Connect motivation to action
Compare interview accounts with the store journey: where shoppers pause, what they compare and when they seek expert help.
GLOBUS GOURMET / PREMIUM RETAIL
Globus Gourmet: rethinking the premium grocery experience
A mixed-method shopper study: 45 interviews, 20 accompanied shopping trips, 30 mystery-shopping visits, a 1,200-person CAWI survey and 24 months of transaction data.
CASE ILLUSTRATIONTASTE / EXPERTISE / CONVENIENCE
45in-depth interviews
20accompanied shopping trips
30mystery-shopping visits
1,200CAWI respondents
01 / CONTEXT
Premium shoppers are changing their priorities
Globus Gourmet operates in premium grocery retail, serving affluent customers. Its proposition brings together quality, gastronomic expertise, exclusive products and a distinctive in-store experience.
Audience expectations were evolving: specialist delivery services widened channel choice, while interest in wellbeing, product provenance and conscious consumption added new dimensions to premium value.
The business needed to understand what shoppers were prepared to pay for: a rare product, confidence in quality, saved time, expert advice or a ready-made solution for a particular occasion. These motivations could play out differently in stores and in the app.
The study informed a review of the customer journey, service model and assortment. The business objectives were average basket value, visit frequency and the long-term value of customer relationships, or LTV.
Preserve gastronomic value while reducing customer effort
A premium experience should help people choose, trust and get the outcome in a convenient format. For one shopper, that means discovering a new flavor with expert guidance; for another, it means a high-quality dinner without lengthy planning. The study needed to understand this difference and align assortment, service and the digital channel.
02 / QUESTIONS
Understand motivation, journey and purchase value
- 01
What drives contemporary premium demand?
Explore values, lifestyles and purchase situations. Distinguish gastronomic discovery, time savings, family habits and conscious product choice.
- 02
What happens along the purchase journey?
Trace the need, channel choice, product search and comparison, staff interaction, payment and post-purchase experience.
- 03
Where does assortment create value, and where is it unclear?
Assess perceptions of in-house production, exclusive imports, private-label goods, rare products and ready-made solutions.
- 04
How does service affect the decision?
Explore advice, ingredient knowledge, sommelier recommendations, navigation and confidence in choosing.
- 05
What prevents trust from transferring to digital channels?
Identify which elements of the store experience are missing from the app and delivery: personal selection, expertise, occasion-based baskets or clear product information.
- 06
How can changes connect to business indicators?
Compare observations with transaction data and identify directions relevant to basket composition, repeat purchases, store visits and service perception.
03 / MIX-METHOD
Five methods, one research framework
45In-depth interviews
60–90 minutes: values, habits and choice motivations+
In-depth interviews
60–90 minutes: values, habits and choice motivationsInterviews with regular and lapsed customers explored lifestyles, food habits, expectations of premium value and reasons for changing shopping behavior.
Comparing retained and lapsed audiences helps distinguish what sustains a relationship from what gradually makes the brand less relevant.
20Accompanied shopping trips
Shop-along / shadowing: behavior in context+
Accompanied shopping trips
Shop-along / shadowing: behavior in contextResearchers accompanied participants in stores, observing selection order, navigation difficulties, non-verbal reactions and interactions with staff.
Observation adds to self-report: a shopper may describe a trip as easy while still returning to shelves, searching for information or waiting for help.
30Mystery-shopping visits
Service audit: how the proposition is delivered+
Mystery-shopping visits
Service audit: how the proposition is deliveredThe audit covered sommeliers, department staff, cashiers and delivery. Audio and video records supported the review of interactions and knowledge of complex products.
Assess specific actions and situations: whether staff clarified the need, explained ingredients and helped the customer decide.
1,200Online survey respondents
CAWI: validating qualitative hypotheses+
Online survey respondents
CAWI: validating qualitative hypothesesThe survey covered residents of major cities with above-average and high incomes. The project description characterizes the sample as representative of the target audience.
Qualitative work explains reasons; quantitative research compares the prevalence of identified attitudes within the defined sample.
24Months of transaction data
Data mining / CRM: actual purchase patterns+
Months of transaction data
Data mining / CRM: actual purchase patternsAnonymized loyalty-program data supported the analysis of cross-category baskets and seasonal demand changes across two years.
Transactions show what people buy and when; interviews and observation explain the motivation and context.
The overall mixed-method framework also mentions focus groups, without specifying their session count or protocol. Interview, observation, audit and survey counts describe different methods and should not be added together as a unique participant total.
Connect accounts, behavior and transactions
The methods were connected around a shared question: what people value, how they choose, what they experience in stores or the app, and how this relates to purchases. Differences between stated preferences and observed behavior were especially useful.
04 / SHOPPER PROFILES
Four ways to seek premium value
The profiles describe motivations and shopping situations. A person can seek flavor discovery at the weekend and act as a time-pressed shopper on a weekday evening; segmentation helps tailor the offer to the context.
01Aesthetic hedonists
Discover flavors with expert guidance+
Aesthetic hedonists
Discover flavors with expert guidanceShopping becomes a gastronomic experience. Quality, rarity, aesthetics, advice and confidence in pairings matter.
What supports valueTastings, expert access, product stories and opportunities for discovery.
02Busy innovators
Save time without sacrificing quality+
Busy innovators
Save time without sacrificing qualityValue comes from moving quickly from a need to a complete solution. Prepared food and ready-to-cook products help organize a quality dinner or gathering.
What supports valueReady-to-eat and ready-to-cook options, curated sets and easy reordering.
03Family tradition keepers
Maintain quality and familiar rituals+
Family tradition keepers
Maintain quality and familiar ritualsShopping connects to care, family preferences and established expectations of products and service.
What supports valueClear ingredients, dependable quality, familiar categories and situation-specific recommendations.
04Wellbeing biohackers
Make informed product choices+
Wellbeing biohackers
Make informed product choicesAttention centers on provenance, ingredients, nutritional information and individual preferences.
What supports valueAccessible information about suppliers, ingredients, nutrition and relevant product attributes.
05 / CUSTOMER JOURNEY
From a dinner idea to the next order
The journey spans the physical store and the digital channel. The interpretation below connects research themes to priorities at each stage of the experience.
- 01
The need arises
Dinner, routine replenishment or a special occasionUnderstand whether the shopper wants an individual product, a gastronomic idea or a complete solution.
Present occasion-based options: dinner, hosting, tasting and family shopping. - 02
Channel selection
Store, app or deliveryCompare the value of personal advice with the convenience of remote ordering.
Keep expertise and personalized selection accessible across channels. - 03
Search and navigation
Category, shelf, search or curated selectionConsider navigation difficulties and the moment when explanation is missing.
Clear assortment structure, filters and contextual recommendations. - 04
Product evaluation
Origin, ingredients, flavor and pairingsMake quality and uniqueness recognizable, especially for exclusive imports and private-label products.
Supplier stories, accurate ingredient information and expert explanation. - 05
Basket assembly and fulfillment
Complete the selection and receive the intended outcomeConnect individual products into a useful set and deliver consistent service through purchase completion.
Set builders, personal gastronomic advice, clear ordering conditions and coordinated staff interactions. - 06
After purchase
Experience, repeat ordering and feedbackUnderstand whether the solution met expectations and what would bring the customer back.
Useful recommendations, convenient repeat purchases and situation-specific feedback.
06 / ANALYSIS
Use different sources to test explanations
Separate sources of friction
Distinguish unavailable products, missing information, navigation difficulty and unmet service expectations. Each calls for a different response.
Check whether hypotheses recur
Use quantitative research to compare identified attitudes within the target audience while retaining the question wording and response base.
Examine actual baskets
Compare categories and seasonality in anonymized transactions with the reported shopping situations. Frequent co-purchase alone does not explain its cause.
Turn a finding into an initiative
Identify the need, touchpoint, intended behavior change and evaluation metric for each initiative.
07 / KEY INSIGHTSExpertise, transparency
Expertise, transparency
and the shopper’s time.
Time can be more valuable than exclusivity
Busy innovators value time savings alongside uncompromising quality. Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products became important store-choice drivers, ahead of standard grocery categories in the reported findings.
WHAT THIS CHANGES
Build the offer around a completed outcome: dinner, hosting or a set that can be finished quickly at home. Explain the category through convenience and quality alongside ingredient rarity.
Conscious luxury requires transparency
More than 68% of respondents identified transparency of product origin as critically important. Interest covered organic and farm-to-table attributes, ingredients, nutrition, antibiotics and microplastics.
WHAT THIS CHANGES
Make product and supplier information accessible in stores and digitally. Organic or ingredient claims should rely on verified information for the particular item.
The digital channel lacked gastronomic expertise
Compared with the store atmosphere and service, the app felt like an ordinary supermarket. Customers lacked sommelier recommendations, personal selections and baskets tailored to an occasion.
WHAT THIS CHANGES
Bring premium service value into digital journeys through expert advice, tailored sets and connected offers rather than a catalog of isolated products.
Exclusive imports were not clearly recognized
Many shoppers did not connect exclusive imports to a distinctive Globus Gourmet proposition, viewing them through a generic image of expensive European branding.
WHAT THIS CHANGES
Explain what makes a product distinctive: origin, producer story, selection and its place in the retailer’s assortment. Connect private-label and exclusive imports to brand value.
08 / ASSORTMENT DISTINCTIVENESS
Make selection expertise part of brand value
Make the distinction visible
Shoppers need to understand how an item connects to Globus Gourmet’s selection and expertise. Packaging appearance alone does not communicate exclusivity.
Explain the basis of value
Producer stories, provenance and gastronomic uses turn a generic expensive-product image into a recognizable reason to choose. Information should be specific to the item.
Align shelf and product page
Staff explanations, in-store presentation and the digital product page should tell a consistent story. This makes expert knowledge accessible when ordering remotely.
09 / TRANSFORMATION
Four directions for a coherent experience
01Assortment and productComplete solutions and understandable quality
+
Complete solutions and understandable quality
The solution
Develop the Healthy Premium lines—gluten-free, organic and keto—and expand ready-to-eat products with guest chefs.
Customer logicConnect categories to the task: organize a quality meal quickly, match individual preferences or discover a new pairing. Clear attributes help explain value.
Prepared-food share of the basket: +24%.
02Physical space and serviceMake expertise part of the visit
+
Make expertise part of the visit
The solution
Introduce tasting bars, head-sommelier corners and personalized coaching for frontline staff.
Customer logicHelp staff turn product knowledge into useful advice. Tastings and consultations should fit the shopper’s situation and make selection easier.
Average time spent in store: +18 minutes.
03Digital ecosystemBring premium service into the app
+
Bring premium service into the app
The solution
Redesign the app with a personal sommelier or gastronomic adviser, curated-set builders and AR product displays.
Customer logicRetain expert value while making remote ordering convenient: occasion-based selections, pairing explanations and individualized baskets.
Conversion to a repeat app order: +31%.
04Communication and brandReveal provenance and distinctiveness
+
Reveal provenance and distinctiveness
The solution
Tell stories about farmers and local producers; update the visual identity around environmental themes and premium restraint.
Customer logicExplain the reasons to choose: who produces the item, how the assortment is selected and why the product merits attention. Connect exclusive imports and private-label goods to recognizable retailer value.
NPS: from 62 to 78 points.
10 / BUSINESS RESULTS
Transformation results across distinct measures
Prepared-food share of the basket
This concerns a category’s share of the basket, not a reported increase in total chain revenue or a 24-percentage-point change.
Average time spent in store
An absolute change in visit duration. Interpret it alongside choice quality and the customer experience.
Conversion to a repeat app order
A repeat-order conversion metric in the digital channel, not growth in all orders or the share of the entire customer base.
NPS points
The difference is 16 NPS points. It is an index change, not 16% relative growth.
The metrics are reported in the project description. Comparison periods, baselines for percentage changes and a design isolating initiative effects from other factors are not specified. The original units are therefore retained without deriving additional causal or financial estimates.
11 / OPERATING LOGIC
Develop the store and app as one system
Connect the changes into one experience
Align assortment, staff and the app around shared shopping situations. A set in the app and expert assistance in a store should reinforce the same value.
Validate value in context
Assess usefulness and convenience against a specific task: weekday dinner, family shopping, hosting or gastronomic discovery.
Keep learning from feedback
Connect feedback, observation, service audits and transaction metrics. Consider average basket value, visit frequency and LTV together rather than substituting a single favorable indicator.
12 / OUTCOME
Premium value becomes tangible through a useful choice
The study informed Globus Gourmet’s updated marketing and operational strategy. Rethinking prepared food, product transparency, expert service and the digital experience helped support the loyal core and attract a younger premium audience. The central transformation idea was to connect high gastronomy with clarity, personal relevance and everyday convenience.
NEEDEXPERIENCEREPEAT CHOICE
FROM UNDERSTANDING TO TRANSFORMATION
Why do shoppers choose your brand?
Combine interviews, observation and quantitative evidence to explore the customer journey and identify priorities for products, service and digital channels.