Curious Business: Insights for B2B Growth

Consumer Insights: What Data Doesn't Reveal with Tessa Stuart, The Shopper Stalker

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Apr 23, 2025

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ANECDOTE

Origin of Shopper Stalker

Tessa Stewart started as a focus group moderator but shifted to in-store observational research to suit family life.
She tested her Shopper Stalker concept with a small drinks company by interviewing shoppers on location.

INSIGHT

Data Shows What, Not Why

Large companies have vast sales data but still can't explain some customer behaviors.
Data shows what happens but doesn't reveal why those things happen, so qualitative insight fills that gap.

ADVICE

Test Ideas Live in Stores

Test new product ideas live in stores with shoppers for immediate feedback on interest and appeal.
Use this consumer validation to confidently sell products to supermarkets.

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It seems we're awash with data these days. It's meant to improve decision-making and outcomes. While sales data tells us what has happened, it rarely tells us why it happened. It also tells us nothing about what didn't happen. Why did a customer walk away? What didn't they choose — and why?

In this podcast, I talk to Tessa Stuart who dives into the mysteries of actual consumer behaviour almost every day. Tessa works in the food and drink retail space, helping brands to understand customers and decode their preferences, choices and actions. She helps to reveal the mindset behind the metrics. These consumer insights bring the numbers to life and transform how companies present themselves to customers when it matters most.

Known as 'The Shopper Stalker', Tessa shares her journey from advertising focus groups to becoming a leading voice of live customer insight via attempting to sell her children to Innocent drinks. Featured on Radio 4's The Today Programme, she's also the author of two books about getting stocked and then getting picked off the shelf.

What Tessa does is eminently transferrable outside of food and drink, listen to 'What Data Doesn't Tell Us' to find out:

Tessa's approach and how she became the Shopper Stalker
What she's learned about how consumers think and behave
How real-time encounters can help brands connect with customers
What her observations of buyer behaviour reveal about how brands should present themselves
How augmenting sales data can help us connect with actual customer needs

Connect with Tessa on LinkedIn.

Buy her books on Amazon: Packed and Flying Off The Shelves.

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Thanks for listening to Curious Business, the business podcast that brings you fresh insights, experiences and anecdotes to help you think differently about your business and marketing.

My name is Stephen Morris. I help start-ups and scale-ups gain clarity and take action, igniting real momentum. If you'd like to know more, book a discovery call.