MR Growth Slows in the UK 05/07/00 After a period of double-digit growth, research industry figures for 1999 from the BMRA show a slowing in the domestic market. Staff numbers too fell by just over 7% as UK agencies adapted to lower growth levels. Compared to 11.7% growth in 1998, the UK industry recorded only a 7.1% rise in 1999, which, discounting inflation, equated to 5.1%. Slow domestic growth was the scapegoat - achieving a rise of just 4.4% in 1999 (however, taking into account inflation at 2%, growth was, in fact, flat). This downturn mirrors the situation in the USA where the market witnessed a slowdown in growth from over 11% in 1998 to just over 10% in 1999. In terms of research methodology, not surprisingly, interviews via the Web recorded the highest growth in 1999, up by over 1000%. In contrast, street interviews, as a research tool, saw turnover decrease by almost 18% in 1999. Consumer studies still account for the lion's share of turnover, 88% as opposed to 12% for business-to-business. Within the consumer sector, market measurement studies, NPD/product testing and ad/brand awareness/tracking studies are the three largest components, collectively representing 50% of industry turnover. All three sectors registered growth of over 10% in 1999. Brand/corporate reputation studies achieved the greatest turnover in 1999 at over 26%. The food industry is still the largest client for market research in the UK, accounting for a 10% share of spend in 1999. The largest increases in spend were witnessed in the property and construction sector (up 166%), media and marketing (up 97%) and education (up 84%). Tomorrow, MrWeb reports on the changes in the BMRA agency league table during 1999.