Conducting Intercept Interviews During a Pandemic

Intercept interviews are designed to conduct surveys with consumers on-site and are a great way to gain immediate marketing data. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, clients and consumers have both been hesitant to use intercept interviews for market research.

Decision Point Research uses several measures to conduct intercept interviews during COVID-19 that follow public health guidelines.

• Intercepts are conducted in public areas, and the interviewers wear full PPEs.
• Interviewers socially distance at all times and conduct interviews at a distance from respondents.
• In provinces where a lockdown is still in effect, intercept interviews cannot be conducted in-store. Decision Point deploys intercept teams in public areas such as parks, near target stores (grocery stores, malls), and major intersections.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Decision Point successfully conducted intercept interviews in outdoor public spaces. Consumers were willing to engage in socially distanced interviews, with the number of respondents increasing if an incentive was offered.

Benefits of Intercept Research

1. Real-time responses: During intercept interviews, information is gathered in real-time. This lets researchers ask open-ended questions, researchers and respondents can both seek clarification during the interview, and researchers can observe the reaction and behaviour of respondents.
2. Variety of demographics: Intercept interviews are a great way to learn the opinions of people who may not be members of research panels, or even users of the internet. Specific demographics can be targeted at different venues, making it faster to reach the target audience.
3. Cost-effective: Intercept interviews are relatively low cost, with respondents not expecting payment for their feedback. Often, a small token such as a coupon or a chance to enter a draw for a prize is a sufficient incentive for people to participate.

Experienced Intercept Research Partner 

It’s important to work with a market research company that has experience conducting intercept interviews and building rapport with participants to get the most detailed and useful insights. At Decision Point Research, we offer experienced multilingual interviewers who can conduct English, French, Chinese, Punjabi, Tagalog, and Spanish surveys. We can also translate our questionnaires into any other major language to allow respondents to complete the survey in their preferred language.

Market research during COVID-19 is essential to understanding the behaviour and sentiments of your target audience during the pandemic. Contact us today to learn how we can help with your market research needs.