ABSTRACT
Observation research is one of the fastest growing areas of marketing research. Techniques
such as mystery shopping and audits are growing in popularity as the need to ensure customer
satisfaction is growing and the technical ability to monitor individuals’ behaviour expands. Our
online behaviour can be tracked even to the extent of being able to trace the search terms used
to access a particular website. The use of CCTV and video means that the average UK
consumer is caught on camera many times a day. This of course raises ethical considerations
that we discussed earlier. Observation is however a tried and tested technique in marketing
research.
