CGP maintains a nationwide field team of 18 on-the-ground researchers, plus one in the U.K., tasked with conducting weekly store checks.  CGP’s researchers follow a detailed observational protocol, capturing 15 key quantitative metrics and 10 more qualitative metrics, while conducting brief exit interviews with shoppers.  CGP has been conducting such visits at over 50 retail  chains since 2005, located across more than 100 benchmark mall and off-mall venues, including key shopping venues in London.  The field research captures thousands of data points quarterly for each retailer every, allowing CGP’s Big Data platform to generate a rich longitudinal database for all major retail sectors spanning a deep set of performance metrics.

The field research team is personally recruited, trained and supervised by CGP management.  The team is trained in research methods, and most of the team has direct experience in the retail sector, or in statistical methods. Retailers where team members worked in the past include Belk, Best Buy, Ingles, JC Penney, K Mart, Nordstrom, Talbots, Target, Toys R Us, Value City, Walmart and Williams-Sonoma.