Time to Decide

The time we take to make a choice is a key focus for understanding cognitive processing and decision-making. Response time is a critical component in Ipsos’ Dynamic Decision-Making Model, as it indicates whether our choices, such as purchase decisions, are made in a more mindful or mindless way, and whether any conflict has been created by external factors (e.g. advertising).

Response time has been used in market research for years to measure the strength of implicit associations. In this paper, we show how incorporating response time measurement into Ipsos’ research methodologies can add real value, offering insights that reveal the best decisions for successful product development, marketing and growing stronger brands.

• Duel is an Ipsos research tool that screens marketing elements such as claims, varieties, names, and visuals through a “tournament” design, asking respondents which they prefer in quick succession. Response time analysis reveals the options chosen more quickly are the ones that are appealing at a more visceral and automatic level.
• InnoTest, our tool that predicts how well a new product will do on the shelf incorporates response time to add further clarity to the findings. A faster response time indicates greater conviction in the choice and boosts the “trial score”, allowing us to see the winning option more easily.
• In Multi-Choice Reaction Time, response time is used to examine the accessibility of information in a person’s memory when it comes to brand assets. It allows us to understand how strong, intuitive and unique associations are between colours, logos, characters and other elements and the brand.

Read more about what response time can tell us about consumer choices in Time to Decide.