The national body responsible for representing the interests of Ireland’s research industry has welcomed confirmation that in line with Government guidelines on easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, face-to-face quantitative interviewing will resume from next Monday June 29, with face-to-face qualitative focus groups also expected to return some time in July.
B&A managing director Luke Reaper (pictured), who chairs the Association of Irish Market Research Organisations (AIMRO), said that throughout the pandemic, the market research industry in Ireland has been actively researching both consumers and businesses in terms of their evolving mindsets, behaviours, needs and perceptions.
Reaper said a wealth of knowledge was harnessed and shared with industry and indeed the public for the greater social and economic good by AIMRO members. The research provided insight from both Irish and International markets. ‘While the research industry halted face-to-face interviewing on 14th March, it remained active for its clients,” Reaper said.
“It also remained active for the greater social good, undertaking significant amounts of both qualitative and quantitative research via digital and telephone platforms,” he added. AIMRO members met formally online every two to three weeks during the crisis to agree guidelines and ensure quality research was still being delivered for clients.
Along with Esomar, AIMRO stressed the need for maintaining the quality of insight and for keeping a finger on the pulse of society. “It’s a fascinating, albeit challenging, time in social research terms and organisations and brands need to be testing various scenarios as the situation unfolds, and opportunities emerge,” Reaper added.
