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Welcome!
Welcome to the Touchstone Blog. We will be posting from time to time about a variety of topics so stay tuned!


CONTEXT REIGNS SUPREME
When Touchstone Partners was set up in 2002 the role of shopper insight was still in its infancy, emerging from the discipline of...

Jamie Rayner
Jun 15, 20234 min read


Food banks and how data analytics is optimising the food supply chain, locally and internationally
Against the cost-of-living crisis, rising energy and food costs, demand for emergency food at UK food banks is forecast to substantially...

Touchstone
Dec 15, 20224 min read


Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
Be it Covid, climate or cost of living, the world is in crisis. The UK Government Autumn statement last week forecast a third of the...

Touchstone
Nov 25, 20225 min read


The Shopper You Need to Know Better
The London Marathon is always inspiring. Sitting on a comfortable sofa watching people from all walks of life tackling the 26.2 miles...

Touchstone
Oct 18, 20225 min read


Can we break 4000 year-old shopping habits?
They say old habits die hard but to break ones that have been knocking around for 4000 years sounds just that little bit harder. Imagine...

Touchstone
Oct 12, 20224 min read


Fakeaways: a fad or here to stay?
Fakeaways, the art of recreating your favourite restaurant or takeaway dishes in the comfort of your own home, have soared in popularity...

Touchstone
Aug 11, 20223 min read


Anxious younger shoppers too overwhelmed to fight climate change?
We haven’t heard that much from Greta in a while. No doubt she’s taking a well-earned break from the media eye. Judging by our recent...

Touchstone
Jul 29, 20223 min read


Sorting the Almond from the Oat - a personal reflection
The rise of plant based dairy alternatives in the last few years has been phenomenal and from my point of view truly surprising. Having...

Ian Hext
May 7, 20213 min read


Product Claims - What really motivates the consumer?
There is an increasing complexity about the claims that companies wish to make about their products. To understand which are most...

Ian Hext
Apr 28, 20213 min read


Quick and Cheap Concept Testing? - Don't fall into the trap.
Successful New Product Development is key for all business, now more so than ever, with increasingly competitive marketplaces, highly...

Ian Hext
Apr 12, 20213 min read


"You are not as interesting as you think"
I read a thought-provoking article recently, an edited version of Campaign's interview: with Byron Sharp, that reflected on his point of...

Marie Screene
Mar 31, 20212 min read


Novel Becoming Normal – And why we think prudence will prevail over panic
Since Shoppercentric was founded in 2004...

Jamie Rayner
Mar 17, 20203 min read


Sustainability - What next?
As we’ve said at various points in our previous blogs, consumers/shoppers need help to turn their desire to be environmentally friendly...

Danielle Pinnington
Nov 28, 20192 min read


An expert view on sustainability
We asked sustainability consultant Sophie Mather to give us an industry perspective...

Touchstone
Nov 21, 20193 min read


Connecting Emotionally with Shoppers through Packaging
Packaging is in the spotlight like never before – mostly for the wrong reasons...

Sarah Banks
Nov 13, 20193 min read


Is anyone on the right track?
Understandably there is a lot of pressure on food producers, brand manufacturers and retailers to ‘up’ their sustainability credentials...

Jamie Rayner
Oct 31, 20192 min read


One Shopper Against Plastic
We spoke to one passionate shopper about her intrepid journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Julie - single mum of two hungry...

Touchstone
Oct 24, 20193 min read


Sustainability takes effort
We may well feel that sorting our waste into the separate recycling bins or perusing the wonky veg is a job well done...

Sarah Banks
Oct 17, 20193 min read


Being 'Green' - We're all at it
It seems that being ‘green’ has become the norm, with 80% of UK shoppers describing themselves as being ‘environmentally friendly’...

Danielle Pinnington
Oct 10, 20192 min read


Grandmother knows how to suck eggs
Earlier this year, those of you with school aged children may well have received a letter or email from your children’s school...

Kristen Davis
Oct 3, 20192 min read


Optimising the sports viewer's experience
It’s often claimed that big data analytics is for the benefit of the customer as much as the provider but cynics almost equally counter...

Rob Bates
Jun 13, 20193 min read


Big Data – just a part of the story you need
Big data, fast data, however you want to talk about it, is in rapid growth. To give you some perspective: Over the last two years alone...

Danielle Pinnington
May 23, 20193 min read


Are Norms still Normal?
Debating the usefulness of norms and benchmarks is one of those not-so-rare pleasures any Insight or research specialist...

Sarah Banks
May 9, 20194 min read


Life in the palm of our hands
No, midwifery isn’t our latest venture here at Touchstone, but we do enjoy getting to grips with life in general...

Kristen Davis
May 2, 20193 min read


The insignificance of significance testing.
I mentally gave thanks to Jack Miles for raising this prickly issue...

Tim Baker
Apr 25, 20193 min read


"Send three and fourpence. We're going to a dance."
Over the weekend I came across an amusing video doing the rounds that got me thinking about the challenges we face...

Jon Darby
Mar 22, 20193 min read


It’s all from the heart.
I was doing a bit of industrial navel gazing the other day. No, not risking a herniated disc by trying to peer into my own belly button...

Tim Baker
Mar 7, 20193 min read


Rational buyers don't exist
So you think you’re making an independent, rational buying decision? Think again.
Contrary to what economists tell us, we rarely...

Tim Baker
Aug 31, 20182 min read


The Tech Giants Interpretation of "Private"
With the introduction of new GDPR laws and the recent scandals surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica...

Rob Bates
Aug 8, 20182 min read


The perfect festival: does seeing what you want get you what you want?
Attending a music festival is a right of passage for many young people in the UK today. The hedonistic combination of music, friends...

Rob Bates
Jul 27, 20181 min read


When 'unsubscribe' doesn't work
GDPR – and the run up to its implementation – has been all over the news this year...

Jon Darby
Jul 16, 20181 min read


Research helps lift England's penalty jinx
If you haven’t heard, you’re probably the last person in the world who hasn’t, but England won a penalty shootout...

Rob Bates
Jul 6, 20181 min read


Data Quality - It's a War Out There!
How do we judge quality when it comes to online research data and the insight generated from it? Depending...

Tim Baker
Jun 30, 20181 min read


"Who is Gregory and Gregory?"
It’s all about the brand and your target audience. When Greggs...

Jon Darby
Jun 25, 20181 min read


Welcome Everyone!
Hi everyone, welcome to the new and improved Touchstone Blog!

Touchstone
Jun 15, 20181 min read
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