ESOMAR has recently published its latest Global Prices Study, which shows the USA holding on to the No. 1 position, again making it the most expensive country in which to do research.
The ten countries which now in 2012 have been found to be the most expensive are the same ten that had the highest Global Index price scores in 2010, when the survey was last run. While the USA and Switzerland lead the charge with first and second place respectively, Canada has moved swiftly up the rankings from tenth to claim this year’s third spot. The UK has also risen from ninth to become the fifth most expensive country. The top ten’s biggest faller was France – previously in third place but now in ninth.
The Top Ten most expensive countries for research
Conversely, the least expensive countries for research are shown in the table below. It should, of course, be noted that these markets are all quite small (in overall value terms) – albeit growing.
The Top Ten least expensive countries for research
The study re-confirms the complexities of global research: Not only do prices vary between one country and another, but the available research options differ as well. For example, online research is not available in every market – and may not always be appropriate in every market where it is available.
Other notable findings from the study include:
• In the USA, UK, Germany, France and Japan, the five markets with the largest volume of spend, the price of online research actually fell.
• While more agencies submit bids for face-to-face and CATI than online, the gap is closing: online is becoming increasingly popular while both CATI and face-to-face are declining.
• Face-to-face is the most expensive modality and can be twice as expensive as online. CATI falls somewhere between the two.
For more detail about the ESOMAR Global Prices study, please click here.
