A: Our methodologies do not infringe on the rights of individuals. Video surveillance is used by virtually every retailer in the United States and does not require the permission of the consumer. However, Merchant Mechanics is an advocate of consumer and employee privacy. Merchant Mechanics assessments are not designed to evaluate the actions of single individuals but rather to understand the larger patterns of human behavior within the selling space. The intention of the research relates to space planning, marketing and selling. Due to privacy laws, all video based research data remains the property of Merchant Mechanics. All quantitative and qualitative information derived from any primary research data is the property of our clients.