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Which produces better insights – mobile or online research?

Although mobile has become a key part of consumer lives, research agencies can still be hesitant to use mobile techniques out of concern that clients may be unfamiliar with them, or concerned about their effectiveness.
A study by research technology firm uSamp compared the use of online techniques with that of mobile, exploring the following hypotheses:

• Mobile methodology is preferable for shopper/shopability studies because mobile technology can capture insights closer to the moment of purchase, and it can deliver point-of-sale truth via photographic evidence, rather than relying on memory recall of an online respondent.

• Mobile research delivers more granular responses in sensory evaluations on IHUTS than laptop/desktop, because recall bias is eliminated.

• Mobile delivers richer insights overall, including on open-ended questions.

The research was based on a study of UK and US consumers’ in-store purchasing of a range of leading-brand crisps (potato chips in the USA). Research participants either completed the survey on their mobile device or online on their PC/laptop browser. The research was run as a mini-diary approach, with completion on their mobiles while in-store. Online respondents were asked to complete their next phase ‘as soon as possible’ after the purchase.
Findings suggested that there was a much higher accuracy among participants responding on mobile devices because they were less reliant on recall. When triangulating answers, for example on where the products were stocked on shelves, online respondents were found to be often guessing the answers. This study highlights the value of mobile research, in that it enables consumers to provide data with in the context of the environment in which they are currently operating. The only downside that was found relating to the use of mobile devices was that respondents were likely to be less patient when it came to complicated or difficult-to-complete surveys.