The survey of 2,889 respondents in 127 countries found that insights businesses expect a reduction in turnover of up to 22% for 2020, while research buyers and clients forecast a decline of 11%.

Respondents in the Middle East and Africa were most pessimistic, with respondents expecting a market contraction of 41%, followed by Europe at 32%, while Apac and the US anticipated drops of 19% and 18% respectively.

On the potential impact on businesses in future, almost half ( 47%) of respondents in Europe and the US ( 46%) agreed that companies will have to reduce the numbers of full-time staff.

Finn Raben, director general at Esomar, said: “Although the report findings show the considerable scale of the challenge, recent weeks have recorded a variety of uplifting common initiatives, proving that the research, data and insights community is a strong one, and in spite of the set-backs we can see these times through, together.”

During a virtual round table last week, UK research businesses discussed some of the issues facing the industry, as research from MRS and Watermelon identified particular challenges for smaller firms.