Once upon a time, retail success was measured by footfall, shelf space, and sales. Today, the story runs much deeper. Retail and D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) aren’t just about shelves and screens anymore; they’re about experiences, emotions, and expectations.
Whether it’s a premium diaper, a new refrigerator, or a neighborhood bookstore, every retail story begins with a customer and their voice.
At Markelytics, we’ve made it our mission to capture these voices and transform them into actionable strategies. Through retail market research, consumer behavior analysis, mystery shopping, and customer satisfaction (CSAT) studies, we help brands see beyond transactions to understand what truly drives loyalty, advocacy, and growth.
Retail in 2025: The Voice of the Customer Reigns Supreme
The retail landscape has undergone unprecedented evolution. Physical stores have become experience zones. D2C brands are blending offline touchpoints with digital personalization. Consumers are more informed, vocal, and value-driven than ever.
In this environment, it’s not enough to ask what’s selling. You need to ask why.
- Why did a customer choose one product over another?
- Why do loyal customers churn?
- Why does one display or price point convert better than others?
Finding these answers requires more than just analytics; it demands genuine consumer conversations, immersive research methods, and a comprehensive understanding of cross-market dynamics. That’s where Markelytics steps in.
Turning Consumer Insights into Real Retail Impact
Over the years, we’ve partnered with global and regional brands to decode buying behavior, measure brand equity, and reimagine customer experience. Here’s how listening to real voices translates into real results.
1. Baby Products: Balancing Value and PremiumizationWhen a reputed FMCG and baby care brand approached us, they were navigating a familiar but complex challenge: how to introduce a premium diaper variant without alienating their price-conscious base.
We surveyed 830 mothers in 10 Indian cities, exploring brand perception, price sensitivity, and willingness to pay for features like absorption and skin protection.
The study revealed clear distinctions among consumers from the price-driven to the comfort-focused, and those ready to invest in superior quality. The insight? Premiumization and value can coexist if positioned thoughtfully. The client launched a premium diaper range with e-commerce discounts to connect aspiration and accessibility. Read More
2. Electronics Retail: The Refrigerator Story
A leading global electronics company wanted to better understand what influences refrigerator purchases in the UAE; beyond basic features like size or energy ratings.
We conducted a Usage & Attitude (U&A) study using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to uncover consumer motivations, preferences, and emotional connections with the category.
The project demonstrated how blending ethnographic depth with large-scale insights can help brands refine communication strategies, align with consumer expectations, and strengthen their position in a competitive retail market. Read More
3. Mystery Shopping: When Service Falls Short
A well-known Indian retail chain wanted to audit its in-store experience across major cities and not from the perspective of management, but from real shoppers.
Through a mystery shopping study in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, we evaluated multiple touchpoints: store layout, checkout experience, sales assistance, product availability, and cleanliness.
The findings were eye-opening. While certain locations excelled in service warmth, others faltered in inventory consistency and staff engagement. These insights offered the client a clear operational roadmap, refining training programs, setting new service benchmarks, and aligning store performance with brand promise.
The result? A measurable uplift in customer satisfaction and repeat footfall within months. Read More
4. Global Retail: CSAT for a Leading Bookstore Chain
Customer loyalty in the bookstore industry often goes beyond discounts; it’s about belonging, discovery, and emotional connection.
A global bookstore chain partnered with us to conduct an annual Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) study across multiple markets, engaging nearly 3,000 respondents, including loyalty members and former customers.
The project exemplified how a comprehensive, multi-country CSAT approach can equip retail brands with a unified view of customer satisfaction and loyalty across diverse markets. Read More
The Retail Questions Every Brand Must Ask
Whether you’re a D2C startup or a legacy retailer, certain questions define success, and answering them requires a mix of data, empathy, and strategic foresight.
- Presence vs. Perception: Is your in-store or digital presence living up to what customers expect and outperforming competitors?
- The Price-value Equation: Does your pricing and assortment reflect your value proposition? Are customers seeing you as affordable, aspirational, or inconsistent?
- Churn Clues: Why do customers stop coming back? Is it dissatisfaction, lack of differentiation, or a better competitor experience?
- Journey Jitters: Which moments in the customer journey, checkout, returns, and assistance create friction instead of delight?
- Beyond Features: What emotional triggers influence high-involvement purchases like home appliances or gadgets?
- The D2C Edge: How can insights from retail translate into digital-first strategies, creating seamless omnichannel journeys that combine discovery, engagement, and conversion?
Why Retail Brands Choose Markelytics
What sets Markelytics apart isn’t just the depth of research; it’s how we translate insights into growth actions.
We combine:
- Quantitative scale: to validate hypotheses across diverse consumer bases
- Qualitative depth: to uncover motivations behind behavior
- Advanced analytics: to connect emotion with economics
- Cross-market expertise: spanning Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America
Whether it’s optimizing a store layout, rethinking price architecture, or crafting communication that connects, we root every recommendation in authentic consumer voices, the kind that reveal not just what’s happening, but why it matters.
From Aisles to Algorithms: The Future of Retail Insights
The future of retail is human-centered, insight-driven, and hybrid by design. Data without context is noise; emotion without evidence is guesswork.
At Markelytics, we bridge the two, helping brands make decisions that resonate, not just perform.
Because beyond the aisles and algorithms, it’s the real voices that keep retail moving forward.
Ready to uncover what your customers are truly saying?