THE BACKGROUND
BEAM Fieldwork was commissioned to support an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion focused qualitative study exploring real in-store grocery shopping experiences among people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The objective was to move beyond surface-level commentary and understand how inclusive grocery retail environments truly feel when navigating aisles, signage, staff interactions, and product ranges.
The end client wanted behaviour-led insight, grounded in real moments, rather than abstract reflections gathered after the fact. This required a sensitive, carefully designed approach that balanced rigour with empathy, and ensured participants felt comfortable sharing honest, lived experiences within a real-world retail setting.
THE BRIEF
The study was designed to deliver three clear outcomes:
OUTCOME 1: Understand how shoppers from diverse ethnic backgrounds experience grocery stores in real time.
OUTCOME 2: Identify moments of inclusion, exclusion, comfort, and friction throughout the in-store journey.
OUTCOME 3: Highlight practical opportunities for retailers to create more welcoming and representative environments.
Success depended on creating a safe space for open discussion, while anchoring feedback in observed behaviour rather than retrospective rationalisation.
THE APPROACH
The project combined in-store accompanied shops with follow-up in-depth interviews.
Participants were recruited to reflect a broad mix of ethnic backgrounds, ages, and in-store shopping behaviours. All participants were regular grocery shoppers and were screened to ensure recent, relevant in-store experience.
The accompanied shop methodology allowed moderators to capture real-world behaviours, emotional responses, and decision-making moments as they happened. In-depth interviews immediately followed, enabling participants to reflect on what they had just experienced while details were still fresh and grounded in context.
This blended approach ensured the research captured both what participants did and how those moments made them feel.
FIELDWORK DELIVERABLES
The project combined in-store accompanied shops with follow-up in-depth interviews.
Participants were recruited to reflect a broad mix of ethnic backgrounds, ages, and in-store shopping behaviours. All participants were regular grocery shoppers and were screened to ensure recent, relevant in-store experience.
The accompanied shop methodology allowed moderators to capture real-world behaviours, emotional responses, and decision-making moments as they happened. In-depth interviews immediately followed, enabling participants to reflect on what they had just experienced while details were still fresh and grounded in context.
This blended approach ensured the research captured both what participants did and how those moments made them feel.
END-TO-END MANAGEMENT
BEAM delivered full end-to-end fieldwork management, including:
1 | Recruitment of a diverse and representative participant sample
2 | Clear participant briefing and ongoing support to build trust and confidence
3 | Coordination with experienced moderators skilled in handling sensitive discussions
4 | Daily recruitment updates and close project oversight
5 | Real-time issue resolution to ensure smooth delivery across all stores and locations
Fieldwork was delivered to schedule, with strong engagement throughout and no drop-outs, enabling insights and outputs to be shared promptly to support client decision-making.
SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES
Creating a safe, open environment for participants to share honest reflections on sensitive topics such as representation, cultural understanding, and belonging was a key challenge.
From the client perspective, there was concern that socially sensitive topics might lead to filtered or overly polite feedback. Participants, meanwhile, needed reassurance that their experiences would be heard without judgement. Ensuring insights were grounded in real behaviour, rather than abstract opinion, was critical to the success of the study.
BEAM IN ACTION
BEAM designed a fieldwork approach rooted in empathy, trust, and behavioural observation.
Participants were carefully recruited to reflect a wide range of ethnic identities and household structures. Moderators were selected for their ability to build rapport quickly and navigate sensitive conversations with confidence and care.
The accompanied shop methodology allowed participants to show, not just tell, how they experienced the store. BEAM’s project management team ensured participants were fully briefed, comfortable, and supported at every stage, helping open and honest feedback to emerge naturally.
This combination of thoughtful recruitment, experienced moderation, and hands-on project management demonstrated BEAM’s strength in delivering nuanced research where sensitivity and rigour are equally important.
THE RESULT
The study delivered rich, behaviour-led insight into how in-store environments can unintentionally exclude or actively welcome different shoppers.
From a quality and efficiency perspective, fieldwork ran smoothly with strong engagement and no need for re-recruitment or rework. The client gained a deeper emotional understanding of the in-store journey, seeing the retail environment through the eyes of diverse shoppers rather than relying on assumptions.
Specific insights around signage clarity, cultural relevance of product ranges, and staff interactions directly informed future store design and inclusion strategies, giving the client clear, actionable direction grounded in lived experience.
“We got everything and more from our experts and respondents, and their shopping, browsing and purchase insights were truly revealing.”
THE LEARNING
Embedding sensitive discussions within real-world behaviour is a powerful way to unlock more honest and impactful insight. By allowing participants to experience and reflect in the moment, the research moved beyond abstract conversation into meaningful, actionable learning. This approach has since been embedded into BEAM’s wider EDI research toolkit, reinforcing the value of empathy-led fieldwork design when exploring complex human experiences.
Not only did we have a very happy end client, and research agency, we were thrilled that our BEAMIE Project Manager, Caitlin was awarded the 2024 MRS RAS Accredited Recruiter of the Year for her hard work, resourceful recruitment, and passionate approach to fair representation and consistent respondent-first management.
Learn more about CAITLIN and the other BEAMIES here
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