The Hershey Company has opened its Mobile Customer Insights Center (MCIC), an extendable tractor trailer that will allow the manufacturer to offer insights and expertise to retail partners in a number of locations. The MCIC is an extension of Hershey’s Global Customer Insights Center located at the company’s headquarters in Hershey, Pa., which has been working with retailers since 2006.
The mobile version can fit up to 15 people in its collaborative workspace, giving them an opportunity to discuss insights and solutions that can be directly applied at stores. Strategies Hershey can discuss include:
- Merchandising optimization;
- Store layouts, queues, checkout counters;
- Product innovation; and
- Shopper marketing.
Advertisement
The trailer also can be used as an experiential space for customers, who will be offered a chance to discuss their thoughts with a team of industry experts. The MCIC will be making stops in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco and numerous cities in-between, with more than 25 visits planned by year’s end.
“The retail landscape is shifting at an unprecedented rate. To stay ahead, today’s retailers need a new playbook and that’s exactly what we’re bringing to their front door,” said Phil Stanley, Chief Sales Officer at The Hershey Company in a statement. “The MCIC is an important next step in our insight-driven journey to ensure Hershey provides our retail partners the most tailored, strategic insights we have to offer.”
Hershey has been working with 20 retail partners on redesigned store layouts. The updated stores saw a 50% decrease in product search times during testing, while traffic and conversions increased by 4 percentage points.
