The etventure startup POSpulse is now involved in new, exciting projects and partnerships. POSpulse is one of five startups that were chosen to take part in ‘Shopper Futures,’ an innovation program by Mondelēz International. At the same time, POSpulse is embarking on a partnership with Happy Thinking People, an institute for qualitative research and consultancy.

The future of retail – the Shopper Futures program from Mondelēz International

What will retail look like in the future? When it comes to the shopping experience, what will customers be expecting and demanding in the future? The Shopper Futures program from Mondelēz International connects its own brands – such as Milka, Oreo, belVita and Mikado – and large retailers like Rewe with innovative startups that focus on the areas of in-store analytics and e-commerce. From a pool of over 50 applicants, twelve startups were selected and invited to Bremen to make their pitches. Last week, Mondelēz International finally announced the first five startups that will take part in the Shopper Futures program – and POSpulse is one of them. Over the next 90 days, the program aims to facilitate the development and testing of initial joint pilot projects relating to the future of retail. Each startup will enter the project phase with a Mondelēz International brand and/or a large retailer. The startups will each receive a grant of 30,000 euros for their respective projects. POSpulse will be collaborating with the chocolate-covered cookie stick brand Mikado. Shopper Futures is run by the innovation agency Evol8tion and is supported by media partners such as Carat, amnet and Facebook.

Even before the project phase had begun, leading startup media outlets such as the deutsche-startups website (“5 new accelerator programs that everyone should know about”) and the online magazine Gründerszene (“The choco-accelerator”) had written articles (in German) about the Shopper Futures program.

A video looking back at the pitch day in Bremen:

Partnership with Happy Thinking People

The partnership with Happy Thinking People is another highlight for POSpulse. Happy Thinking People is one of the world’s leading qualitative research and consultancy institutes. Together with Happy Thinking People, POSpulse has developed an integrated approach to shopper/consumer insight, which is designed to provide answers to key questions relating to retail marketing:

How can product launches be optimized?

How do customers make purchase decisions across different product categories?

At the point of sale, how do brand image, consumer awareness and purchase behavior interact with one another?

And considering the increasing fusion of store-based retail, e-commerce and the various characteristics of online, mobile and store-based shopping experiences, in what ways must category management adapt?

The partnership between the two companies perfectly combines qualitative and quantitative market research. Happy Thinking People is a proven expert when it comes to the qualitative investigation of phenomena and the context of typical customer journeys. By contrast, POSpulse uses its app-based market research at the point of sale to deliver quantitative analysis about the execution of product placement and marketing campaigns, as well as about consumer perceptions relating to retail. By combining both consultancy approaches, customers from the sectors retail and consumer goods will be provided with valuable insights in order to optimize the shopping experience.