The document discusses how devices used to access surveys are changing rapidly, with smartphones and tablets increasingly used. A study found that while most respondents still use computers, smartphone usage was highest in Sweden at 10% and tablet usage was highest in the UK at 2.5%. The study also examined differences in results between devices, finding some question types take longer on mobile. It provides best practices for survey design optimization across devices.

1. Devices Used To Access Surveys
Are Changing Rapidly -
Are You Prepared?
Presented by:
Charles Pearson, Co-Founder & Managing Director, EasyInsites
Lindsay Veling, Vice-President Quality, Cint

2. Research Before…

3. Research Today...
And Tomorrow…
o Smartphone penetration rate 30% to 50% (specifically in the
US, UK, France, Sweden and Australia)
o In the US and UK, approximately 7% of web browsing is now
occurring on non-computer i.e., mobile devices (smartphones
and tablets)

4. Market Penetration of Mobile Devices
Market Penetration Worldwide (millions)
1,600
Number of Owners (millions)
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
Computer Smartphone Tablet
Device Type

5. Technology Paradigm Shift
o “through the last quarter, I should say, which
is just 2 years after we shipped the initial iPad,
we’ve sold 67 million iPads. And to put that in
some context, it took us 24 years to sell that
many Macs and 5 years for that many iPods
and over 3 years for that many iPhones. And
we were extremely happy with the trajectory
on all of those products. And so I think it’s [the
iPad] a profound product.” (Tim Cook, Apple)

6. Key Questions
1. How might smartphone and tablet devices affect the way we need
to think about fielding online research?
2. To what extent are these devices used to access our surveys
today?
3. Are there differences in device used by market, age or gender?
4. What difference does the use of mobile devices make to the
survey experience or results?
5. Which devices do respondents prefer to use, and is the market
research industry meeting their needs?
6. As an industry, what do we need to know and what do we need to
do about it?

7. Methodology
Part 1 – Determine Device Usage
o Which devices are being used by panelists?
o n ≈ 150 000 surveyed respondents in four markets: US, UK,
Sweden and France
o Additional data from automatic device detection, both from Cint’s
OpinionHUB as well as custom panels managed by EasyInsites
Part 2 – Examine Differences In Results
o Parallel survey using the same questionnaire across four different
devices: Computer (desktop/laptop), smartphone, tablet and a
specific mobile phone application (+mobile)
o Fielded in the US, UK, France, Sweden and Australia

8. Example of Mobile App

9. Part 1: Device Usage
Which Devices Are Being Used?

10. Part 1 – Which Devices Are Being Used?
o Surveyed 149,829 panelists in four markets: US, UK, Sweden
and France
o Which best describes the device you are currently using to
take this survey?
 Desktop computer or laptop  Tablet/Notepad (e.g. iPad,
computer Samsung Galaxy, Kindle Fire,
 Smartphone (e.g. Android, etc)
iPhone, blackberry) or  Other
cellphone with internet
access

11. Sample Distribution
Country Gender
3%
USA
1% 33%
FR Male
SE 5% Female
UK 91%
Age 67%
23% 6%
14-22 23%
23-35
36-55
48%
56-80

12. Device Distribution – All Markets
o The computer was the most commonly used device to access
the survey
o Smartphones and tablets were the devices used by almost
7% of respondents
Overall Device Distribution
2.3%
Computer
4.6%
Smartphone
Tablet
92.6%

13. Device Distribution – By Market
o France has the lowest usage of both smartphones (3.5%) and
tablets (1.5%)
o Highest level of smartphone usage is in Sweden (10.4%)
o Respondents in United Kingdom used tablets the most (2.5%)
100%
80%
Respondents (%)
60%
Computer
40% Smartphone
Tablet
20%
0%
FR SE UK USA
Country/Market

14. Device Distribution – Age and Gender
Device Distribution by Age Device Distribution by Gender
100% 100%
80% 80%
60% Computer 60%
40% Smartphone 40%
Tablet
20% 20%
0% 0%
14-22 23-35 36-55 56-80 Men Women
Age Group Gender

15. Device Detection - Panel Differences
Smartphone
Panel Tablet Usage
Usage
Bounty 15% 5%
Net-a-porter 8% 8%
Premier Foods 12% 2.5%
TCM 10% 5%
Diageo 6% 2%
ITV 4% 3%
WHSmith 1.5% 1.5%
Access Panels 3% 1%

16. Part 2: Parallel Survey
Are there differences in survey results
between devices?

17. Background/Methodology
o 3-4 minute survey in the US, UK, France, Sweden and Australia
o Question types optimised for each device
o Quotas on device type
o 3,609 respondents from a variety of online panels
Devices Used to Respond to Survey
300 Computer
200 Smartphone
100 Tablet
Thumbspeak
+mobile
0
UK USA Sweden Australia France

18. Problems In Answering Surveys
Have you ever had problems participating in surveys on
your preferred device?
100%
80% Computer
60%
Smartphone
40%
20% Tablet
0%
Have experienced problems

19. Problems Named In Answering Surveys
Computers:
o No systematic problems with survey design and format
Smartphones:
o Most important: lack of support for Flash
o Small screen size
Tablets:
o Most important: lack of support for Flash
o Inability to use drag-and-drop question

20. Preferred Devices
Which one of these devices do you prefer to use when
answering online surveys?
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Computer Smartphone Tablet

21. Device Preferred by Device Used
Which one of these devices do you prefer to use when
answering online surveys?
Prefer computer
100%
80% Prefer
smartphone
60%
Prefer tablet
40%
20% Other
0%
Used Used Used tablet Prefer
Used
computer smartphone +mobile
thumbspeak

22. Devices Used To Access Internet
Which of the below devices do you use regularly to access
the internet?
100%
Prefer computer
80%
60% Prefer smartphone
40% Prefer tablet
20%
0%
Computer Smartphone Tablet

23. Early Adopters of Technology
o Differences in innovation attitudes between devices
o Non-optimised surveys could bias results
Innovation attitudes by preferred device
100%
80% Prefer computer
60%
Prefer smartphone
40%
20% Prefer tablet
0%
Early adopters Early majority Late majority None of the
above

24. Consumer Segmentation
o Tablet users are thorough and enjoy shopping
o Tablet and +mobile app users go for expensive brands
o No differences in product/brand loyalty
o Backed up by a large Adobe study showing 20% + higher basket
values on tablets vs computers and similar buy conversion rates.
Weighted (Age and Gender) scores on 1-5
scale
5.00
4.00
3.00 Computer
2.00 Smartphone
1.00 Tablet
Thorough and Go for Tends to stay
+mobile
Thumbspeak
enjoyful expensive with
shoppers brands product/brand

25. Time Taken - Checkbox and Radio Buttons

26. Time Taken - Checkbox and Radio Buttons
o Take 15-30% longer on smartphones vs. computers
o Tablets quicker than smartphones as internet access
is typically wi-fi vs. 3G for smartphones
o Tablets are marginally quicker than computers due to
consistently modern browsers (unlike some older
computer browsers like Internet Explorer 7/8)

27. Time Taken - Open Ends
o Takes 30-40% longer on smartphones vs. computers and 20-
30% longer on tablets vs. computers
o Touch-typing with smartphones and tablets, and restricted
screen size on smartphones slow down open ends

28. Time Taken – Table Type Questions
Computer / Tablet

29. Time Taken – Table Type Questions
This question took 60% longer on
smartphones than computers (applies to
tables of radio buttons / likert scales /
checkbox tables)

30. Time Taken – Drop Down Questions
For smartphones, display drop-down lists used due
to width and fact that side by side buttons difficult
to touch correctly (and poses some expressed
difficulty by respondents using this question type on
tablets)

31. Time Taken – Drop Down Questions

32. Survey Design - Best Practices
o Mobile optimised template: design around % rather than absolute
widths with a user-friendly layout that adapts to screensize, best to
use a scripting application that has this and device detection built-
in. Also, enlarge form elements so easier to interact with.
o Images: make sure they can shrink to fit screen and if large images /
multiple images, may need to exclude smartphone users
o Drag and drop questions: Questions which rely on Javascript or
Flash to create interactive effects are not guaranteed to work on
mobile devices, especially drag and drops – could use alternatives
for mobile devices (e.g. radio button table instead of card sort)
o Open end questions: avoid asking too many as this will increase
respondent fatigue more quickly on touchscreen devices

33. Key Findings
o Increasing use of smartphone and tablet devices to access the
internet
o Nearly half of panelists would prefer to take surveys on one of
these newer devices, optimised design means increased
participation from an audience of wealthier shoppers
o Survey design for smartphones and tablets – keep it simple
o Surveys optimised for these devices can be easy to complete and
provide a positive experience for respondents
o Making these surveys accessible and workable across devices is
required to sample the complete market

34. Best Practices
o Optimise the survey for each device type separately
o Route respondents to the relevant survey version, based on
detected device
o In an ideal world, use a specific survey application
For smartphone and tablet devices …
o Avoid Flash-based surveys
o Use appropriate question types
o Test the survey on a range of devices
o Consider the incentive: surveys may take longer on these newer
devices

35. Future Research
o Research on longer surveys, where the problems and affects
on completion time differences are more likely to occur
o Research in other parts of the world, including Asia and Latin
America
o Research on optimising methods of driving traffic to surveys:
o Value of mobile optimised html invites
o In-app push notifications vs email invitations
o Continuous need for further research and best practices
development, as device use and technologies are changing
rapidly!