Cooperatives are formed by people united under common goals through co-ownership and democratic control. At their best, co-ops are true reflections of their communities, mirroring their community demographics to create a wide “circle of we” and embodying the aspirations of owners and shoppers.

Understanding your community depends on more than gut instincts or keen observations on the sales floor. It requires an ongoing commitment to research. The insights you gain through research are invaluable in ensuring your co-op remains a healthy and successful business.

NCG has a number of programs and resources available to help you understand shoppers and their needs. All tools provided by NCG should be considered confidential to NCG co-ops and not for redistribution.

• Trends report — NCG’s annual report that aggregates secondary research into industry and consumer trends. This comprehensive report is particularly useful for business planning. New reports are published each September.
• National consumer research — NCG periodically conducts primary consumer research to inform the refinement of the Co+op, stronger together brand. Our marketing strategy is founded in appealing to mid-level health and wellness consumers without alienating core consumers. NCG also periodically purchases secondary consumer research, much of which comes from The Hartman Group and focuses on health and wellness consumers.
• Shopper survey — NCG’s standardized co-op member/shopper survey is designed to provide insights into customer satisfaction, behaviors and attitudes. The survey instrument itself is free but co-ops pay for survey implementation and analysis. NCG aggregates survey results on an annual basis to provide a snapshot of national performance.
• SPINS data — The SPINS database allows co-ops to understand item-level product movement as well as regional and national trends.

Resources available within your co-op and from external sources can help you further understand your community and shopper behavior. At the co-op, customer feedback forms and formal or informal feedback from focus groups, in-person interactions with staff and online interactions in social media spaces can offer highly personal, specific insights. Co-op sales data from weekly and monthly financial reports and point of sale systems, in particular, provide a wealth of information on shopper behavior. Consider analyzing owner and non-owner shopping patterns on an ongoing basis to determine areas of strength and opportunity.

For local, regional and national data on a variety of demographic factors, U.S. Census data is a valuable resource. Local business chambers can offer economic analysis at the city and state level. Market studies analyze consumer characteristics including attitudes, behaviors and shopping patterns; these typically are performed in advance of a store relocation or new store opening.

Using a variety of these tools, you can develop a clearer picture of your community. And the better you understand your current and potential shoppers, the better able your co-op will be to align with them and make the co-op an integral and invaluable part of their lives.