Muir Wood & Co: How people decide what to buy

Information sheet

This is an information sheet for people who have signed up to take part in research into how people shop for considered purchases.

You're in the safe hands of a friendly and experienced research team whose goal is to make participating in research easy and fun, while keeping your data safe.

In this document you'll find out:

– What will happen during your interview and the incentive we'll send as a thank you

– The different kinds of information we'll be collecting about you

– What we'll do with that data and how we'll keep it safe

– How you can take action if you have any concerns or questions about your data

This research is being run by Muir Wood & Co, a research consultancy based in London. Muir Wood & Co is the trading name of Muircorp Ltd and they are a Market Research Society accredited company partner.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is to understand how people research and make considered purchases today. This study will consist of a 30-minute video call with 1–2 members of our research team.

We'll talk about things like:
– Your general shopping habits

– A specific recent purchase you made that took some thought or research

– How you went about researching and deciding, and what sources or tools you used along the way

During the call, we'll ask you to screen-share the device you used for this purchase (phone, laptop, or tablet). If you used AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini as part of the purchase, we may also ask to see the conversation, to understand how it fit into your wider research process.

Before recording begins, we'll ask to see a proof of purchase (a receipt, order confirmation, or bank statement), please understand that without this the interview may be terminated.

Incentive

As a thank you for your time, we'll send a £20 reward to the email address you used to sign-up for the follow-up interview. You'll be able to choose where you spend it across over 160+ different shops and websites in the UK. Your reward will be sent within 5 business days of the interview being completed. If you haven't received it within a week, please contact your researcher and we'll look into it.

You'll also get early access to the full whitepaper once the research is complete.

Data We Will Collect

When you register to take part, we will collect some basic contact information and the background questions from the survey. The video interview will be recorded and transcribed. We'll also be taking notes during the conversation.

During the interview we may ask you to share your phone/laptop/tablet screen so we can follow along as you browse. You are not obligated to answer all questions or to share anything you'd rather keep private. Please let the interviewer know and they will move on.

How We Will Use Your Data

Any data, recording, or other personal information collected about you will be treated confidentially and anonymously. Your name and any easily identifiable details will be removed from recordings and transcripts.

Recordings and data will be stored securely in the cloud, with password access granted only to relevant people at Muir Wood & Co, and any external professionals contracted to support the research.

Anonymised insights and quotes may be used in Muir Wood & Co's own research report on ‘How people decide what to buy’.

Data Protection and Security

For the purposes of this study, Muir Wood & Co (trading name of Muircorp Ltd) is the data controller. Muir Wood & Co will take appropriate measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, and damage.

Muir Wood & Co's full data protection policy can be found here.

Your Rights

In the sign-up form that accompanies this document, you will be asked for your consent to participate and for your data to be recorded and processed in the manner described above.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. You can take a break or stop at any time without giving a reason. Under data protection laws, you have the right to request access to your personal data, correction, erasure, restriction of processing, and data portability.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, please email data@muirwood.co.uk.