In-Home Usage Testing
Understand how consumers interact with your products in their natural environment
What Is It?
An In-home usage test (IHUT) allows you to get video feedback on your products to better understand initial impressions, behaviors, and interactions in real-time.
![An older woman is participating in an in-home usage test, sitting on a couch and making a gesture.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_lossless,ret_img,w_570,h_375/https://www.voxpopme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-Home-2.png)
How to Leverage It
Objective Setting
Setting objectives will dictate the questions you ask consumers. You’ll want to think through:
What’s driving the need for this research?
What are 2-3 questions you need answers to?
How are you measuring success?
![A couple engaged in an in-home usage test engaging in a thoughtful conversation about bullying and the significance of being useful.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_lossless,ret_img,w_689,h_495/https://www.voxpopme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-Home-Usage-Testing-Top.png)
![A group of people conducting an in-home usage test inside a car, engaging in conversation with each other.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_lossless,ret_img,w_551,h_449/https://www.voxpopme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-Home-Usage-Testing-Middle.png)
Place your Product
If the product has already launched in-market, you can have respondents visit a store to purchase and review it at home. Or if you’re still in the design and development phase, test products can be shipped directly to consumers for their review and feedback
Determine Audience
Determine who will be the ideal target for your in-home usage test, for instance:
General population sample
User groups, i.e. monthly product users
Groups from your proprietary consumer segmentation
![A man and a woman engage in an in-home usage test with speech bubbles in front of them.](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_lossless,ret_img,w_641,h_493/https://www.voxpopme.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-Home-Usage-Testing-Bottom.png)
Curate Questions
Here is where you get to decide what you want to learn from their product review
What is their initial reaction to this new product and what did they like or dislike about it?
Is this a product they feel they need, and if so, why?