Audience research
Part of Planning retail media audience research with six populations kept apart
Survey tool routes for one retail media study, run through the same acceptance test
Compare retail media survey tool routes on one England study, with common privacy, accessibility, security, export and evidence requirements.
Retail media survey tools should be compared only after the buyer fixes one population, questionnaire and data boundary. No named product is recommended here. The candidates remain blank because no exact-edition dossier or controlled test was provided.
Comparison method
Research date: 6 September 2026. Scope: One adult study about a defined retail-media decision for an England operation. Inclusions: Collection routes that can preserve question version, consent evidence, response state and export. Exclusions: Product rankings, prices, feature assumptions, audience panels and inferred respondent identity. Ranking and conflicts: Non-ranked; no supplier funded or supplied evidence.
Use the same blank instrument and synthetic records for every route:
| Route | Collection control | Accessibility evidence | Data and security dossier | Export and deletion | Current finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved no-new-tool baseline | researcher enters authorised answers | alternative formats and supported session required | buyer-controlled access and retention | buyer-defined file and deletion log | UNKNOWN until tested |
| Researcher-moderated form | interviewer records the same question version | communication and assistive-technology support | device, account and observer access required | response plus consent link required | UNKNOWN |
| Telephone-assisted route | interviewer reads without changing meaning | hearing, speech and language adjustments | call, notes and recording controls required | verified notes and deletion route required | UNKNOWN |
| Hosted self-completion service | participant submits directly | keyboard, screen-reader, zoom and error tests required | exact entity, edition, role, subprocessors and transfers required | usable export and account deletion evidence required | HOLD without dossier |
| Managed fieldwork supplier | supplier recruits or collects under contract | recruitment and participation adjustments required | data roles, staff access, incidents and retention required | buyer handover and supplier deletion required | HOLD without contract evidence |
No route wins by having more functions. A moderated route may help someone participate but creates interviewer and recording risks. A hosted form may reduce manual entry while adding supplier, browser and export dependencies.
If a named service is later considered, open its exact edition records on the research date. Capture the legal supplier, UK availability, question and response limits, accessibility statement, data location, subprocessors, security evidence, export format, deletion process, support route and contract. Leave every missing field UNKNOWN. A generic product page does not prove that the buyer's proposed plan includes a function.
Preserve consent and purpose
GOV.UK guidance on getting consent for user research says participants should understand the purpose, data collected, observers, recording, use, sharing, retention, rights and withdrawal. Its wording is service-research guidance, not a substitute for a commercial buyer's lawful-basis assessment.
The ICO says genuine research is distinct from direct marketing, but promotional content or collection for later campaigns can bring a survey within marketing rules in its electronic and telephone marketing guidance. A tool setting cannot turn sales recruitment into research.
Test accessibility and security separately
Recruitment and the instrument need usable alternatives. GOV.UK guidance on finding research participants discusses formats, communication support and assistive technology. It comes from public-service practice, so the buyer must define the relevant commercial tasks and review.
For a hosted or managed route, inspect the exact current service and contract. NCSC supplier assurance questions cover governance, access, personal data, incidents and recovery. Supplier answers are evidence to verify, not a security verdict.
Run the same acceptance test
Load fictional eligible, ineligible, incomplete, withdrawn and corrected responses. Check question order, validation without coercion, accessible completion, duplicate handling, export, access removal and deletion. Keep production recruitment disabled.
Choose only when the buyer can reproduce each result and every privacy, accessibility, safeguarding, security and procurement gate passes independently. If the approved baseline answers the decision with lower exposure, buy nothing.