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Unilever to Move More UK Research Online
Consumer products giant Unilever plans to increase the use of the Internet as an MR tool in the UK, following the success of its web-based research programmes in the States.
The firm's US use of online consumer research has increased by 80% in the last five years. Unilever spends around £272.2 million (€400m) a year on conducting research and estimates that savings of between 10% and 20% will result from its move to web-based methods.
Chet Henderson, VP of MR arm Unilever Insight, explains that the group only considers moving projects online when half a country's population has Internet access – which the UK achieved in 2003. Henderson says that his department's internal data testing had found Internet responses in some countries are more honest than those gathered by traditional methods. He adds: 'Where you lose is in not being able to have a conversation. People type in a lot less than they say and online you miss the non-verbal way people signal their reactions.'
The company also plans 'a more strategic approach' for research into its major brands – such as deodorant brand Sure – with consumers being asked more about their lifestyles and less about their opinion of the actual product.
The company is online at www.unilever.com .
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