How Which? collected robust data on ethnic minority consumers

Which?, the consumer watchdog, wanted to understand the experiences of adults from ethnic minority backgrounds in different areas of consumer life, and how this compared to the experiences of white people. In particular, they wanted to understand the scale and nature of discrimination faced by ethnic minority consumers.

Which? ran two surveys on the Focaldata platform. One among a representative sample of 1,000 ethnic minority adults in the UK, and one among a representative, “control” sample of 2,000 adults of all ethnicities. The survey covered:

• How well people feel their needs are met in terms of different products (e.g. tech products, clothes, food, cosmetics)
• How people feel they have been treated by staff in various settings (e.g. in airports, shops, restaurants, hospitals)
• Perceptions of prejudice or discrimination faced in different consumer settings
• Impacts of any negative treatment or discrimination (e.g. on mental health)

In this context, it was critical that the ethnic minority sample properly represented the views of consumers from more deprived backgrounds and with fewer resources at their disposal. If they had not done this, the data would have painted a misleading picture of the experiences of ethnic minorities. If the data was skewed towards those from more advantaged socio-economic groups, the true nature of discrimination and its impacts would have been obscured.It was also important that the Which? team was able to draw comparisons between different ethnic groups. For instance, the experiences of consumers from Black Caribbean backgrounds are very different to those from, say, Indian backgrounds, therefore the research had to be designed to allow for this nuanced analysis to be possible.

How the Focaldata platform helped Which?

• Reached respondents that are typically under-represented by mainstream online research panels
• Added multiple socio-economic quotas on their survey to ensure the correct balance of respondents in different socio-economic positions
• Achieved a larger and more robust sample of ethnic minority respondents than is possible using a single panel alone
• Ensured only highly-engaged, high quality respondents ended up in their final sample.

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