White Papers

The Integer Group^® occasionally publishes some of its thoughts and points of view on the developments taking place within the brand, retail, promotional, and shopper marketing landscapes. To receive a white paper that is of interest to you, please select a link below.

Publish Date        Title

It took TikTok less than 500 days to go from zero to 100 million users.1 But the TikTok that existed at its founding in 2016—and even that which existed when it hit 1 billion users in 2021—is not the same TikTok that is in operation today. And while its growth is impressive, there are numerous considerations to keep in mind when developing growth-focused commerce plans for the platform.

This paper reevaluates the definition of growth in the context of commerce, expanding upon its traditional commercial meaning. 

Dives into the the effects of this new software, what email marketers can do about it, and immediate next steps to take action as a result of the new operating system rollout.

Well into the pandemic, we examine the cultural edges and commerce trends that have emerged as our new normal.

Jul 2021           Future of Commerce | The Why Behind the Buy

A deep dive into the new retail normal emerging in the wake of the abrupt and extended break in daily retails habits forced by the 2020 lockdown.

Apple’s iOS 14.5 updates included new privacy features for Apple mobile devices; discover how they are connected to social commerce and what social advertisers need to do as a result.

Emerging in China and the U.S., does livestream shopping have the potential to expand and grow?

Almost one year into the pandemic, we examine the cultural edges and commerce trends that have emerged as our new normal.

Walmart is rolling out a new app-inspired store format, which integrates online and in-store more than ever. Explore what it entails and what to consider as more stores take on the format.

While the launch of Walmart + is still unknown, this POV digs into what we know to date, how it stacks up with Amazon Prime and what Walmart + has that could lead to its success.

In this 2nd edition of The Next Normal, we examine how the edges of culture and commerce have evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic—identifying which are changing and reshaping the future of commerce.

In this thought piece we examined the edges of culture and commerce to identify key driving forces during the COVID-19 pandemic that are changing and reshaping the future of commerce.

Discover Facebook’s newest product offering, why it may change the future of social commerce and how brands can use it to their advantage. 

Omnicom Retail Group’s thought piece on how COVID-19 is affecting shopping and the retail environment.

Learn why Pinterest is the best kept social commerce secret and how it can help brands of all kinds win in the eCommerce space in our latest white paper.

Learn how brands can and should better comply with best practices for DTC website accessibility.

In a competitive eCommerce world, paid merchandising is critical for shoppers to find your brands and Amazon Advertising is quickly becoming table stakes. This White Paper outlines how to leverage the right strategy is to create a “full-funnel” approach that balances your budget and connects with the shopper at any point in their shopping journey, on Amazon or off.

In a competitive eCommerce world, paid merchandising is critical for shoppers to find your brands and Amazon Advertising is quickly becoming table stakes. This White Paper outlines how to leverage the right strategy is to create a “full-funnel” approach that balances your budget and connects with the shopper at any point in their shopping journey, on Amazon or off.

Invisible retail design describes the seamless integration of technology with the physical environment. This White Paper explores how retailers are evolving to implement invisible retail design and offer holistic shopping experiences across channels.

How to effectively assess your brand commerce health

This editorial explores how visionary brands are driving growth through Binary Retail Experience Design

Jan 2018          Why Artificial Intelligence Will Widen the Wealth Gap

This article explores the socioeconommic factors that are affecting AI and how shoppers use AI. Explore this study further by clicking here.

Looking back at 10 years of observations on the Shopper Culture blog, this white paper highlights 5 observations in shopper culture and examines now just how they have changed, evolved or stayed the same in the past 10 years but what the next ten years have in store. 

Thinking on the value and complexities of shopper ethnographies when it comes to insight hunting as well as how to tackle it with various research methods

A view on the eCommerce Giant and its impact on channel marketing

Why Big Ideas matter, why they are difficult to achieve, and how they can come to life in a holistic manner with an illustrative look at multiple brands, categories and campaigns across the globe

Oct 2015           Advertising Isn’t Evil; It’s Nature

This editorial by Integer Insight & Strategy VP, Ethan Decker, examines the natural side of advertising and why people are predisposed to this “evil.”

This white paper examines modern video gaming. You might not only be surprised to learn who plays video games but perhaps even more surprised to find out who is buying the games to begin with. Download this paper to learn more about modern video gaming from a retail perspective.

In this Roundtable, Leontyne Green Sykes, marketing officer for Ikea U.S., Steve Shannon, VP of Marketing for Hyundai Motor America, John Frascotti, global CMO for Hasbro, Chris Brull, head of marketing at Kawasaki Motors and Mike Sweeney, CEO of The Integer Group all discuss the importance of a brand’s responsibility to its consumer. They also discuss the most effective way to communicate a brand’s responsibility, the biggest challenge to a brand’s reputation and conflicts between brand responsibility and the bottom line.

This white paper examines how digital is changing the retail landscape and how brick-and-mortar retailers are using digital innovations to provide new experiences to shoppers.

This special report profiles the mobile shopper and also outlines a process to help CPG executives and digital shopper marketers build a proper mobile content strategy, explore mobile tactics and take a look at the years ahead.

A roundtable discussion on Big Data; its impact, benefits, risks, and applications.

Shopping Lists: A Primary Shopping Tool Where Shoppers Engage With Retailers, Products, And Brands To Help Manage Buying Decisions

This White Paper describes the main differences between Finnish, Swedish and Danish consumers. It highlights what triggers, motivates and affects them, how attitudes have changed and which channels are used currently.

As retailers and brands make the effort to understand Hispanic shoppers and their key drivers, the better positioned they will be to provide value to this segment and ultimately grow their overall business. Using research data from The Checkout this white paper examines the Hispanic shopper and how this audience’s path to purchase has evolved.

What is loyalty? Is it something that can truly be achieved, or can we only incentivize shoppers one purchase at a time? Shopper marketing organizations must figure this out in order to bring more value to retailers. Retail Loyalty Programs Today: Not All Shoppers Are Created Equal includes analysis of our Checkout data from over 30,000 respondents over the past two years, it explores the pitfalls and opportunities for loyalty programs through different shopper types.

As online technology and services develop, mobile online technology and services of the same kind are sure to follow. Passport To Purchase: M-Commerce examines the mobile evolution and its implications on CPGs, cross-channel approaches, target demographics, purchase behaviors, and more.

At what point does a consumer become a shopper? Is it when they step in the store, or is it when they realize a product need/desire and begin thinking, researching, and planning that purchase? Once that purchase is made, what is the experience of usage? Is their any post-purchase engagement from the brand? In our new white paper, Shoppers vs. Consumers: Communicating to Shifting Mindsets, we examine the different states we as people operate in, to understand how brands can better align their messaging to audience needs/wants.

Today’s, C-stores are challenged across several fronts. While competitors open new, smaller formats offering increased levels of convenience, the average C-store operator is limited not only by physical space and location, but by a set of outdated conventions and assumptions. Through rigorous shopper research and their proprietary approach to problem solving, the NACS/Coca-Cola Study identifies unique store types and shoppers segments based on usage, motivations and behaviors at retail. 

As a Shopper Marketing agency we carefully track shopping behaviors and retailer trends. As a Promotions agency, we closely follow the effects of changing technology on consumer/brand relationships. Directly resulting from these observations, the Integer Group has created a new practice for our clients centered on the convergence of digital and retail. We’ve termed this new space Digitail.

This white paper takes on the topic of Clean Store policies and their impact on retail marketers. The recent announcement by Information Resources, Inc. of a 10-percent reduction of in-store displays sent a shock wave through the retail merchandising industry; many see this news as evidence that P-O-P is headed for extinction. We on the other hand see this as good news for smart marketers in an environment where more relevant, customized displays are in demand.

Our Dallas office completed a very interesting study on shopper behavior in the consumer electronics segment. The study takes an interesting look at the decision making process and the impact of various stimuli on the purchase decision in this category.

Each year billions of marketing dollars are spent in-store despite the lack of any significant industry metrics or standard gauge of effectiveness. The P.R.I.S.M. initiative, led by Neilsen and the In-Store Marketing Institute, aims to change that. In this white paper, we take a look at the next frontier: in-store media and the impact of the development of the P.R.I.S.M. research approach. How will this marketplace evolve as we move ever closer to the standardization of language and measurement?

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