During this Coffee Break, Daniele Dalli, professor of Marketing at the University of Pisa, interviewed Stefano Cini, Commercial Director, NielsenIQ. Based on the article “Consumers and consumption: from individual, to collective, and beyond,” Daniele Dalli and Stefano Cini explore relevant themes, including the gap between consumer attitudes and behaviors, the challenges of integrating an ever-growing array of data sources, the interplay between digital and physical realms, and the critical importance of linking data with specific territories.

Stefano Cini addresses the following questions:

• How can companies bridge the divide between consumer intention and action?
• What obstacles must be addressed to integrate traditional and innovative data sources successfully?
• How do digital and physical environments influence consumer decisions, especially in the purchasing process’s crucial “last mile”?
• How can companies balance global insights with local market dynamics to create strategies that resonate globally and locally?

The conversation is presented in an easy-to-read format, offering readers quick and meaningful insights into the complexities of consumer behavior and its implications for marketing strategies.

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Consumers in Marketing Research: Between Micro and Macro by Stefano Cini and Daniele Dalli

Historically, marketing—and within it, consumer behavior research—has developed as a discipline focused on the individual. For a long time, the field was dominated by economists and psychologists who share a common approach: methodological individualism. In other words, the consumer is studied as an individual subject. At most, efforts were made to understand if and how interpersonal relationships or the sociocultural context influence their decisions.

Over time, anthropologists and sociologists joined the marketing community, consolidating an approach that studies groups, whether small (e.g., families) or large (e.g., communities). Furthermore, market research agencies developed methods and datasets that enabled professionals and academics to look at consumers as collectives: families and communities emerged as units of analysis.

The family represents a fundamental unit for analyzing Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) categories.

In such cases, the unit of analysis is the “shopping basket,” which lies at the intersection of the individual (the purchaser or the end user of a product) and the group (shopping missions, major grocery hauls, destination shopping, or replenishment shopping). This unit can be analyzed in various ways, such as through T-log data (point-of-sale receipts), consumer panel data (shopping baskets), or loyalty card data.

At a higher level of aggregation, we find communities, which can be categorized into two types. Local communities are groups of people living in the same geographic area, sharing specific affinities or common traits. These communities constitute the local demand dimension, which requires particular data collection and analysis methods. This has led to increasing attention to territorial factors, including georeferenced databases that can link various data types from different sources. Consumption communities are groups of individuals who share a common interest or passion for a brand, product category, or consumption activity. Examples include iPhone enthusiasts, Ducati motorcycle fans, and amateur cyclists. These communities may have local manifestations, such as Harley-Davidson chapters. Still, they are often global, with members aware of belonging to a worldwide community that extends beyond direct personal interactions. Managerial practices have increasingly focused on these collective entities (such as tribes and communities), with strategies and tools centered around them.

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According to Stefano Cini and Daniele Dalli, market research faces some epochal challenges concerning micro vs. macro analysis today, which can be summarized in four primary issues:

1. The discrepancy between stated and actual behavior.

Consumers often state their willingness, interest, or intention to behave in a certain way, but this does not translate into practical actions. Studies on sustainable consumption often highlight this gap. Similarly, surprises arise within consumption communities when consumers who identify as fans of a brand or product are found to (a) not purchase as frequently as expected and (b) have a passion for competing brands or products.

Technology has evolved in three directions to address this issue in data collection. Panel data that cross-reference actual purchase data (collected through receipts or EAN code scans) with stated preferences (such as via CAWI and CATI). Neuroscience (post-2010) brought to front tools like eye tracking or neural measures (e.g., EEG, fMRI), which enable the collection of behavioral or neural data, overcoming limitations of traditional research, albeit with higher costs and smaller sample sizes. Third, artificial intelligence (post-2020) provides insights from big data and corporate datasets, revealing emerging trends in consumer behavior. These neuro and AI-driven data complement and correct stated preferences while anticipating emerging behaviors.

2. The varied and constantly changing sources of data.

Today’s market data come from various sources, concern levels, and contexts that are challenging to integrate but highly promising. For example, CRM systems often do not align with retail sales data or market research panels. Greater integration of these sources would enable comparisons between aggregated data (e.g., brand communities) and purchasing behaviors at individual or family levels, particularly when connected to nationally representative consumer panels and retail sales data. Such integration would validate community relevance to the general population and retail performance, linking both to territorial (georeferenced) data.

3. The schizophrenic relationship between physical and digital realities.

While younger generations increasingly blur the line between offline life and digital presence, there remains a clear epistemological and existential divide between what occurs on social media and in the physical world. It is still unclear what concretely influences actual consumer behavior, particularly the “last mile,” where purchase decisions are made.

This duality is both a challenge and an opportunity. When online (digital/social) and offline (physical/real) dimensions are coherently integrated, success stories emerge. For example, building consumer communities around brands, products, or campaigns enables companies to anchor online communication strategies to the “last mile.” Particularly effective are strategies where companies activate promoters who, in turn, influence mainstream (passive) consumers and counteract detractors, as per net promoter score terminology. Such campaigns often rely on cultural and ethical positioning (purpose), which is essential for ensuring authenticity, credibility, and trustworthiness.

4. The relationship between market data and territory.

Research and business strategies often prioritize social and digital dimensions due to the global reach of big data. However, this overlooks the fact that individuals live in physical spaces, which remain critical in many sectors. For example, despite e-commerce growth, its penetration in specific categories remains marginal. Consumer behavior is still largely shaped by where people live and the characteristics of their local environment.

Thus, there is significant potential in linking market data (digital, social, and so on) to territorial data. Georeferencing market data enables companies to align value propositions with actual market demand. While e-commerce and delivery systems offer value through product assortment breadth, even if challenged by the supposed unsustainability of the logistic side of this business model, traditional retail still dominates, making geographic granularity essential for improving the effectiveness of communication and sales strategies.

The above considerations provide a synthetic vision that can be applied across diverse contexts, from FMCGs to durable goods, from physical products to services or entertainment. Purchase frequency, unit value, and service relevance lead to varying phenomena that require tailored research methods and strategies.

Furthermore, addressing the outlined challenges requires integrating different data sources closely to ensure they interact effectively. Otherwise, innovative insights may result in strategies that fall short when tested against market and territorial realities.

Finally, while macro-level analysis aims to generalize findings and achieve ambitious goals, competitive dynamics often play out at the micro level, where individuals and small communities form influence networks that have little in common with macro trends. Focusing on the micro dimension of market processes ensures realistic insights and reliable implications for execution.

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Copertina: Foto di Marco Pomella da Pixabay