India category audit: Hair Care

PREPARATION

• Familiarise yourself with this guide and its purpose before you visit a retailer
• Determine the specific retailers/stores to be visited and arrange for permission (as needed)
• Take as many pictures as possible (some retailers won’t allow this). Pictures will be used during the report to
bring context to the things you observed outside the store and in-store. If you are not able to take pictures, be
very diligent about taking notes to capture what you observed.
• Once you’ve finished your observation, please send the materials as instructed below.

HOW TO TAKE PHOTOS

Avoid using the flash, as it will attract less attention. Use camera settings/filter to get appropriate visibility

• Start with a wide-picture, then zoom in for close up photos

• Capture products/categories next to the target brand/category – to the left, right, above and/or below.
• Capture price points, price tags, sale tags, etc.
• Use High resolution (HDR) to take photos.
• Please capture a mixture of:
o Wide shots showing the store environment
o Medium shots showing the specific category POS in-situ
o Tight shots - close-ups of POS and products to show messaging and copy
o Shots of any communication around the store relating to the category – e.g. car park media, posters,
communications at the till, leaflets, signage

PROJECT BACKGROUND

We are conducting research into the hair care category in India, specifically mass-market hair shampoo and
conditioners.

We want to understand:

- What are the main channels for this category

- What does the typical shopper look like in this category
- What are the main brands in this category
- How do they communicate their product features, claims etc – what is the main messaging
- What activity do they do in store – this is the main focus of the research
- What are the trends (eg particular types of communication that retailers use most often) that exist within the
channels
- What are some strategic principals for activating a hair care brand in store

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO

We would like you to assemble a Powerpoint or PDF report, including an analysis of channels, an analysis of shoppers
and include photographs, screenshots, translations, commentary and analysis that will help us understand typical
communications for each brand.

Including touchpoints in store, an overview of competitor activity and any other insights that will help us to develop
materials for this category. We are specifically interested in the messaging and point of sale that each brand uses to
communicate to shoppers and the trends that exist within channels. Using these insights, please provide
recommendations and solutions on ways to win that you have seen hair care brands using successfully in store.

We need you to provide, by 9AM BST on 18th November:

A Powerpoint presentation or PDF substantiated by research and data (please provide) including:

1. A detailed analysis of the main channels in India around hair care products with an overview of the
general products for sale and the type of shopper
2. A detailed analysis of the type of shoppers that purchase hair conditioners in India– where do they
shop? Who do they shop for? What are their shopper attributes?
3. A section for each brand of hair condition in store containing clear photograph of the product and the
product in situ on the shelf in store, annotated with translations where appropriate
4. A section outlining key observations of the category within channels (trends, points of interest, general
observations about the way that the category is sold in store, any competitors that appear to dominate)
5. A section with strategic principals for activating in store including at least 10 recommended POS
touchpoints
6. All of the photographs separately in a zip file, in folders labelled with the name of the retailer they were
captured in

Alongside photographs please include English translation of copy and caption explaining what it is, where in store you
found it. We need to be able to see the exact messaging being used where for each of the competitors, please make
sure your photos are as clear as possible and accompanied by translations and commentary where it helps.

PHOTOGRAPHS TO CAPTURE:

We are specifically interested in the way that these products are sold in store. Please walk around the whole store
looking for communications / activity relating to this category (specifically HAIR SHAMPOO & CONDITIONERS) – not just
the main section or shelf where they are usually found. They may be stocked in standalone units, or in other categories,
or advertised around the store.

• At the shelf where the products are usually stocked (visiting the locations in store where you can find the brands
and categories of product listed above), please take clear photographs of:
o Long shot of the fixture area, including any navigation to help shoppers find the category in store. Please
include context so that we can see adjacencies (i.e. what are they next to/where roughly in store the
section is)
o Photos of all point-of-sale items in the aisle or features on shelf (hanging shelf tag, floor graphics,
leaflets, signs, advertisements, etc.)
o Any promotions, offers, competitions or additional activity that is being run by any of the brands listed
above please include photos and full details
• Elsewhere in the store:
o Ways of displaying products in other parts of the store, especially noting where a product is
merchandised away from its “home” aisle
o Any other touchpoints that could be used by a brand to promote their product (e.g. advertising space
outside store, window posters or stickers, security shrouds, digital screens, interactive displays, demos,
staff, till media, etc etc etc)

RETAILERS TO VISIT
Please visit at least twelve stores, including at least three hypermarkets/supermarkets, three healthy and
beauty, three convenience stores and three drugstores/pharmacies. Please also visit at least 2 traditional trade
outlets.