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Ethnography: Understanding the consumer in their natural context

Ethnography focuses on studying culture and behavior in everyday life. To understand consumers’ choices and behaviors, we need to meet them where they actually live their lives. Ethnographic studies involve leaving the safe confines of a focus group room and moving out into consumers’ reality. This gives us a deeper insight into how choices are made in context – on consumers’ own terms. By observing them in their natural environment and surroundings, we gain access to details and nuances that are rarely revealed in traditional interviews or surveys.
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Why choose ethnography?

Much of our behavior is habit-driven and characterized by unconscious actions. When asked directly why we do what we do, we often don’t have a clear answer.
Ethnographic methods allow us to uncover these invisible patterns by observing how people actually act, rather than how they think or say they act. This provides a holistic understanding of the consumer’s everyday life, including influences from social, cultural and physical environments.

A key strength of ethnography is that its insights are built on real-life situations and not hypothetical scenarios. When we study how consumers navigate the store, use products in the home or interact with technology, we are able to identify barriers, drivers and unconscious action patterns. This provides valuable knowledge that can be used to develop products, services and communication that meet real needs.


Methodologically, ethnography can include observation, in-depth interviews and the use of visual diaries or video documentation. Often, several methods are combined to get the most complete picture possible. The insights generated are often rich and in-depth, with the possibility of capturing nuances that quantitative studies do not reveal.

What can ethnography reveal?

Ethnography is particularly useful when we want to understand complex decision-making processes, household interactions or why a category is perceived as relevant or irrelevant to different target groups. By taking the consumer’s perspective seriously, we can uncover opportunities that would otherwise have gone under the radar – and create solutions that hit the market better.


Ethnography is a valuable tool for uncovering insights that are difficult to obtain through other methods. It is especially useful for understanding:

  • Real-world consumer behavior: How consumers actually use products and services in their homes, at work or in other settings.
  • Unconscious needs and motivations: The underlying reasons for consumers’ behavior, which they may not be aware of themselves.
  • Cultural and social influences: How consumers’ backgrounds, values and social networks influence their choices.
  • Opportunities for innovation: New ways to develop products and services that better meet consumer needs.

Ethnography in practice:
Establishing yourself in the Norwegian market

A major international player considering entering the Nordic heat pump market needed pre-launch insights:
– Understanding of how the product is used, situation scenarios, experience of use.
– Understanding of purchase decision, motive, search, selection criteria and choice.
– Possible pain points, misses.


The insight team conducted extensive in-home interviews with users of various heat pumps to ensure insight into the user experience. In addition, a number of interviews were conducted digitally – with users and dealers. The mapping provided clear recommendations on what is important to consider before a possible launch on the Norwegian market in December 2025.