About the Expanders vs. Contractors In-Platform Survey
The Expanders vs Contractors In-Platform Survey lets you segment shoppers based on changes in purchase volume over time. This survey automatically creates two quota groups of mutually exclusive shopper groups:
Expanders: Shoppers who have increased their purchase volume between the pre-period and the recent period.
Contractors: Shoppers who have decreased their purchase volume between the pre-period and the recent period.
Volume changes can be defined using either Trip Count, Total Spend, or Unit Count.
Example Research Questions for the Expanders vs Contractors Survey
This survey is ideal for understanding what drives shoppers to buy more or less based on their engagement with a brand, category, or retailer. It supports:
Growth drivers — Why did certain shoppers increase their purchasing?
Attrition drivers — What caused others to pull back?
Behavioral analysis — How are changes in trips, spend, or units tied to attitudes or competitive dynamics?
Quick Tips: How to Prompt
When setting up an Expanders vs Contractors In-Platform Survey, you'll begin by entering a few key inputs that define the scope of your analysis and how shoppers are segmented. These inputs determine how shoppers are segmented into quota groups.
Product
The brand or item you want to analyze (e.g., Chobani, Pepsi).
Category
The product category that frames your analysis (e.g., Greek Yogurt, Soft Drinks).
Store
The retailer or channel where the purchase behavior is being measured (e.g., Kroger, Target, Online Grocery).
Date Range*
The primary time window used to classify current purchase behavior (i.e., the post period)
Comparison Period*
A previous time window used as the baseline to measure change (i.e., the pre period)
Purchase Shift*
The parameters that are used for measuring purchase volume changes and defining shoppers as either Expanders and Contractors.
Can use either Trip Count, Total Spend, or Unit Count as the shift metric
Upper Threshold (High Volume): The minimum value a shopper must meet or exceed in the post period (or pre period) to be an Expander (or Contractor).
Lower Threshold (Low Volume): The maximum value a shopper must be below in the pre period (or post period) to be an Expander (or Contractor).
*Required
You will need to include a Product, Category, and/or Store to prompt this survey.
Once you've entered your inputs and click Build, you’ll be taken directly to the standard survey builder, starting at the “Select Panelist” step.
At this point, the platform automatically creates two distinct quota groups based on shopper behavior:
Expanders: Shoppers who have increased their purchase volume between the pre period and the recent period, as defined by the lower and upper thresholds
Contractors: Shoppers who have decreased their purchase volume between the pre period and the recent period, as defined by the lower and upper thresholds
From the survey builder, you have full control over each of the three pre-populated quota groups. You can make any adjustments necessary to fit your research goals, including:
Renaming groups to match internal terminology or hypotheses
Deleting a quota group if it's not relevant to your study
Updating sample sizes to reflect your desired respondent counts per group
Adding demographics like age, gender, income, or region to further refine your targeting
Questionnaire Template(s) available in the Expanders vs. Contractors Survey
The following Questionnaire template(s) are available in the Expanders vs Contractors survey:
FMOT/SMOT
Click here to learn more about questionnaire templates.
Expanders vs Contractors Survey Considerations
The Expanders vs Contractors Survey is available in both the US and Canada.
You have full control over the thresholds used to define expansion and contraction. If you have access to Insights, we recommend using panel data to help determine the most appropriate thresholds for your analysis.
Learn more about the Shopper Metrics Report in Insights.
Learn more about the Heavy, Medium, Light Report in Insights.
Suggested Articles
Last Updated 12/15/2025