The survey, carried out by Research Now on behalf of ResearchExchange.com, a digital platform that connects buyers and suppliers of research, revealed that 42 of the 100 businesses surveyed only worked with one supplier of market research. Around two thirds ( 64%) said they had never worked with a research agency based outside of the UK. 

The findings showed that research is used to inform 68% of business decisions; 25% of buyers spend between £50k-£100k each year on research and 36% spend over £100k. However, just 17% of companies seek a quote from a new supplier when commissioning research for a project. One of the key barriers to commissioning a brief was cited as not knowing where to source them, a response offered by 21% of businesses. 

“It’s imperative that buyers of market research are able to connect with the right supplier for each and every project, or they risk working with the wrong talent and receiving unsuitable or irrelevant research results," said Richard Waring, co-founder and CEO of ResearchExchange.com.

"A shocking number of companies are failing to pitch their research out to new agencies and get new ideas, new solutions and better prices, costing them dearly. There are pools of untapped research creativity and insight out there which can provide buyers with brilliant results and excellent data that informs critical decisions.”