MRI-Simmons Insights database review

Abstract

MRI-Simmons uses at least two data collection tools. The data source currently used in Insights is the National Consumer Study (NCS), which is an invite-only, paperbased, nationally representative survey of around 25,000 U.S. adults ages 18+ in the contiguous U.S., including “over 7500 Englishand Spanish-speaking Hispanics” (MRI Simmons, “National Consumer Study,” 2021). The study asks about 8000+ brands in 500+ categories. In addition to brand, product, and service preferences and frequency of use, NCS also asks about many other things: demographic details for both individual and household, attitudes and preferences (with attitude statements ranked on a 5-point agree/disagree scale), personal media consumption, daily habits, and more. Their other data source is the Survey of the American Consumer (SAC), conducted via in-person interviews with over 24,000 people annually. Similar to the NCS survey, the interviews ask about consumption of “over 6500 products and services in nearly 600 categories” (MRI Simmons, “Survey of the American Consumer,” 2021). As of this writing, NCS and SAC are two separately purchased datasets for both Academic and Commercial licenses, but according to a Simmons representative, the NCS and SAC data will be combined starting in 2021. Both will then be available seamlessly through the Insights platform and will be visible for Academic licenses once the two-year embargo has passed, see below (A. DeLuna, personal communication, March 26, 2021).