Have you been to Costco lately?

I think all marketers or researchers of consumer goods should be required to visit Costco (or Sam’s or BJ’s Club Stores) at least once a quarter. It is a fascinating place to do observational research. If you are interested in a particular product category, and just hang out in that aisle a while, you can learn a lot. The more expensive the item, the more you can learn.

Last night, I was in the small appliance aisle, where they had two different power toothbrushes for sale: Sonicare and Oral-B. This is actually a bonus for a researcher, because Costco typically only carries one brand of an item. Here I got to see real consumers making side-by-side comparisons. In a short amount of time, I observed a handful of purchases. The first thing I noticed is that this type of purchase is usually a dual decision. It was almost always a couple making the decision. Somewhat eavesdropping on their conversations, I was learning a lot. They were discussing the pros and cons of both brands. And a pro to one, was a con to the other. It was also clear that many of them had already researched the category, but had opted to come to Costco to make the actual purchase.

Now I know this is not a representative sample, and it is only observational data. But, if I was writing a survey on power toothbrushes, what I learned at Costco last night would have helped me craft a much better survey.