UK Research Growth Still Sluggish

The UK market research industry has reported revenue growth of 2.3% to an estimated £1.8bn, according to the latest figures from the Market Research Society (MRS). This follows growth of 2.5% in 2005 and 2.4% in 2006.

The UK is the world's second largest market for MR, and the MRS points out that in common with other mature markets, it experiences relatively slow growth compared with more recently established markets in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

In 2007, growth in domestic research was 2.7% compared with international research, which rose by just 1.2%. Turnover from the former represents about 75% of total UK sales, a proportion which the Society says has remained constant during the last ten years.

MRS Director General David Barr believes that the increasing use of lower cost online methodologies for data collection is working to the advantage of clients, but can have the impact of reducing total invoice value. 'It may well be that the total volume of research work undertaken could be growing at double the rate of growth of invoice values,' he suggests.

Rowland Lloyd, MRS Chairman, adds that while the survey results indicate relatively low growth, there are many 'vibrant' companies in the sector showing growth ahead of the sector average. 'As we head into a period of tougher economic conditions, market research is expected to demonstrate the resilience which has been evident in previous economic downturns. This relative robustness and stability makes it an attractive sector to invest in and to work in.'

The MRS is the UK's professional membership association for individual researchers and also operates a Company Partner Scheme. It is online at www.mrs.org.uk .

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