North America Led Global MR Growth in 2013, Finds ESOMAR

The global research industry grew faster than inflation in 2013, with turnover for 'traditionally defined MR' passing the $40bn mark, according to ESOMAR's annual report, just released.

Published in co-operation with accountants and consultants BDO, the report looks at trends and statistics for the industry at global, regional and individual country level. The global turnover rise for the sector was 2.8%, just outstripping inflation (by 0.7%) and taking the figure to $40.3bn.

The regional picture changed considerably, with North America the fastest growing market for the first time since 2000, fuelled by what ESOMAR calls 'a resurgence in qual' in the USA. North America's market share rose 2% to 39%, while Europe's was steady on 40% and Asia Pacific's down 1% at 15%. In terms of outlook, there was far greater optimism - 82% of the countries that provided forecasts expect their local market to grow in 2014, versus only 60% in 2013.

In Europe, 20 countries gave forecasts, with 12 expecting small increases in turnover, 4 no change and 4 a decline - despite the fact that the two fastest MR markets reported under the heading of Europe were Russia and Ukraine.

Growth in the Chinese MR market halved year-on-year, but it is still making ground on the Japanese market. Despite the slight decline overall in figures for South America - which last year showed the strongest growth of any region - some countries stood out, notably Argentina with net growth of 19.7%. In Asia, growth tables were led by currently underdeveloped markets - Myanmar with 50% and Bangladesh 28.4%.

Among the general global trends, the report notes that there is more investment in the industry, reflecting its potential to tap into new technological trends and develop into new areas. ESOMAR offers an 'expanded view of the industry' with which 'the total value of the business intelligence market could be as large as $61.5bn.

The report also includes views from Africa and Latin America; articles on the impact of new technology, financials and commentaries for the biggest agencies; a news summary for the last 18 months; and detailed stats by country. Apart from the stats for the relative shares of various methodologies, which we find very difficult to reconcile and interpret, it's a fascinating and informative read. Priced from 250 Euros for non-members, and 50 Euros for members, there's more detail at www.esomar.org/web/research_papers/book.php?id=2635 .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.