Brighter Future for Research Industry, Says MRA

In the US, the Marketing Research Association's (MRA) 'Research Industry Index' (RII), ended the year with a strong gain, which according to the association paints a 'much brighter picture' for the US industry than at the beginning of 2009.

RII reports the movements and trends in the survey and opinion research industry, and reflects data reported by a panel of leaders in the marketing and research profession. The data is collected from clients, full service research companies, data collectors and related services of survey and opinion research.

In December, results showed marginal improvement in the previous quarter, with the overall index score rising one point to 87 between the second and third quarters, giving a total rise of three points in the prior six months. The index had previously dropped for five consecutive quarters. The latest score is 91 - a big improvement on the historical low score of 84 seen in early 2009.

According to Ken Roberts, Treasurer of the MRA and author of the RII report, there are other encouraging signs. Almost one half of the firms reported an increase in projects/booked revenue over the previous quarter, one third reported improved margins, and the staff cuts appear to be over for now.

Web site: www.mra-net.org .