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Article: SHOPPING SCIENCE: `VIDEO ETHNOGRAPHY' SPECIALIST E-LAB HELPS CORPORATE CLIENTS LEARN WHO BUYS -- AND WHY.
- Article from:
- Crain's Chicago Business
- Article date:
- January 11, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ask a teenager why he's buying a certain backpack, and you might not get a useful answer. Watch a teenager as he shops for that backpack, and you might learn a few things.
That's what Wisconsin-based backpack maker Jansport Inc. did recently with the help of a Chicago consultancy that specializes in giving manufacturers and retailers a clear-eyed view of how their customers behave and -- more important -- why they buy.
Jansport aimed to find out what goes into the buying decisions of its core teen market. Traditional research methods -- focus groups, surveys -- weren't enlightening.
``Teens are not always as articulate as you might want them to ...