What is synthetic research?

Synthetic research uses AI-powered personas that simulate how real buyers, customers, or market segments would respond to your research questions. It produces directional signal — insights to sharpen your hypotheses — before you invest in real primary fieldwork. Gather Synthetic runs AI-moderated interviews across any audience archetype in minutes, not weeks.

How is synthetic research different from real research?

Synthetic research generates directional signal using AI personas, while real primary research collects data from actual people. Synthetic pre-research is faster (minutes vs. weeks), cheaper, and ideal for hypothesis generation and stakeholder alignment. It is not statistically valid and should be used to focus and prioritize real fieldwork, not replace it. Gather offers both synthetic pre-research and real AI-moderated interviews with actual respondents.

What types of research can Gather Synthetic run?

Gather Synthetic supports 14 study types: Brand Perception, Product Feedback, Concept Testing, Competitive Intelligence, CX/NPS Deep Dive, Messaging & Claims Testing, Win/Loss Analysis, Market Segmentation, Pricing Research, Ad & Creative Testing, Customer Journey Mapping, Feature Prioritization, Churn & Retention Analysis, and Audience Discovery.

How much does synthetic research cost?

The first 5 synthetic interviews are free. After that, B2C audience interviews cost $0.50 each and B2B audience interviews cost $5.00 each. There is no subscription required.

How accurate is synthetic research?

Synthetic research is directional, not statistically accurate. Predictive accuracy and a statistical interval are only shown when established for the specific result. Treat findings as educated hypotheses to validate with real primary research, not as definitive measurements.

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Beauty loyalty & rewards · PUBLIC RESEARCH BRIEF

SephoraWhich Beauty Insider moment feels rewarding without becoming confusing?

Sephora's current Beauty Insider program materials describe a free membership with points, redeemable rewards, member benefits and birthday gifts. This brief studies how reward choices and benefit progress can be explained without treating stated preference as actual redemption or purchase behavior.

Updated 2026-09-28 · Simulation results not yet generated

Test a question in Gather ↗Explore fictional demo →

CHANGE ONE THING. LEARN WHAT MATTERS.

Three questions for the GTM team.

In Sephora's Rewards Bazaar, would showing the best eligible rewards first or a broader catalog with points and progress help members choose with less confusion? Hold point balance and reward availability constant.

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For a Beauty Insider birthday gift, would a small curated choice set or a wider set improve choice confidence without creating overload? Use the same eligible items and do not reserve or redeem anything.

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When explaining Beauty Insider progress, would the next available benefit or the current points balance better help a member understand what comes next? Avoid status-pressure language and keep program rules fixed.

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PROPOSED AUDIENCE

Who should weigh in?

North American adult prestige-beauty shoppers who are active, occasional, lapsed or prospective Beauty Insider members. Include a range of shopping frequency, channel preference and program familiarity without collecting sensitive health traits. Proposed audience; no redemption, purchase or retention outcome is implied.

TWO TIME HORIZONS

Trial today. A habit tomorrow?

Near term · 0–90 days

Over 0–90 days, test versioned reward, birthday and progress prototypes with synthetic accounts and fixed reward inventory. Measure comprehension, choice confidence, eligibility errors and accessibility issues. Do not change accounts, reserve rewards or complete redemptions.

Longer term · 3–12 months

Over 3–12 months, follow approved cohorts through seasonal assortments and program moments. Examine benefit discovery, unused points, tier confusion, inventory disappointment, choice fatigue and channel consistency. Redemption, purchase or retention claims require observed records and controls.

What would make the result actionable?

Use versioned program rules, synthetic point balances and identical eligible inventory across concepts. Randomize presentation, include unavailable and no-action cases, test accessibility, separate stated preference from behavior and require human review of every operational interpretation.

A Gather simulation returns hypothetical customer reactions. Quantifying revenue, traffic or retention needs actual business inputs and validation against observed behavior.

About Sephora

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