Smart mobile devices have changed our lives and we now walk around with the internet in our back pockets.   They help us shop, share information, and update our favorite social media profiles.   However, how people use mobile devices tends to vary depending on the task at hand (pun intended).  Many find their mobile devices to be useful in the workplace as well.  For life scientists, the adoption of mobile devices for work-related tasks other than checking email has lagged compared to the general population.  Over the past year Percepta has noticed that life scientists are now using their mobile devices to share their opinions too. Percepta conducts online market research for the life science industry. Quite recently the number of scientists using their mobile devices to participate in online surveys related to their field of expertise has jumped from essentially nothing in December 2013 to nearly 10% in November 2014 (see figure).

This trend is important because it shows us that access to the opinions of life scientists is expanding, regardless of where they are or the time of day.  But survey design must now anticipate the limits of the smaller screens and the possible change in the attention spans of those using mobile devices.   As a result, polls could be on the rise as a means of gathering quick data sets from mobile users, though online surveys will certainly still prove valuable.

We will keep you posted as this interesting trend develops over the next year.  Exactly how it will impact market research in the life sciences remains to be seen, but we can all be certain that it will change the way we listen to the voice of the life science customer going forward.

Percepta is a market research consultancy specializing in the life science industry.  Contact us toll free at 877-597-9236 (or 760-431-6300) or at https://www.perceptaassociates.com