What is a usage and attitude study?

A usage and attitude study is a type of online survey. In other words, it is a form of quantitative (as opposed to qualitative) research.

It is designed to find out how, when, where and why particular products or services are consumed, or used, and by whom.

So, for example, if you are a frozen pizza manufacturer, you might commission or conduct a usage and attitude study to find out how, when, where and why people consume frozen pizzas, and also who those people are in terms of their demographics.

The reason you would do this is to understand, for example, the occasions on which frozen pizza is consumed, and by whom, so that you can design your packaging or marketing communications accordingly.

For example, frozen pizza could be bought mainly by a particular demographic of consumers to eat during the week on their own after work, or it may be bought mainly by parents of young children for a weekend treat, or it may be bought by groups of teenagers for when they get together to watch a film.

Understanding your market in this, and other ways, enables you to develop and market more appealing new products. It enables you to demonstrate to grocery retailers that you know your market.

Designing and running a usage and attitude study does take some planning in order to get it right, and deliver genuinely useful and meaningful results. For example, the correct audience needs to be identified so that you don’t waste money on a survey with people who don’t even buy frozen pizza!

We can help you with this if you’d like us to.