Audience research
Part of Audience research for an online store that starts with the journey, not the recruit
Four survey routes for store research, held to one dated evidence grid
Compare store journey survey routes through a dated evidence grid covering privacy, security, accessibility, export, deletion, support and cost.
What to take away
- This is a procurement framework, not a product review: Excel, an existing forms tenant, a newly procured hosted service and researcher-assisted entry face one dated evidence grid.
- For a small bounded store-journey study of about 200 responses, start with Route 2, an existing Microsoft Forms or Google Forms tenant, if the licence is already held.
- Route 3 earns its place only where documented routing, UK hosting or anonymity settings are needed. SmartSurvey lists at about £20 to £60 per user per month ex VAT, against about £5 for a suite seat.
- A manual controlled record can suit a study too small to justify a licence, but the hours must be costed at your own internal rate, never called free.
- No route is named bestno current plan-level dossier was assembled for any supplier, so capability and price claims stay unverified.
Which route suits which store
All four routes carry the same store journey: one recent purchase, one questionnaire, one response register. The wider procurement route comparison explains why that grid yields no universal winner.
Privacy and controller role
- 1. Manual record in Excel or Sheets
- You are controller; sharing and retention set by hand
- 2. Existing Forms tenant
- Controller role unchanged; admin settings govern retention
- 3. Newly procured hosted service
- Supplier is processor; check hosting, transfers, sub-processors
- 4. Researcher-assisted entry
- Assisted mode recorded as its own data field
Accessibility evidence
- 1. Manual record in Excel or Sheets
- Suite statement only
- 2. Existing Forms tenant
- Suite report, not your questionnaire
- 3. Newly procured hosted service
- Statement checked against WCAG 2.2
- 4. Researcher-assisted entry
- Planning around individual technology needs
Export and deletion
- 1. Manual record in Excel or Sheets
- Native export; deletion and missing values by hand
- 2. Existing Forms tenant
- Export to Excel or Sheets; deletion via admin settings
- 3. Newly procured hosted service
- Varies by plan; self-hosted LimeSurvey leaves deletion to you
- 4. Researcher-assisted entry
- Host tool plus transcription controls
Support
- 1. Manual record in Excel or Sheets
- Your own IT owners
- 2. Existing Forms tenant
- Existing internal IT
- 3. Newly procured hosted service
- Contractual route and response times
- 4. Researcher-assisted entry
- Researcher plus host tool
Typical UK list price, ex VAT
- 1. Manual record in Excel or Sheets
- Suite licence, about £5 per user per month
- 2. Existing Forms tenant
- Included, about £5 to £6 per user per month
- 3. Newly procured hosted service
- SmartSurvey about £20 to £60 per user per month; LimeSurvey Cloud £20 to £80 per month; Qualtrics quoted per deal
- 4. Researcher-assisted entry
- Host tool cost plus researcher time
Route 2 is the default for a bounded study with an existing suite licence. Route 1 works when the sample is tiny and no licence exists. Route 3 fits teams needing routing, anonymity or UK hosting. Route 4 suits participants who cannot use a self-service form.
How the dated evidence grid works
- Record the legal entity, the exact service and edition, and whether you are controller or processor.
- Add purposes, data fields, hosting and transfer details, sub-processors and retention.
- Add deletion, authentication, access logs and incident terms.
- Add accessibility evidence, questionnaire routing, export format, support route, contract term and exit.
- Add price in GBP with VAT basis, unit, period and limits, plus the research date. Leave cost blank where any of these is missing.
Example: costing 200 responses two ways
Figures are illustrative and use the typical UK list prices ex VAT recorded here, dated 2026.
- Route 2, existing Microsoft 365 tenanttwo research users at about £5 each per month ex VAT, so about £10 for a one-month study, plus setup hours.
- Route 3, SmartSurveyone researcher at about £20 to £60 per user per month ex VAT, so about £20 to £60 for the study month.
- Route 1no new licence, but the same setup and cleaning hours still need recording.
- Route 4host tool cost plus researcher time for each assisted session.
The licence gap between Routes 2 and 3 is roughly £10 to £50 for one month, which is small beside the labour. Route 1 is the manual baseline, and a manual baseline and a safe exit explains how to run one without drifting.
Testing a route before real customer risk
Test with synthetic participant codes and non-sensitive answers before any real customer touches the form.
Synthetic route test checklist
- Use synthetic participant codes
- Use non-sensitive answers only
- Test information and withdrawal
- Test validation, skips, keyboard use
- Test export completeness and deletion
- Test permissions and incident escalation
- Test recovery; no live order data
- Confirm the participant notice, withdrawal route and live question version.
- Test validation, skips, keyboard use and assistive technology.
- Check export completeness, deletion and permissions, then keep live order and payment data out of the exercise.
Compliance pointers to check yourself
The Service Manual's research privacy guidance recommends minimum collection, controlled access, deletion and suitable supplier contracts. The NCSC's secure online service guidance supports risk-based controls for stored and processed data. Neither source certifies a supplier.
Answering a survey is not marketing permission, so read the ICO's guide to PECR before any follow-up email. Recheck the ICO's live UK GDPR and PECR pages on the day you sign off retention.
Scope note: this grid covers an adult survey about one recent journey for an England seller. GB retail data cannot forecast England, as the conversion market outlook sets out.
Common questions
Which route should a small England store use?
Route 2, an existing Microsoft Forms or Google Forms tenant, is the default for roughly 200 responses when the licence is already held. Route 1 suits a tiny study with no licence. Route 3 is for routing, anonymity or UK hosting needs.
What do the four routes cost in GBP?
Suite seats run at about £5 to £6 per user per month ex VAT. SmartSurvey lists at about £20 to £60 per user per month and LimeSurvey Cloud at £20 to £80 per month. Jisc Online Surveys is free to subscribing UK institutions, and Qualtrics is quoted per deal.
How do I test a route without exposing customer data?
Use synthetic participant codes and non-sensitive answers. Check validation, skips, keyboard and assistive-technology use, export completeness, deletion, permissions and recovery. Keep live order, payment and product-safety data out.
