UK Research Methodology

There are three main sources of information and research stages used in the compilation of Mintel reports:

• consumer research, where exclusive research is conducted for individual reports as well as drawing upon non-exclusive large scale surveys
• trade interviews (usually conducted by telephone), both formal and informal, with relevant members of the trade
• Desk Research. Including Mintel Consulting, market size and economic databases.

Reports are written and managed by analysts with experience in the relevant markets.

Consumer Research

Exclusive and original quantitative consumer research is commissioned for almost all Mintel reports. Mintel invests a considerable sum each year in consumer research, and the purchaser of a Mintel report benefits, as the price of an individual report is less than the cost of the original research alone. The research brings an up-to-date and unique insight into topical issues of importance.

Consumer research is conducted among a nationally representative sample of adults and is generally carried out by BMRB or NOP World. The results are only available in Mintel reports.

Sampling and weighting

BMRB

BMRB Access Omnibus samples 2,000 adults using a random location sampling technique. This is a single-stage sample design, taking as it's universe Sample Units, a bespoke amalgamation of Output Areas (OA's - the basic building block used for output from the 2001 Census) in Great Britain. Sample units have an average size of 300 households. OA's are grouped into Sample Units by CACI within ward and taking account of their ACORN characteristics. This sampling system is as current as it could be in terms of the characteristics of the areas selected and the people within them. There are additional quota controls on age - 15-34, 35-54, 55+ - on men - working full-time, not working full time – on women - working full or part time, not working full or part time. Interviewing is in home, face-to-face using CAPI (laptop computers).

Data are weighted to the correct population proportions to match both the TGI survey and the National Readership Survey. A rim weighting technique is used in which target profiles are set for eight separate demographic variables.

NOP

NOP Random Location Omnibus samples 2,000 adults in 175 output areas (areas used for output from the 2001 census) every week. The sample design is essentially a three-stage design, sampling first parliamentary constituencies, then output areas within those selected constituencies, and finally respondents within output areas. Respondents are selected based on quotas set in terms of age and sex within working status. The sample is designed to be representative of the population of Great Britain in demographic terms. Interviewing is in home, face-to-face using CAPI.

Given that the sample is controlled by quotas, the final demographic profile should be close to that of the target population. The sample is, if necessary, weighted to the correct population proportions in terms of age, sex, social class and region.

Confidence levels

Statistical confidence levels of + or – 2% or 3% can be applied to the data depending on sample size and percentage of respondents. For example, if 20% of a total sample of 1,000 adults say that they do something, you can be 95% certain that the figure for the population lies between 17% and 23%. For a sample of 2,000 adults, you can be 95% certain that the figure lies between 18% and 22%.

Consumer research is stored in a database supervised by Mintel's statisticians. Additional analysis of information too abundant to be included in published reports is available.

Additional quantitative data are taken from BMRB's Target Group Index surveys. The main TGI survey used is a continuous self-completion survey among a representative sample of around 25,000 adults throughout Great Britain, conducted over a 12-month period from April to March.

Unless otherwise stated, consumer research data are presented as penetration, ie as a percentage of demographic sub-groups (usually in rows) such as age, eg 71% of 15-24-year-olds are moisturiser users. Profiles are represented as proportions of the population, eg 8% of moisturiser users are aged 15-24 and, therefore, total 100%.

Population profile

GB population profile, by demographic group, 2003

Base: adults aged 15+

Data may not equal totals due to rounding

Source: Mintel

Some reports contain qualitative research, either focus groups or in-depth interviews. A full explanation of the methodology is given in the Introduction section of each relevant report.
Definitions of the main consumer classification systems used in the report are shown at the end of this appendix.

Trade Research

Informal trade research is undertaken for all reports. This involves contacting relevant players in the trade, not only to gain information concerning their own operations, but also to obtain explanations and views of the strategic issues pertinent to the market being researched. Such is Mintel’s concern with accuracy that draft copies of reports are sent to industry representatives, to get their feedback and avoid any misrepresentation of the market. These comments are incorporated into reports prior to final publication.

Formal trade research, using experienced external researchers, is undertaken for some reports. This takes the form of full trade interview questionnaires and direct quotes are included in the report and analysed by experts in the field. This gives a valuable insight into a range of trade views of topical issues.

Desk research

Mintel Consulting, which contains virtually all the raw material for desk research work, comprises: government statistics, consumer and trade association statistics, manufacturer sponsored reports, annual company reports and accounts, directories, press articles from around the world and online databases. The latter are extracted from over 280 publications, both British and overseas. All information is cross-referenced for immediate access.
Data from other published sources are the latest available at the time of writing the report.

This information is supplemented by an extensive library of Mintel’s reports produced since 1972 and added to each year by the 400+ reports which are produced annually.

In addition to in-house sources, researchers also occasionally use outside libraries such as the British Library or the Department of Trade and Industry. Other information is also gathered from store and exhibition visits across Europe, as well as using other databases within the Mintel Group, such as the Global New Product Database or POS+, which monitors fmcg sales promotions.

All analysts have access to Mintel’s Market Size and Economic Database – a database containing all areas of consumer spend and retail sales as well as macroeconomic and demographic factors which impinge on consumer spending patterns, going back some 20 years.

The database is used in conjunction with an SPSS forecasting program which uses weighted historical correlations of market dynamics, with independent variables, to produce future spending scenarios.

Sources

Where data are provided by a particular source then this is accredited at the foot of a figure. Often figures are sourced "Mintel". This means that information is derived from a variety of points, such as desk research and trade interviews, with the experience and expertise of a writer filling in any information gaps or interpreting data, so that it gives an accurate representation of the market and ensuring the data are consistent, both with other data in the report and between the whole array of Mintel’s data.

With over 400+ reports produced annually, the resources and knowledge at the writers' disposal allow for informed estimations of some market parameters, which are then checked for their validity with the trade.

Data which are estimated have this reference because the original source data are only at the estimated stage and are not finalised or, as is often the case, where they refer to updates of government data, "est" denotes that they were not available from the original source at the time of publishing.

Definitions

Socio-economic group

Socio-economic groups are based on the head of household or chief income earner and are defined as follows:

Retired persons who have a company pension or private pension, or who have private means are graded on their previous occupation.

Students in higher education living at home are graded on the occupation of the head of the household. Students living away from home are graded C1 (no account is taken of casual or vacation jobs).

Lifestage and Special Groups

In addition to the standard breaks, Mintel also analyses the consumer research in the following manner.

Lifestages are derived from analysis of the exclusive consumer research and are split into four main groups:

As part of an ongoing policy to find new ways of analysing data, Mintel has created Special Groups of consumers to typify consumer habits in the early years of the 21st Century. Unlike the lifestage groups, these groups represent only sections of the population and do not account for all adults.

ACORN

Some reports also use consumer research analysed by ACORN category. ACORN is a geo-demographic segmentation method, using census data to classify consumers according to the type of residential area in which they live. Each postcode in the country can, therefore, be allocated an ACORN category.

The classification is a more powerful differentiator of consumer behaviour than traditional socio-economic and demographic indicators. The categories, and their components, are as follows:

Source: CACI

PRIZM

Some reports use data derived from the TGI survey, which have been fused with TGI PRIZM lifestyle classifications. The TGI is the most widely used ‘single source’ of consumer purchasing and media consumption data, based on an annual sample of around 25,000 adults. TGI respondent records are classified by TGI PRIZM codes; these are lifestyles clusters designed by Claritas using respondent data from the Claritas National Shoppers Survey.

The fusion process involves classifying each respondent on the TGI file with the relevant TGI PRIZM code. The common denominator which enables this to happen is the postcode. Each TGI respondent postcode is recorded; each postcode in the country has been TGI PRIZM coded.

TGI PRIZM classifications explained

Claritas has devised a classification system based on 60 lifestyle clusters. These are derived by applying multivariate cluster analysis to the respondent records held on the National Shoppers Survey database; these provide discrete groupings which ‘cluster’ common characteristics from the respondent records. Each cluster is a descriptor of a particular neighbourhood type, typically detailing such items as:

• employment status
• Income
• Regionality
• Age
• family size
• type of accommodation
• car ownership
• interest and hobbies
• holiday destinations
• newspaper read
• financial products owned
• durables ownership
• food outlets used.

Although the 60 clusters are capable of producing some very powerful differentiations between lifestyle group, the effective samples for each at this level can be small (even on a survey as large as the TGI, which is based on 25,000 adults responses). Therefore, Mintel generally produces profiles based upon 16 consolidated clusters which are defined as follows:

The first digit is the lifestage indicator, the second digit is an income indicator. The share of households for each lifestage is also shown.

A = Young, no children

This lifestage consists mainly of young singles, newly married couples or cohabitors. These groups tend to live in large towns or cities and as a result usually live in flats or terraced housing, often renting, which reflects the mobility of this group. As they are on the first rungs of the job ladder, incomes are fairly low. Lifestyles centre around socialising and health and fitness.

B = Families

This lifestage group tends to consist of families, both new nursery families and those more established with older children living at home. As a result, there are wide differences in incomes between the younger families, who are facing a financially stretching time, and those older ones who are often entering the peak of their earning potential.

C = Empty nesters

This lifestage consists of older couples where the family have grown up and left home, other singles who have separated and those who have been widowed. Although there are a number of retirees in this group, many are still working. Elements of this group are now well off, having probably paid off their mortgage and lost the financial burden of having children at home.

D = Retired seniors

This lifestage represents the "grey market", consisting of retired couples and singles with plenty of time on their hands. Settled in their environment, many have now moved into smaller accommodation with bungalows and flats being very much in evidence. Not surprisingly, pursuits are often sedentary and based round the home and their grandchildren. However, the more affluent clusters may well be more adventurous in their outlook (eg regular foreign travel).