Last updated: 05/01/21

Our live tracker shows you where you can conduct face-to-face research, as well as the considerations you need to bear in mind.

For those markets where face-to-face research is not possible just yet, online research is an effective alternative. This is an area where we have extensive experience. To help clients embrace these methods, we’ve produced a guide with our top tips for approaching online research in APAC.

UK

Face-to-face research is not currently possible

As the UK is currently under national lockdown, face-to-face research is not possible at this time.

Face-to-face live tracker

Online research is an effective alternative

We have extensive experience of recruiting respondents and conducting research digitally. For many years, we’ve been harnessing online methodologies to support clients with everything from customer understanding right through to product development research in the UK and beyond.

Get in touch with our UK office to find out more

USA

Face-to-face is possible in some states

Restrictions in the US vary by state. Face-to-face research is now possible in some areas as long as the relevant state and federal guidelines on social distancing and interstate travel are observed, and in Boston, our East Coast base, focus groups are now booking. We are actively monitoring the regulations in each state through the Center for Diesease Control and Prevention, and state and territorial health department websites to advise our clients on what’s possible across the US.

Online research is an effective alternative 

We can recruit respondents and conduct research digitally. This is an area where we’re experts. We’ve been harnessing online methodologies to support clients in the US with everything from customer understanding right through to product development research for many years.

Get in touch with our US offices for more detailed information and to discuss the best approach for your research needs.

China

Face-to-face research and online research are both possible

In line with the situation easing in China, we can provide all methodologies in this market, including focus groups and face-to-face interviews. We have developed a comprehensive safety protocol to safeguard our respondents, our team and our partners including a screening process to ensure respondents haven’t returned from another country in the last 14 days, temperature checks and the provision of masks and alcohol gel.

Singapore

Face-to-face research is now possible

We are now able to offer face-to-face research in Singapore including 8 person focus groups in line with easing restrictions. We have a number of protocols in place to ensure the safety of our team and our respondents.

Face to face live tracker

CATI and online research are effective alternatives

We are experts at conducting online research, and have particular expertise within Asia, recently producing a guide to help clients approach this with confidence. Our CATI capabilities are also an effective way of conducting research at this time.

Get in touch with our Singapore office to find the best approach for your project.

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India

Face-to-face is possible in most areas

We’re able to offer face-to-face research in all major cities that have been designated COVID-free zones by the government. We observe stringent protocols to ensure the safety of our respondents and our team.

Face to face live tracker

We also offer CATI and online research in India

Our state-of-the-art telephonic interviewing (CATI) centre and a huge repository of customer databases can address your quantitative research needs, whilst online focus groups, digital depth interviews and digital ethnography can help gain qualitative insights into the rapidly changing consumer landscape.

Get in touch with our India office to discuss how to best approach your research needs.

Indonesia

Face-to-face research is considered on a case by case basis

Restrictions in Indonesia mean that options for face-to-face research are currently limited. As a result, it is considered on a case-by- case. To discuss further, please get in touch with our team.

Philippines

Face-to-face research is not currently possible

F2F research is now feasible in the Philippines. We have already conducted intercepts and D2D interviews with no issues. However, we do not recommend face-to-face for focus groups and IDIs because we are still required to wear face masks and face shields even indoors. Focus groups and IDIs can be carried out online instead at this time.

Thailand

Face-to-face research and online research is possible across Thailand
Face to face live tracker

We are now able to carry out face-to-face interviews and focus groups in Thailand. We have stringent safety protocols in place to protect our respondents, our team and our partners including COVID-19 screening questions, temperature checks and the provision of alcohol gel and masks.

In Thailand, we’re also able to provide a broad range of online methodologies to reach consumers and B2B respondents.

To talk about conducting research in Thailand, get in touch with our team.

Vietnam

Face-to-face research and online research is possible across Vietnam
Face to face live tracker

Face-to-face research in the country can be conducted as normal – there are no restrictions in terms of service provision.

We also have rich experience in conducting online research in the country. We have the biggest direct panel in Vietnam – with 500,000 consumers – and conduct over 100 studies each year.

To discuss a market research project in Vietnam, please get in touch with our team.

We partnered with our friends at Measure Protocol to take part in a first-of-its-kind trial to harness blockchain for market research. Watch the video to discover what we learnt about the potential for this new technology.

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Head of Global Research and Strategy, Phil Steggals, shares his top tips on running workshops that translate research findings into business action.

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Who do you listen to when it comes to responding to a global pandemic? Doctors? Virologists? Economists? Eccentric Billionaires, who operate a ‘space taxi’? Politicians? Surely not politicians!?!

The term expert has been losing its social credibility for years – as it has become politicized – and ‘alternative facts’ have risen on social media. It used to be that an expert had been there, done that, and could advise on what type of t-shirt you really should be buying. That has changed so that anyone with time to spare to go down the rabbit hole of YouTube can suddenly become an ‘expert’ in vaccines or the shape of the Earth. There is a school of thought widely circulated that if you spend 10,000 hours practicing something – you will have mastered it. Even if you did spend 10,000 hours on You Tube (which is probably doable in a lockdown!) then are you an expert in world affairs? Perhaps playing the guitar…or martial arts. But is 5 years’ experience really enough to become an expert in your industry or on what do to as we emerge from this global pandemic?

The short answer is no. Not at all. The world (and your industry) is changing so fast that your expertise may not be relevant. Playing the guitar is fundamentally the same now as it was 100 years ago. Automotive, telco, and food and beverage industries are not! 5 years ago – Uber in the US and Gojek in Indonesia were tiny entities. WeChat in China has become the dominant force for all news, social interaction and even payments. 5 years in the future, will we need mechanics to fix our cars or just a software engineer to adjust the GPS sensor in our self-driving Tesla?

And now for COVID-19. A global pandemic requires multiple people, with multiple points of view to come together. A serious virus outbreak can never just be classed as a ‘health issue’ – because economics, logistics, government policy, and commerce all get impacted. A global pandemic means this is, even more, the case with global supply chains. From a consumer perspective, all the past norms, assumptions, and consumer behaviour have been upended! Where they purchase products, their purchase journey is obvious changes. However, the mindset shifts and the self-reflection on what is important and what brands play a role in their lives are also changing in ways that we have not seen before. The point of this post is that expertise is needed but there can be no experts that KNOW what brand strategy post-COVID looks like!

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People can always learn more. There can always be something new that they discover. These are the sort of people who are modest in their claims of expertise. They talk of experience. They have anecdotes and examples. But they never proclaim to know it all. They read blogs, they start conversations, they debate accepted norms – and they look to push boundaries. More importantly, they look to other people and industries. Even the biggest consultants are pooling their knowledge of expertise to provide ideas and thoughts on the future (check out McKinsey’s collection of virus points of view.) Relying on a single source, or single individual has always been dangerous – but today – with so much uncertainty – no one person can be a guru ‘for change’ anymore. Instead, we should be looking at a range of EXPERTISE.

At Kadence, this is how we operate. We are experts in market research of course, but only because we apply our EXPERTISE and keep an eye on the latest trends. We embrace new technology and methods and refresh the way that we ask questions to remain as up-to-date as possible. When a client brief comes along, we bring together a number of ‘experts’ to make sure we have covered as many angles as possible. Industry experts or specialists are brought into a wider team. We read around the subject, we look outside of the target market and industry for new ideas, and constantly look to push ourselves to deliver new thinking and a new perspective to our clients.

So now, more than ever, do not seek out an expert. Seek out a range of EXPERTISE and a range of sources to make sure you have looked at a problem from every angle. Now, more than ever, market research can become the industry to collect and organize a range of opinions and ideas and help brands navigate this ‘next normal’.

Online research has taken off at a faster rate in China compared to other Asian countries. Network coverage across the country is good and as one of the first markets to facilitate social media commerce, Chinese consumers tend to be digitally savvy. This, combined with their familiarity with multi-functional apps like WeChat, means there’s real scope to use more complex digital platforms for research in the country. Even older consumers can be reached through these means. Relative to other markets, there is a better chance of getting respondents aged 55+ years to participate in online research, due to their steadfast refusal to be left behind by the ‘digital divide’. 

The impact of COVID-19 has further accelerated the adoption of online methodologies. As a result of the introduction of social distancing measures, companies have had to embrace alternative ways of doing research, which have brought with it a number of benefits. 

Firstly, China is vast. We have 660 cities, including 36 first-tier cities and 237 second-tier cities. Whereas offline research can only be conducted in 2 – 3 cities, the geographical scope of an online project can be much broader, allowing for greater representation of the different areas within China, that extends beyond advanced urban centres. This can be incredible valuable, given the fast pace of eco-nomic development in Tier 3 cities and more rural areas. 

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What’s more online research has the benefit of being anonymous, allowing respondents to talk more freely than they might in a face-to-face situation. This makes online particularly good for exploring topics that a respondent may not want to discuss in public, but it’s also a great tool for product or concept testing. Because of the Chinese habit to moderate answers and avoid causing offence, doing this in group settings can be tricky. In contrast, exploring views one-on-one as part of an online community will help you understand what Chinese consumers really think about products or ads.

When, it comes to designing your approach, there are a number of things to bear in mind to make sure you get the most out of online research. Firstly, do ensure the platform that you are using is mobile-first. China as a market experienced the technological ‘leap frog’, so be wary of assuming that everyone has a personal computer or laptop. Also be mindful of the fact that the firewall can make implementing any form of online research a little trickier than usual, especially if you’re launching it from outside of China. Don’t forget to keep testing the viability / stability of your platform. This will ensure that you end up spending more time on the insights, rather than troubleshooting.

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It is undeniable that the China today is a stark difference from the China of recent decades. The rapid pace of change means that research methodologies need to evolve to ensure ways of harvesting insights continue to stay relevant, up to date, and effective. That said for brands, and for market researchers, offline research does continue to provide ways into the cities and allows for the experiential aspect of research to really come to life, particularly if it is ethnographic in nature. ‘Lived experiences’ of consumers are best expressed and understood when offline research is applied. But at the same time, the digital dominance in China presents a real opportunity to leverage this medium as means to communicate and reach the hearts of where consumers are today by speaking their language and connecting with them where they are – their digital world.  

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here

Market research in Japanhas been transformed by the emergence of online research. While other Asian markets continue to favour more personal, face-to-face techniques, Japanese culture is perfectly suited to this more arms-length approach, especially when it comes to researching conventional, mainstream audiences. Online research means that Japanese consumers don’t have to personally interact with researchers in person to complete surveys; a factor that circumvents a Japanese antipathy towards personal interactions with strangers. The idea of sharing personal information can make some Japanese consumers deeply uncomfortable and extends itself to a desire to avoid picking up phone calls from unknown numbers, which means telephone research in Japan is difficult to execute, too. 

On the other hand, online research methods remove human interaction from the research process, encouraging participation from respondents who may not enjoy the process of a face to face interview or focus group. Respondents can relax without the pressures of sharing directly with another individual and are more likely to give honest and detailed responses when giving answers at their own leisure. Likewise, online research methods provide a sense of control to the respondent.

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Unlike in a face-to-face interview, every question in an online survey is predetermined, and while this impacts the level of insight a researcher can reach, it provides a safer environment for respondents who are concerned that the spontaneity of a ‘live’ interview may lead them to revealing too much information, or at least a feeling of great social awkwardness.

Unlike in a face-to-face interview, every question in an online survey is predetermined, and while this impacts the level of insight a researcher can reach, it provides a safer environment for respondents who are concerned that the spontaneity of a ‘live’ interview may lead them to revealing too much information, or at least a feeling of great social awkwardness.

What’s more, Japanese infrastructure lends itself to online research. Commute times into Tokyo and other major cities like Osaka and Nagoya are typically an hour in duration, which means that many Japanese have at least 2 hours each day of ‘dead time’. And, with incentives provided to all who take part, online research is arguably one of the best ways to monetise this time. With high quality 3G and 4G networks in existence for years now, this has allowed online research to flourish during the commute.

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Although face-to-face research benefits researchers elsewhere, creating a personal relationship with respondents and opportunities for spontaneous questions that lead to deeper insights, these advantages are negated for researchers in Japan. The dominance of online research in Japan can be surprising to those less familiar with the country, but its capabilities to reach huge numbers of respondents quickly, cheaply and comfortably, mean that it is by far the best option for gaining accurate, primary quantitative data. 

We at Kadence are big advocates of brands creating their own futures, rather than try to predict it. Earlier in the year, before the whole pandemic went global, we brought together trend watching experts from across our global boutique to identify four key trends that we believe will define the next 12 months, inspiring innovation across Asia, the US and Europe, that we outlined in this report.

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here

With 51 million active social media users – that’s 67% of the total population and 82% of internet penetration – the growing potential for online research in Thailand cannot be ignored. 

In a country where the prevailing culture means that people can be reluctant to share their opinions in a group setting, the anonymity of online research can be powerful. It provides an opportunity for people to freely communicate their point of view without the boundaries of social restriction, enabling us to dig deeper and explore sensitive topics in a setting where they feel most comfortable – their own home. That said, there are number of aspects to bear in mind to execute online market research in Thailand successfully. 

The first is recruitment. The quality of online panels in Thailand can vary, so we’d recommend using pre-identified respondents for online projects, for example, sourcing them from a customer list, so you can ensure you’re reaching the right people. For complex categories such as durable products or if you need to reach people based on their brand preferences, we’d recommend that the process for pre-identifying respondents has both online and offline elements. Despite sometimes requiring additional investment, the offline element is important in Thailand for recruiting qualified respondents that meet your criteria. In this instance, make sure you working with agency that has a relationship with one of the top-tier panel providers, and has the expertise to design a sophisticated screening questionnaire to ensure you’re reaching the right profile of respondent. We’d also recommend developing enhanced offline quality control processes before the research starts, such as phoning each respondent to check they meet the desired criteria for your project. 

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The second thing to consider is to think about the goals of the project and whether online research will deliver against these. Whilst there are some projects that are better suited to face-to-face, there are others that lend themselves to online. One example is ad testing, particularly when you’re looking to evaluate video ads. Exposure to online media in Thailand is much higher than to traditional media so taking part in an ad testing project at home or on a smartphone mimics the way that consumers behave, allowing us to conduct research in a real-life setting. Another typical and popular use case for online research in Thailand is customer satisfaction research especially in the retail and service industries.

The benefit of using an online approach for this is that the research can be conducted immediately after the product or service is used, helping us to understand reactions in real-time, and guaranteeing greater accuracy.

When it comes to online quantitative research, it is vital that this is mobile optimised. The length of questionnaire should be such that it can easily be done on a smartphone – the penetration of active social media users on smartphone is 71% of the total population. This will ensure a higher response rate from the respondents. 

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For online qualitative research, there’s a big opportunity to harness increased familiarity with the online tools adopted as a result of social distancing measures for digital depth interviews or online focus groups. We’d recommend using these tools over online communities or digital ethnographies in this market, where the fear “losing face” is likely to influence what respondents project about themselves in these environments. 

Online research has great potential in this market and provides a useful alternative to face-to-face research in particular use cases such as ad testing and customer satisfaction. That said, offline recruitment is an important consideration for any online project to ensure maximum success. 

We at Kadence are big advocates of brands creating their own futures, rather than try to predict it. Earlier in the year, before the whole pandemic went global, we brought together trend watching experts from across our global boutique to identify four key trends that we believe will define the next 12 months, inspiring innovation across Asia, the US and Europe, that we outlined in this report.

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here

Tulika Sheel, Associate Vice President

Varun Sahai, Associate Vice President 

Sandeep Kaul, Insights Lead 

In India, online only accounts for a small share of the market research market. The overwhelming majority of market research projects here take place face-to-face. But the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in brands beginning to consider online options. 

The dominance of face-to-face market research can be explained by a number of factors, and these need to be carefully understood in order to successfully pivot to an online approach. In metro and tier 1 cities, laptop ownership is commonplace and as a result online panels are fairly well established. But metro and tier 1 cities aren’t representative of India as a whole, and in suburban and rural areas it’s a different story. Panel coverage is limited and this, combined with low levels of literary and a cultural predisposition to trust in-person over digital interactions, means that face-to-face is the preferred approach for conducting research in these areas. 

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What’s promising though is the high levels of mobile penetration in suburban and rural areas. Thanks to new mobile data plans, most households in these areas have access to at least one mobile phone between them, and this only looks set to improve.

So what does this mean for online research in India? The first thing to be mindful of is that there is no one size fits all approach. Of course the methodology used for any project needs to be carefully considered, but in India it’s of crucial importance that you bear in mind the target group of respondents you want to reach and the devices they have access to.

Of course the methodology used for any project needs to be carefully considered, but in India it’s of crucial importance that you bear in mind the target group of respondents you want to reach and the devices they have access to. 

In metros or tier 1 cities for instance, digital depth interviews conducted on a laptop or desktop via Skype will be a good way to reach more niche audiences that can’t be accessed through online panels, for example, people who own a particular model of car or buy a certain brand. 

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For conducting research beyond these cities, you’ll need to turn to mobile – but it’s important to bear in mind that bandwidth can be an issue. Because of this, you should avoid any methodologies that are too heavily reliant on lengthy video inputs from respondents. Instead, online surveys or online communities, which combine text, image-based and short video tasks are a better option. To encourage participation, an app-based platform that is easy for respondents to download, access and engage with should be used. 

With online research proving a feasible option for many types of project, it will be fascinating to see how the market for this develops in India.

We at Kadence are big advocates of brands creating their own futures, rather than try to predict it. Earlier in the year, before the whole pandemic went global, we brought together trend watching experts from across our global boutique to identify four key trends that we believe will define the next 12 months, inspiring innovation across Asia, the US and Europe, that we outlined in this report.

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here