Incentives were used to encourage participation in the survey and boost response rates. £5 conditional vouchers were offered upon completion of the survey.
For online completions, respondents wishing to receive a £5 voucher enter their email address at the end of the survey and are then sent a unique link to a dedicated survey website, where they select a voucher from a list of suppliers. Participants are then emailed a link/code for their voucher, which allows them to redeem it.
Respondents who return a postal questionnaire receive a £5 Love2Shop paper gift voucher within four weeks of Ipsos receiving the questionnaire, which can be redeemed in a wide range of high street stores.
Respondents were asked to give their name in order to address the incentive to the correct person, but even without a name an incentive would be sent to that address.
In September 2024, an experiment was conducted, testing the impact of different incentive models on response rates and carbon footprint.
Further information on this can be found in the Experiments section at the end of this report.