Audience research
Part of Researching marketplace sellers around one decision without turning research into sales
Survey routes for marketplace seller research
Marketplace seller software survey tools are not assessed; this compares manual and contracted routes for staff surveys about listing, stock and order issues.
What to take away
- Manual or contracted routes for marketplace seller research differ on privacy, accessibility, security and export evidence.
- For a marketplace seller survey, fix the population, questions and data route before choosing a survey route.
- Manual tools include Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Jisc Online Surveys, LimeSurvey and REDCap.
- Contracted services include Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, SmartSurvey and Alchemer.
- Research agencies include Ipsos, Kantar and Savanta.
- No route gets credit for a field marked unknown, and costs stay blank without evidence.
- Keep the questionnaire wording, order, options and eligibility logic identical across routes.
- A security badge does not prove safe configuration for the contracted service.
- If privacy roles, accessible participation, security evidence or export remain unknown, hold the decision.
Compare routes for a marketplace seller survey
Research date: 6 September 2026. Method: Four delivery routes were compared on identical fields. Scope: One bounded staff survey for a named seller account. Exclusions: Prices, vendor rankings, assumed features, customer panels and general ecommerce surveys. Hands-on status: None. Conflicts: No provider funded the work. Ranking: Non-ranked, with no winner.
Four survey routes, same fields
Manual, buyer-run
- Instrument and contact
- Versioned form, approved channel
- Data and access
- Buyer controls file
- Accessibility evidence
- Buyer tests formats
- Export and deletion
- Buyer proves deletion
Buyer-built form
- Instrument and contact
- Merchant hosts questionnaire
- Data and access
- Owners log hosting
- Accessibility evidence
- Full form and AT test
- Export and deletion
- Export, purge, restore
Contracted service
- Instrument and contact
- Name service and edition
- Data and access
- Roles need evidence
- Accessibility evidence
- Conformance statement, barriers
- Export and deletion
- Export, closure, deletion
Research agency
- Instrument and contact
- Agency runs set instrument
- Data and access
- Agency administers data
- Accessibility evidence
- Agency evidence required
- Export and deletion
- Agency deletion proof
This desk comparison names public providers. No exact current edition has been tested against the required privacy, accessibility, security and export evidence.
A manual route remains a valid baseline. The common study asks verified staff at an England merchant about one recent marketplace listing, stock or order exception. It collects no live customer order, payment or product-safety record.
Instrument and contact
- Manual, buyer-run: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
- Versioned form or interview sheet sent through an approved channel. Google Forms is free with a Google account. Microsoft Forms is included in Microsoft 365 business plans.
- Buyer-built form: Jisc Online Surveys, LimeSurvey, REDCap
- Merchant hosts the questionnaire and response store. Jisc Online Surveys is UK-hosted and free to eligible UK education users. LimeSurvey Community Edition is free to self-host.
- Contracted survey service: Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, SmartSurvey, Alchemer
- Exact service and edition must be named. Qualtrics and Alchemer price on quote. SurveyMonkey paid UK plans typically from around £25 a month. SmartSurvey paid plans typically from around £15 a month.
- Research agency route: Ipsos, Kantar, Savanta
- Agency administers a defined instrument. All three price on custom quote.
Data and access
- Manual, buyer-run: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
- Buyer controls the file and permissions. Workspace admins set retention. Microsoft 365 admins set data loss prevention.
- Buyer-built form: Jisc Online Surveys, LimeSurvey, REDCap
- Internal owners document hosting, logs and account access. Self-hosting puts security and UK GDPR roles on the buyer.
- Contracted survey service: Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, SmartSurvey, Alchemer
- Controller, processor, subprocessors, transfers and roles require evidence. Qualtrics offers EU and UK data residency. SurveyMonkey offers EU data residency on some plans.
- Research agency route: Ipsos, Kantar, Savanta
- Contract must separate recruitment, fieldwork, transcription and analysis access. All three publish UK GDPR terms. Ipsos and Kantar publish ISO 27001.
Accessibility evidence
- Manual, buyer-run: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
- Buyer tests each offered format. Google and Microsoft publish accessibility conformance reports.
- Buyer-built form: Jisc Online Surveys, LimeSurvey, REDCap
- Complete form and assistive-technology test required. Jisc publishes an accessibility statement.
- Contracted survey service: Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, SmartSurvey, Alchemer
- Obtain a current conformance statement, test scope and unresolved barriers. Qualtrics publishes WCAG 2.1 AA and a VPAT. SmartSurvey publishes WCAG 2.1 AA.
- Research agency route: Ipsos, Kantar, Savanta
- Recruitment and participation adjustments need an owner. Adjustments are agreed per project.
Export and deletion
- Manual, buyer-run: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
- Buyer proves deletion and retains an approved analysis file. Google Forms exports through Sheets. Microsoft Forms exports to Excel.
- Buyer-built form: Jisc Online Surveys, LimeSurvey, REDCap
- Structured export, purge and restore tested by buyer. Jisc exports CSV and SPSS. REDCap adds an audit trail and exports CSV, SPSS and R.
- Contracted survey service: Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, SmartSurvey, Alchemer
- Demonstrate complete export, account closure and deletion evidence. Qualtrics exports CSV, SPSS and XML. SmartSurvey exports CSV, Excel and SPSS.
- Research agency route: Ipsos, Kantar, Savanta
- Return or deletion of contact, response and recording data checked separately. All three require contract terms for return or deletion.
No route receives credit for a field marked unknown. Costs and service thresholds stay blank until current contractual evidence exists.
Hold the instrument constant
The Government Analysis Function questionnaire design guidance says questions should be clear, avoid assumptions and be designed around how responses will be used. Keep the wording, order, response options and eligibility logic identical when comparing routes. Otherwise a mode change is mixed with a tool change.
Test the screener and questionnaire with synthetic records. Include refused or skipped items, an incomplete response, duplicate submission, withdrawal and correction. Do not ask for a customer's name, address, payment data or full order history merely because a form can accept it.
Inspect the data relationship
The ICO's current controller-processor contract guidance describes required processing details, documented instructions, confidentiality and security. It also covers subprocessors, rights assistance, return or deletion, and audits. The page is under review after DUAA changes. A privacy specialist must verify the live position and the actual supplier chain.
NCSC supplier-assurance questions cover network, cloud, access and data controls. Treat answers as supplier statements until evidence is inspected for the contracted service. A security badge does not prove safe configuration.
Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey and SmartSurvey publish trust pages and conformance statements. Treat those as supplier statements until the buyer inspects evidence for the contracted service.
GOV.UK guidance on managing research data recommends collecting the minimum contact information, limiting access and deleting details when no longer needed. Its setting is government user research, but those practical controls suit this comparison.
Choose a route only after it passes the buyer's synthetic test and every independent gate. If privacy roles, accessible participation, security evidence or a usable export remains unknown, the decision is hold, even when the interface appears convenient.
Before you act
- Fix the population, questions and data route first.
- Hold the instrument constant across every route.
- Test the screener and questionnaire with synthetic records.
- Verify the live controller-processor position with a privacy specialist.
- Inspect evidence for the contracted service, not the badge.
- Collect minimum contact information and delete it when no longer needed.
Common questions
Why does the comparison name public providers without testing them?
No exact current edition has been tested against the required privacy, accessibility, security and export evidence. The named providers are public examples, not tested recommendations. A manual route remains a valid baseline, and no provider funded the work.
What does the ICO contract guidance require?
It describes required processing details, documented instructions, confidentiality and security. It also covers subprocessors, rights assistance, return or deletion, and audits. The page is under review after DUAA changes, so a privacy specialist must verify the live position and the actual supplier chain.
What should a buyer test before choosing a route?
Test the screener and questionnaire with synthetic records, including refused or skipped items, an incomplete response, duplicate submission, withdrawal and correction. Choose a route only after it passes the buyer's synthetic test and every independent gate.
