UK – Mobile phones are almost equal to laptops and desktop computers in taking surveys worldwide, according to research from the Market Research Society (MRS).
In its annual Mobile Optimization study, MRS found that mobile survey completion rates were 46% of all research surveys in 2022, with 50% completing surveys on desktops and laptops and 99% on mobile in 2022, compared to 71% in the year 2016 .
Mobile optimization also reduced survey abandonment rates, with unoptimized mobile surveys having an 18% abandonment rate, compared to 2% for optimized and 3% for laptops and desktops.
The research has been conducted since 2018 using data from Toluna, DynataCint and Kantar and covers UK, USA, China, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan and Canada with the addition of India, Indonesia and South Africa for 2022.
Also this year, for the third time, a separate participant satisfaction survey was conducted to identify some of the underlying issues behind the trending data and to test the impact of poor mobile design on participant behavior and attitudes.
Mobile devices grew in popularity across all age groups compared to desktops and laptops, with women significantly more likely than men to complete surveys on their phones (53% to 40% across all markets).
Mobile launches and completes also saw an overall uptrend, in contrast to a decline in laptop and desktop launches and completes.
Indonesia and India were the nations most likely to start and complete surveys on a mobile device.
The research found that there was no discernible difference between failing the attention test for non-optimized and mobile-optimized users, as well as differences in satisfaction with surveys.
Discussing the results during a webinar on the research, Chris Stevens, Chief Quality Officer at Kantar, said the industry has almost reached par in terms of survey experience on phones and laptops.
“This is great news and that’s what we’ve focused on for the past six years,” he said.
“We still have work to do – we know 80% of new hires join over the phone, so we know the number is only going to increase. We have to keep going here and make sure we don’t fall back into bad habits.”
Pete Cape, Global Knowledge Director at Dynataadded that mobile optimization still needs work.
“We can’t congratulate each other on a job well done when we look at the total,” he said.
“All researchers must get used to checking their surveys for usability on a mobile device. If your excuse for not doing this is awkward and difficult, you’ve answered your question right there.
Discussing dropout rates found in research, Marie henVice President of Online Data Quality at Toluna, questioned whether surveys without mobile optimization could skew their sample.
“An increase in dropout rates means we need to replace those respondents somehow,” she said. “That means longer field work timelines and higher costs for the data we collect.
“But the second question we need to ask ourselves is who are the respondents who are left? Do these respondents have a high tolerance for tedious or tedious tasks, and do their attitudes or behaviors differ from the dropouts? There may be a bias that we introduce into our survey by not optimizing it.”
hen added: “Thinking about both worlds is an added burden for any researcher testing and making sure our surveys are optimized for each device. But it shows how important this is and in the future will consider all types of devices and ensure optimization for different types of displays.”
Martina GalantucciDirector of Project Success at Cint, said improving the attendee experience is critical to the long-term success of the industry.
“It’s not just about attracting more people through mobile, it’s also about retaining them and converting them into graduates,” she said. “It’s very important to keep your surveys short and well-designed.
“The future of surveys should ensure respondents have the same positive experience across devices. We should allow respondents to choose their device.”
