Retail shadows are a firsthand shopper research technique used in the CPG industry to observe how consumers behave in a retail environment. This in-the-moment method captures the decision-making process that happens as shoppers interact with brands and products in-store. Unlike traditional surveys or post-shop interviews, retail shadows reveal what consumers actually do – not just what they say they do.

What is a retail shadow in CPG research?

A retail shadow involves a trained researcher either following a shopper during a planned visit or positioning themselves in strategic areas of the store to observe specific behaviors. With permission, researchers may ask questions as the shop unfolds or conduct a short interview immediately after the experience. The goal is to collect observational data that brings clarity to why certain choices are made – from shelf navigation and product comparison to impulse purchases or brand loyalty.

What kinds of insights does this method uncover?

Retail shadows help answer questions like:

• Which product features catch attention on-shelf?
• How easily are products found within the category?
• What triggers a brand switch or impulse buy?
• Are promotional displays noticed and acted upon?

These in-the-moment observations offer rich CPG insights, especially for improving shelf layout, packaging design, shopper marketing, and new product launches.

When is this method most effective?

Retail shadows are best used when your focus is on shopper behavior as it happens in a store environment. They’re ideal for product categories where in-store navigation or shelf visibility plays a key role – such as snacks, beverages, household cleaning supplies, and quick-consumption items. This method can also be highly valuable when launching new products or testing placement changes in-store.

Some benefits of retail shadows include:

• Capturing decisions in real time
• Understanding how aisle layout impacts choices
• Spotting friction points in the path to purchase
• Validating assumptions with real shopper behavior

At SIVO, our Empathy Trek approach enhances retail shadow work by pairing observations with meaningful, on-the-go conversations – giving you both behavioral context and emotional motivation behind every decision. This layered insight is what sets great product category research apart.

As we transition from the store to the home, let's look at how pantry walkthroughs uncover a different – but equally powerful – side of consumer behavior.

Pantry walkthroughs are a type of in-home research that gives CPG teams a window into real-life product usage, storage habits, and purchase motivation. Unlike retail shadows, which focus on how consumers shop, this method focuses on how people live with the products they buy – making it an insightful choice for understanding long-term brand engagement and reducing the gap between purchase and use.

What is a pantry walkthrough in consumer research?

In a pantry walkthrough, a researcher visits a participant’s home (either in-person or virtually) to tour their kitchen, pantry, refrigerator, or storage spaces – wherever products are kept and used. During the walkthrough, participants talk about which items they buy regularly, why they choose them, how they use them, and what matters most in their decision-making process. Researchers may also ask participants to show specific products and explain how they use them in their daily routines.

What makes pantry walkthroughs so valuable?

This method uncovers the full story behind consumer behavior by revealing:

• How products are stored and organized at home
• Which brands are staples vs. occasional buys
• How usage behavior changes based on packaging or portion size
• Unmet needs or workarounds consumers create with existing products

Unlike surveys or recall-based approaches, pantry walkthroughs provide concrete, visual data on how products fit within a household’s lifestyle. They are an excellent choice for long-term product planning, innovation, and brand relevance work.

When should you use a pantry walkthrough over other methods?

You might choose a pantry walkthrough when you're looking to:

• Understand consumer behavior in the context of the home
• Explore usage patterns for multi-use or staple products (such as sauces, cereals, or personal care items)
• Gather insights for packaging redesign or rebranding efforts
• Learn how your product competes within a category or across your portfolio

Many CPG brands use pantry walkthroughs to uncover unmet needs that traditional in-store research might miss – such as how families manage limited pantry space or how portioning influences product choice for kids. Our Empathy Trek solution at SIVO brings this to life by combining observational research with natural in-home dialogue, creating a complete picture of the consumer’s world.

As with retail shadows, pantry walkthroughs are not about numbers but about narratives – the human stories behind consumption. Used together or separately, these qualitative research tools paint different parts of the shopper and user journey, helping you make more informed decisions based on how people really live and shop.

Understanding consumer behavior goes beyond what people say – it often lies in what they do. This is where qualitative research tools like retail shadows and pantry walkthroughs offer powerful, real-world visibility into shopper habits. But which method delivers deeper insights for your Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) strategy?

Understanding the Environment of Behavior

Retail shadows take you into the store environment – the moment of decision-making. Here, you observe consumers in action: how they navigate aisles, what makes them pause, and how they interact with packaging, promotions, or competing brands. This contextual data highlights purchase drivers and decision friction in the moment.

Pantry walkthroughs, on the other hand, offer a unique view into the post-purchase reality. Within a consumer’s home, you gain insight into consumption patterns, household inventory, storage habits, and product satisfaction. This form of in-home research captures what’s kept, what’s used, and what’s ignored.

Comparing the Depth of Insight

Both tools offer invaluable visibility, but they uncover different layers of insight:

• Retail Shadows: Deeper insight into in-store decision-making, impulse purchases, shopper flow, and brand switching behaviors.
• Pantry Walkthroughs: Rich data on real-world product usage, long-term preferences, household dynamics, and brand loyalty over time.

The difference between retail shadows and pantry walkthroughs lies in timing and context: one captures the experience at the shelf; the other, after the purchase journey is complete. Together, they tell a full story of consumer behavior in-store vs at home.

When Deeper Isn’t Just About One Method

The most powerful CPG insights often emerge when methods are combined. A brand might use retail shadows to refine packaging or point-of-sale strategy, followed by pantry walkthroughs to understand how those changes affect usage and retention. These methods can work in tandem or independently, depending on your research goals.

So, when asking which method offers deeper insight, it's helpful to reframe: Which moment in the consumer journey do I need to explore? Because the method you choose should answer that question with clarity and purpose.

Not all consumer research methods are a one-size-fits-all solution. The ideal tool depends largely on your product category and your specific learning goals. For CPG brands, understanding where and how your product fits into everyday life – whether in store or at home – helps you select the right approach to gather meaningful shopper insights.

How Product Category Influences Method Choice

Some categories see more complex in-store behavior, while others are defined by in-home routines. Here's a simple guide to help you identify the right fit:

• Retail Shadows: Best for items with higher shelf competition or on-the-go decision-making, such as snacks, beverages, personal care, and seasonal products.
• Pantry Walkthroughs: Ideal for staple goods, multiple-use items, or products tied to family routines – think sauces, cleaning supplies, breakfast cereals, or baby care items.

For instance, a company researching snack innovations would benefit most from observing how consumers respond to packaging, promotions, and in-aisle cues using a retail shadow study. Conversely, a cookware brand might use a pantry walkthrough to assess how their items are stored, used, cleaned, and valued within the home setting.

Determining Your Research Objectives

Ultimately, choosing a method depends on the outcome you’re looking to uncover:

Use Retail Shadows to understand:

• Purchase triggers and barriers
• Competitor set considerations
• Packaging appeal and shelf placement impact

Use Pantry Walkthroughs to uncover:

• Long-term product satisfaction
• Cross-product usage patterns
• Storage and consumption behaviors

If you're exploring product development, pack size optimization, or segmentation, product category research supported by the right method will deliver targeted, useful findings that guide innovation and positioning.

CPG consumer research best practices often pair methods so the insights tell a richer story. The key is starting with your business challenge and then matching the method – or combination – to unlock the most valuable findings.

At SIVO, we believe that observing real people in real moments leads to truly actionable insights. That’s why we offer Empathy Treks – an immersive research approach combining the power of retail shadows and pantry walkthroughs to deliver a 360-degree view of the consumer journey.

What Makes Empathy Trek Unique?

Empathy Trek is more than a method – it’s a guided, observational experience designed to foster connection between brands and their consumers. Our teams join participants where they shop and where they live, enabling a seamless look into purchase behavior and product interaction.

Here’s how Empathy Trek supports businesses through shopper-centric CPG insights:

• Integrated Observations: See the same individual across contexts – from store shelf to kitchen shelf.
• Human-Centered Insights: Capture unfiltered, human nuance that AI or data dashboards can’t always detect.
• Tactical and Strategic Clarity: Translate observations directly into product development, messaging, and shelf strategies.

Through Empathy Trek, we help answer tough questions like “Why was this product overlooked in-store?” or “What’s influencing brand loyalty at home?” These insights are critical for optimizing packaging, messaging, and innovation pipelines.

Flexible and Scalable for Your Business Needs

Whether you're testing a new food concept, evaluating competitive positioning, or exploring in-home product research for CPG brands, Empathy Trek bends to your specific needs. It serves both startup and enterprise clients with custom approaches, thoughtful moderation, and fast-turn reporting tailored to your goals.

And because it’s built under our full-service market research methods umbrella, you can combine Empathy Trek with additional qualitative and quantitative tools or plug in SIVO's On Demand Talent for added bench support.

Most importantly, the insights we capture through Empathy Trek are not just interesting – they’re actionable. With SIVO, complex data becomes simple stories that fuel confident decisions and spark meaningful change.