Shopper studies tempt teams to cut everything by age, district, channel, and occasion. The resulting report becomes a warehouse of tables nobody opens twice.
We start from the decision list the client wrote before fieldwork. Each cut must defend a decision: assortment, merchandising, claim priority, or media weight. Cuts that only satisfy curiosity go to an appendix file.
District cuts in Hong Kong need care. Combining neighbouring areas can hide real differences; splitting too finely empties the cells. We document the grouping rule in the methods note so later waves stay comparable.
When two cuts tell nearly the same story, we keep the clearer one in the main narrative and mention the twin in a single sentence. Redundant charts erode trust faster than a shorter report.
The final checklist is blunt: if removing a chart does not change what the team would do next Monday, it does not belong in the executive section.