You might know your customer’s age, income or postcode – but that doesn’t mean you understand that customer’s behaviour. Marketers have long relied on demographics to paint a picture of their target audience, but such broad strokes can overshadow the details that really matter.
What drives someone to choose oat milk over dairy? Why do two people of the same age and income make wildly different product decisions? It’s not just who they are – it is why they buy. This is the world of psychographic intelligence: The missing piece in the consumer puzzle that could transform how brands develop, test and deliver products that resonate.
Knowing someone’s age, gender or income bracket helps build structure and define broad audience groups, explained Sam Gilding, chief revenue officer – international at Vypr. “It’s a crucial foundation, especially when developing strategies at scale. But on its own, it doesn’t always explain behaviour.
“Demographics give you the outline. Psychographics add the detail. Demographics tell us who somebody is. Psychographics will tell us why they do what they do.”
By incorporating psychographic intelligence, brands can better understand what truly drives consumer choices and build products that resonate on a deeper level, says Gilding.
“There is clearly an ambition to move faster, reduce risk, and bring more relevant products to market among retailers and brands. But even with all that momentum, there’s still a gap in how teams think about the people they’re creating for.”
Vypr is a product intelligence platform that enables retailers and brands to gather fast, cost-effective insights grounded in behavioural science. Its goal: Help companies make better product decisions by validating concepts, branding, pricing and marketing with real shoppers. The company is now expanding into Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
From initial concepts, product names, branding, and packaging to ingredients, colourways, pricing, and marketing messages, the anatomy of every product is different, and it can be challenging for a brand to decipher what is driving purchase intent. That’s where Vypr’s psychographic intelligence adds value.
“Take two middle-aged women in Sydney with identical incomes,” Gilding said.
“Demographically, they’re the same. But one is passionate about sustainability and happy to pay more for eco-friendly goods. The other is busy and values convenience above all. They buy different products – and you’ll only know that by looking deeper.
“Psychographic segmentation mixes all the attributes of why people behave the way that they do, and forms a more complete picture of how they interact.”
Gilding defines Vypr as a product intelligence business. “We are providing intelligence from consumers and shoppers around products, trying to help brands and retailers decode human decision-making so that they can make products that sell and stick. We are about making sure that what appears on the shelf is successful.”
To achieve this, Vypr draws on proprietary communities across 35 markets, where panellists respond to quick, instinctive questions via smartphone. In return, they earn points – creating a scalable, cost-effective feedback engine that delivers results in days rather than weeks.
This method flips traditional research on its head. It’s fast, agile, and iterative. “Let’s say I’m working with Patagonia,” Gilding said. “I might choose age, gender, and region, and then ask panellists how much they’d pay for a product. Then I’d filter results by people who prioritise sustainability and see if those attitudes hold. It helps test assumptions and refine your ideal customer profile.”
That level of detail can win deals. When UK craft brewer BrewDog pitched for the beer rights at Lord’s cricket ground in London, venue managers pushed back – believing loyal fans wouldn’t abandon the incumbent brand. Demographic data showed attendees were mainly males aged 25 to 65. But psychographic analysis revealed something more: Those same fans valued quality and taste over price.
Vypr armed BrewDog with proof that their target audience would pay more for a premium product. “They were willing to pay more money for something a bit more fruity and tasty,” Gilding explained. That insight helped win BrewDog the contract, dislodging a brand that had held the rights for 15 years.
Psychographics can also personalise promotions. A leading UK high street health and beauty retailer engaged Vypr to segment its large customer base – not just by age or gender (information it already had from till and loyalty program data) but by shopping habits, motivations, and preferences.
The result: Clearer distinctions between frequent shoppers with small baskets and occasional buyers with higher spending. With that added layer of psychographic insight, the retailer could market more effectively, tailoring messages and product ranges to what each segment actually cared about.
“Sales and loyalty data can show patterns,” Gilding noted. “But they don’t explain behaviour. Vypr helps retailers fill in the missing pictures of who their shoppers are.”
The payoff is obvious. “Average spend per segment has increased dramatically,” he said. “Because once you understand your customers on a deeper level, you can serve them better.”
Gilding says the key benefit of psychographic intelligence is its precision targeting. “Just because two people look the same on a piece of paper with five bullet points next to them, they can be inherently different when you start to get into all of the nuances. Learning about those nuances is ultimately where Vypr can help.
“Humans are not all the same.”
- Head over to www.vyprclients.com to join the likes of M&S, Hallmark, BrewDog and Starbucks, who are all benefiting from Vypr’s product intelligence technology – connecting you to 1000s of consumers and unlimited opportunities to test your latest innovations or iterations.
